Pagano, Bartolomeo

(1878-1947)

   Actor. A Genoese dock-worker with no previous acting experience, Pagano was chosen by director Giovanni Pastrone, largely on the basis of his powerful physique and gentle disposition, to play the part of the faithful slave Maciste in the spectacular historical epic Cabiria (1914). The over-whelming success of the film and Pagano's sympathetic portrayal of the good-natured strongman who helps to rescue Cabiria from the fire god Moloch led to the character's acquiring a life of its own. Pagano went on to play "the good giant," as he was affectionately known, in a long and very popular series of Maciste films, first in Italy with Pastrone's Itala Film company and then, during the downturn of the Italian film industry in the early 1920s, in Germany, making four Maciste films there between 1922 and 1924. He subsequently returned to Italy to make another series of Maciste films for the Fert-Pittaluga company, the most famous of which was Maciste all'Inferno (Maciste in Hell, 1926). In the late 1920s Pagano attempted to break out of the Maciste mold by accepting roles in films like Gli ultimi zar (The Last Tzars, 1926) and Il vetturale di Moncenisio (The Courier of Moncenisio, 1927) but the films were only moderately successful and, in any case, their publicity continued to exploit the Maciste connection. At this point, as good-natured as the character he had played in all those films, Pagano declared his intention to make only one film from then on: Maciste in Retirement.

   Historical Dictionary of Italian Cinema by Alberto Mira