Cecchi, Emilio 1884-1966

PERSONAL:

Born July 14, 1884, in Florence, Italy; died September 8, 1966, in Rome, Italy; children: Giovanna "Suso" Cecchi D'Amico. Education: Attended University of Florence.

CAREER:

Critic, film producer, and author. During early career, was on staff of Italian journal La voce; also served as artistic director of movie studio Cines, 1930s. Films as producer include Gli uomini, che mascalzoni!, 1932, Acciaio, 1933, and 1860, 1934.

WRITINGS:

Inno (poetry), 1910.

Storia della letteratura inglese nel secolo XIX, Fratelli Treves (Milan, Italy), 1915.

(Author of catalog) Armando Spadini, Armando Spadini, duecentrocinquantasei tavole, A. Mondadori (Milan, Italy), 1927.

Trecentisti senesi, Casa Editrice d'Arte (Rome, Italy), 1928, new and revised edition, Hoepli (Milan, Italy), 1948.

The Sienese Painters of the Trecento, translated by Leonard Penlock, F. Warne (New York, NY), 1931.

(Editor) Giovanni Fattori, Instituto Nazionale L.U. C.E. (Rome, Italy), 1933.

Scrittori inglesi e americani: Byron, Carlyle, Melville … , G. Carabba (Milan, Italy), 1935, 4th revised edition, Il Saggiatore (Milan, Italy), 1968.

(Translator) Bernard Berenson, Pitture italiane del rinascimento: Catalogo dei principali artisti e delle loro opere, U. Hoepli (Milan, Italy), 1936.

Corse al trotto, R. Bemporad (Florence, Italy), 1936 new and revised edition published as Corse al trotto, e altre cose, Sansoni (Florence, Italy), 1952.

America amara … , 2nd edition, G.C. Sansoni (Florence, Italy), 1940.

Et in Arcadia ego, 1942, reprinted, Mondadori (Milan, Italy), 1960.

Pesci rossi, 4th edition, Vallecchi (Florence, Italy), 1943, critical edition edited by Margherita Ghilardi, 1989.

Qualche cosa, new edition, G.C. Sansoni (Florence, Italy), 1943.

(Editor) Desiderius Erasmus, Elogio della pazzia, Colombo (Rome, Italy), 1943.

(Editor) Lorenzo de Medici, Poemetti, G. Einaudi (Torino, Italy), 1943.

Messico, new edition, Vallecchi (Florence, Italy), 1948, reprinted with preface by Italo Calvino, Adelphi (Milan, Italy), 1985.

Tenet nunc Parthenope, Edizioni Radio Italiana (Torino, Italy), 1951.

Appunti per un periplo dell'Africa, R. Ricciardi (Milan, Italy), 1954.

Di gionro in giorno: Note di letteratua italiana contempoanea (1945-1954), Garzanti (Milan, Italy), 1954.

Ritratti e profili: Saggi e note di letteratura italiana, Garzanti (Milan, Italy), 1957.

Nuovo continente: Messico, America amara, Messico rivisitato, Sansoni (Florence, Italy), 1958, reprinted, F. Muzzio (Padua, Italy), 1995.

Saggi e vagabondaggi, Mondadori (Milan, Italy), 1962.

Macchiaioli toscani d'Europa, critical notes by Mario Borgiotti, L.S. Olschki (Florence, Italy), 1963, translated as The "Macchiaioli," the First "Europeans" in Tuscany, 1963.

Ricordi crociani, R. Ricciardi (Milan, Italy), 1965.

Storia della letteratura italiana, Garzanti (Milan, Italy), 1965.

La poesia di Giovanni Pascoli, con altri scritti pascoliani (1911-1962), Garzanti (Milan, Italy), 1968.

Aiuola di Francia, Il Saggiatore (Milan, Italy), 1969.

I cipressi di Bolgheri, edited by Eugenio Montale and Vittore Branca, F. Le Monnier (Florence, Italy), 1969.

Firenze, Mondadori (Milan, Italy), 1969.

Letteratura italiana del Novecento, edited by Pietro Citati, Mondadori (Milan, Italy), 1972.

Taccuini, edited by Niccolo Gallo and Pietro Citati, Mondadori (Milan, Italy), 1976.

I grandi romantici inglesi, Adelphi (Milan, Italy), 1981.

Carteggio Cecchi-Praz, edited by Francesca Bianca Crucitti Ullrich, preface by Giovanni Macchia, Adelphi (Milan, Italy), 1985.

Fiorentinita e altri saggi, notes by Margherita Ghilardi, preface by Mario Luzi, Sansoni (Florence, Italy), 1985.

Emilio Cecchi: Fra Buster Keaton e Visconti, edited by Francesco Bolzoni, Centro Sperimentale per la Cinematografia, Cineteca Nazionale (Rome, Italy), 1995.

Saggi e viaggi, edited by Margherita Ghilardi, Mondadori (Milan, Italy), 1997.

I tarli, edited by Silvia Betocchi, introduction by Enzo Siciliano, Fazi (Rome, Italy), 1999.

Carteggi Cecchi, Onofri, Papini (1912-1917), edited by Carlo D'Alessio, Bompiani (Milan, Italy), 2000.

L'onesta sperimentale: Carteggio di Emilio Cecchi (correspondence), edited by Paolo Leoncini, Adelphi (Milan, Italy), 2000.

(With Antonio Baldini) Carteggio: 1911-1959 (correspondence), edited by Maria Clotilde Angelini and Marta Bruscia, Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura (Rome, Italy), 2003.

Saggi romantici, edited by Margherita Ghilardi, Avagliano (Cava de Tirreni, Italy), 2003.

Le vie della citta: Documenti di vita americana, edited by Giovanni Turra, Amos (Venice Mestre, Italy), 2004.

SCREENPLAYS

La tavola dei poveri, 1932.

Acciaio, 1933.

1860, 1934, also released as Sicilia 1860 and reissued as I mille di Garibalidi, released in the United States as Gesuzza the Garibaldian Wife.

(And adapter) Piccolo mondo antico, 1941, also released as Old-Fashioned World.

Sissignora, 1942, also released as Yes, Madam.

Tragica notte, 1942, also released as Tragic Night.

Giacomo l'idealista, 1943, also released as Giacomo the Idealist.

Harlem, 1943, reissued as Knock Out.

(With daughter, Suso Cecchi D'Amico) Mio figlio professore, Lux Films, 1946, also released as Professor, My Son.

Sotto il sole di Roma, 1948, also released as Under the Sun of Rome.

Fabiola, 1949, released in the United Kingdom as The Fighting Gladiator.

SIDELIGHTS:

The father of screenwriter Giovanna "Suso" Cecchi D'Amico, Emilio Cecchi dabbled in film, too, but he was better known and respected as a critic and essayist who helped introduce the writings of American and English authors to Italy. After working for the Italian journal La voce, he traveled to Hollywood briefly, and for that reason was hired by the studio Cines upon his return in the hopes that he could assist with the fledgling Italian film industry. Cecchi helped produce several films and also wrote a number of screenplays before finally abandoning such efforts in 1950 to focus on writing books. Among his notable writings is Qualche cosa, which was praised for the author's adept writing style. As one New York Times Book Review critic asserted: "Cecchi reveals the real depth of his thought and the perfection of his skill, with … whimsical melancholy. … I would advise the connoisseur of literary delicacies to learn Italian if only to read Cecchi."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

New York Times, April 18, 1949, "At the Irving Place," review of Professor, My Son.

New York Times Book Review, April 10, 1932, "Masters of Prose in Italy."

ONLINE

Internet Movie Database,http://www.imdb.com/ (September 22, 2006), list of Emilio Cecchi's film credits.