Ghione, Emilio

(1872-1930)

   Actor and director. Trained as a miniaturist, Ghione came to the cinema by chance when, unexpectedly, in 1908, he was asked to work as a stuntman and extra for Itala Film in Turin. After also playing supporting roles in several of Itala's Cretinetti films, he moved to Rome in 1911, where he scored major parts in a number of films with the Cines. In 1913 he transferred to the newly established Celio Film company and appeared in several films directed by Baldassare Negroni, including the landmark film pantomime, Historie d'un Pierrot (Pierrot the Prodigal, 1913). This led to his directorial debut, Idolo infranto (Broken Idol, 1913), which starred the diva Francesca Bertini. Ghione's most famous films, however, were the ones in which he directed himself as Za-la-Mort, a gentleman thief and dark moral avenger, whom he fashioned on the French models of Victorin Jasset and Louis Feuillade. The films used stark, expressionistic lighting to further hollow out the gaunt and cadaverous features of the mysterious protagonist as he pursued his vengeance in a dark and shadowy underworld.

   Ghione produced a dozen feature films and several series featuring the Za-la-Mort character, the most famous being the eight-episode Topi grigi (Gray Mice). The series (and the character) were extremely popular for a time and Ghione figured as one of the divi of the period, earning fabulously and spending all of it on living the high life. By the 1920s, however, the popularity of Za-la-Mort was fading. Ghione acted in a number of other films, including Carmine Gallone's La Cavalcata ardente (The Fiery Cavalcade, 1926), but his star was waning. He turned to the theater for a time but with little success. In 1929 he migrated to Paris, where he lived a destitute existence and eventually fell ill. Repatriated with the financial help of friends, he died in Turin in 1930.

   Historical Dictionary of Italian Cinema by Alberto Mira