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{{short description|1945 American war film directed by Henry King}}
{{about|the film|the novel|A Bell for Adano (novel)}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2022}}
{{Infobox film
| name = A Bell for Adano
| image = A Bell for Adano.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Theatrical poster for ''A Bell for Adano'' (1945)
| director = [[Henry King (director)|Henry King]]
| screenplay = [[Lamar Trotti]] [[Norman Reilly Raine]]
| based_on = {{Based on|''[[A Bell for Adano (novel)|A Bell for Adano]]'' 1944 novel|[[John Hersey]]}}
| producer = [[Louis D. Lighton]] Lamar Trotti
| starring = [[Gene Tierney]] [[John Hodiak]] [[William Bendix]]
| narrator =
| cinematography = [[Joseph LaShelle]]
| editing = [[Barbara McLean]]
| music = [[Alfred Newman (composer)|Alfred Newman]]
| distributor = [[20th Century Fox]]
| released = {{Film date|1945|07|06|[[New York City|NYC]]|<ref name="AFI">{{cite web |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/24324 |title=A Bell for Adano |website=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]] |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=2018-08-11 }}</ref>}}
| runtime = 103 minutes
| country = United States
| language = [[English language|English]]
| budget =
| gross = $2.5 million<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WIZwZOz8LHsC&q=aubrey+solomon+20th+century+fox&pg=PA212|title=Twentieth Century-Fox: A Corporate and Financial History|first=Aubrey|last=Solomon|date=June 15, 2002|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=9780810842441|via=Google Books}}</ref>
}}
'''''A Bell for Adano''''' (1945) is a film directed by [[Henry King (director)|Henry King]] and starring [[John Hodiak]] and [[Gene Tierney]]. It was adapted from the 1944 [[A Bell for Adano (novel)|novel of the same title]] by [[John Hersey]], which won the [[Pulitzer Prize for the Novel|Pulitzer Prize]] for fiction in 1945. In his review of the film for ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[Bosley Crowther]] wrote, "... this easily vulnerable picture, which came to the Music Hall yesterday, is almost a perfect picturization of Mr. Hersey's book."<ref>{{cite news |last=Crowther |first=Bosley |work=The New York Times |date=July 6, 1945 |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B02EEDB133BEE3BBC4E53DFB166838E659EDE |title=A Bell for Adano (1945) The Screen; in military role}}</ref>

In addition to the Broadway play ([[Cort Theatre]], (12/06/1944 - 10/27/1945),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/a-bell-for-adano-1603|title=A Bell for Adano – Broadway Play – Original | IBDB|last=The Broadway League|website=www.ibdb.com}}</ref> which starred [[Fredric March]], there have been several other versions of the story. In a 1955 [[Lux Video Theatre]] adaptation, [[Edmond O'Brien]] had the lead, with a young [[Charles Bronson]] playing the part William Bendix took in the movie.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thetvdb.com/series/the-lux-video-theatre/episodes/196415|title=The Lux Video Theatre - A Bell For Adano - TheTVDB.com|website=www.thetvdb.com}}</ref> [[Barry Sullivan (American actor)|Barry Sullivan]] and [[Anna Maria Alberghetti]] were in a 1956 CBS telecast,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,866975,00.html|title=TELEVISION: Program Preview, Jun. 4, 1956|magazine=Time|date=June 4, 1956|via=content.time.com}}</ref> and [[John Forsythe]] played the major in a 1967 ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'' broadcast.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://flixanity.io/tv-show/hallmark-hall-of-fame/season/17/episode/2 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801190116/https://flixanity.io/tv-show/hallmark-hall-of-fame/season/17/episode/2 |archive-date=2018-08-01 |title=Hallmark Hall of Fame: Season 17 Episode 2 - A Bell for Adano}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/68410/A-Bell-for-Adano/articles.html |title=A Bell for Adano (1945) - Articles - TCM.com |website=www.tcm.com |access-date=17 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801162209/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/68410/A-Bell-for-Adano/articles.html |archive-date=1 August 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Plot==
The story concerns [[Italian-American]] [[U.S. Army]] Major Joppolo ([[John Hodiak]]), who is placed in charge of the town of Adano during the [[invasion of Sicily]]. Major Joppolo asks the town elders what the town needs most: some say food but most say "a bell" and his curiosity is raised. The priest explains that the whole heart of the town's activities centred upon the bell ringing. He then starts a long struggle to replace the 700-year-old bell that was taken from the town by the [[Fascism|Fascists]] at the start of [[World War II|the war]] to be melted down for weapons. Through his actions, Joppolo also wins the trust and love of the people.

Some of the changes Joppolo brings into the town include:
* Democracy
* Free fishing privilege
* The freedom of mule carts
* A bell from the American Navy to replace the town bell

The short-tempered American commander, General Marvin, fires Major Joppolo from his position when Joppolo disobeys an order to prohibit mule cart traffic in Adano, which has been disrupting Allied supply trucks, because the mule carts are vital to the survival of the town.

The character of Joppolo was based on the real life experiences of [[Frank Toscani]], who was military governor of the town of [[Licata]], Sicily after the Allied invasion.<ref>Martin, Douglass. [https://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/28/nyregion/fe-toscani-89-dies-model-for-hero-of-bell-for-adano.html?pagewanted=all The New York Times: F.E. Toscani 89, Dies; Model for Hero of 'Bell for Adano'] 28 Jan 2001</ref>

==Cast==
* [[Gene Tierney]] as Tina Tomasino
* [[John Hodiak]] as Maj. Victor P. Joppolo
* [[William Bendix]] as Sgt. Borth
* [[Glenn Langan]] as Lt. Crofts Livingstone
* [[Richard Conte]] as Nico
* [[Stanley Prager]] as Sgt. Trampani
* [[Harry Morgan|Henry Morgan]] as Capt. N. Purvis
* [[Monty Banks]] as Giuseppe
* [[Reed Hadley]] as Cmdr. Robertson
* [[Roy Roberts]] as Col. W. W. Middleton
* [[Hugo Haas]] as Father Pensovecchio
* [[Marcel Dalio]] as Zito
* [[Fortunio Bonanova]] as Chief of Police Gargano
* [[Henry Armetta]] as Errante
* [[Roman Bohnen]] as Carl Erba
* [[Luis Alberni]] as Cacopardo
* [[Eduardo Ciannelli]] as Maj. Nasta

==Production==
It was in production from early November 1944 to mid-January 1945. Location filming was done at Brent's Crags, near [[Malibu, California]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|id=0037534|title=A Bell for Adano}}
* {{Amg movie|84738|A Bell for Adano}}
* {{tcmdb title|id=68410}}}
* {{AFI film|id=24324|title=A Bell for Adano}}
* [https://archive.org/download/BestPlays/BestPlays52-12-2826ABellForAdano.mp3 1952 ''Best Plays'' radio adaptation of novel] at [[Internet Archive]]

{{Henry King}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell For Adano, A}}
[[Category:1945 films]]
[[Category:1945 drama films]]
[[Category:20th Century Fox films]]
[[Category:American drama films]]
[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Films scored by Alfred Newman]]
[[Category:Films based on American novels]]
[[Category:Films directed by Henry King]]
[[Category:Films set in Sicily]]
[[Category:Italian Campaign of World War II films]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Lamar Trotti]]
[[Category:World War II films made in wartime]]
[[Category:1940s English-language films]]

A Bell for Adano - Revision history

Bot at 19:42, 6 September 2022