La vena d'oro (1955)

The young actor here (Mario Girotti) is no one less than the film star later known as Terence Hill acting in a lot of spaghetti westerns with the fat man Bud Spencer. He could never make sympathetic roles, and already here he does everything possible to bungle the intrigue, which is led by Marta Toren (irresistibly charming as usual) and Richard Baseheart as the archaelogoist, who discovers the young man Mario Girotti and employs hím. The boy lives alone with his mother (Marta Torén) in a magnificent villa close to the archaeological site, and Richard falls in love with her, a relationship develops, which is all but ruined by the ill-mannered boy. Nevertheless, the film is saved by its magnificent cinematography, and there are some scenes which you will never forget, not only the New Year's Ball (giving associations to Visconti's "The Leopard" ten years later) but above all the letter scene, when Marta dictates a farewelll letter for her son, in which she pours her heart's blood. The scenography is outstanding throughout, and you would gladly see the film again just for the settings and the scenography, in which ruins play an important part. The film is thoroughly enjoyable, and lovers of Marta Torén and Richard Baseheart will not be disappoited.