Gasparone (1937)

In the state of Olivia, the bandit Gasparone is up to his old tricks again after years of inactivity. A stage play about his exploits even features the dancer Ita in the leading role. Alongside Gasparone, Ita is what most worries Police Prefect Nasoni: the niece of the enigmatic Massaccio is the great love of his son Sindulfo. But Nasoni wants Sindulfo to marry Countess Carlotta Ambrat. She is still poor, but Nasoni knows that her wealthy, long-missing relative, Count Jucundus, has meanwhile been declared dead. The Countess Ambrat has therefore become a good match as an heiress, though Nasoni intends to announce the inheritance only after his son’s wedding. A charming stranger arrives in Olivia, introduces himself as Erminio, and immediately falls in love with Carlotta. When Sindulfo is forced by his father to travel on with the Ambrats, Erminio and Ita hatch a plan: she and her fellow dancers disguise themselves as Gasparone and take Sindulfo prisoner. She whispers in his ear that Carlotta belongs to Gasparone and that he must never marry her. Meanwhile, Erminio “rescues” Carlotta, but the police, who have been summoned, mistake him for Gasparone. Nevertheless, Erminio is allowed to spend the night at the Countess’s castle. When he tries to slip away during the night, Sindulfo stops him, hoping that Carlotta will finally fall in love with Erminio that night. Erminio knocks Sindulfo out and makes his way to Massaccio’s tavern. Massaccio is in fact engaged in coffee smuggling. To better cover his tracks, he has invented Gasparone’s robberies, which are supposed to keep the police away from the actual crime scene during the smugglers’ activities. Erminio gets Massaccio to confess that he is Gasparone and intends to arrest him, but he is overpowered by Massaccio’s accomplices, including the innkeeper Benozzo, and locked in a dungeon. He manages to escape only much later, and Benozzo tells him that everyone is at the engagement party for Countess Carlotta Ambrat and Sindulfo. Erminio rushes to the castle, where Ita keeps the guests entertained until he appears in evening dress and a bow tie, foiling the engagement speech. Shortly afterward, the whole event is interrupted by the arrival of Count Jucundus, who has returned from the jungle. The rich inheritance Nasoni had hoped for is now out of reach, and he urges his son to give up his engagement to Carlotta. Erminio and Ita are outraged. When Jucundus explains that he has so much money he will leave the castle to Carlotta and her aunt Zenobia, Nasoni is once again in favor of his son’s match with the Countess. By this time, Erminio has proposed to Carlotta, while Sindulfo has become engaged to Ita. Together, they return to the party and present those assembled with a fait accompli. Erminio can now introduce himself to everyone as a government official whose mission was to capture Gasparone—while Gasparone, alias Massaccio, has in the meantime been arrested.