Ivo Perilli

Ivo Perilli is an Italian screenwriter known for his prolific career in cinema, spanning from the 1930s to the 1970s and encompassing contributions to more than 50 feature films as well as television productions. ^{[1] [2]} Born on April 10, 1902, in Rome, he initially worked in theater as a set and costume designer before entering the film industry in the early 1930s, where he took on roles as assistant director, production designer, and occasional director in addition to his primary work as a screenwriter. ^{[1] [2]} His screenwriting credits reflect a versatility that bridged Italian neorealism, literary adaptations, and international co-productions, collaborating with directors such as Mario Camerini, Roberto Rossellini, Giuseppe De Santis, and Alberto Lattuada. ^[2] Perilli's most acclaimed contributions include the screenplays for the neorealist classics Riso amaro (Bitter Rice, 1949) and Europa '51 (1952), which addressed social themes and metaphysical concerns, as well as adaptations of major literary works such as War and Peace (1956) and Ulisse (Ulysses, 1954). ^{[1] [2]} He also wrote for international projects like La tempesta (Tempest, 1958) and Barabba (Barabbas, 1961), demonstrating his ability to navigate both Italian domestic cinema and Hollywood-backed productions. ^[1] Earlier in his career, Perilli directed the socially critical film Ragazzo (1934), a lost film that was censored and suppressed by the Fascist regime before its release. ^{[3] [2]} He continued screenwriting into the 1970s, including contributions to television miniseries such as The Life of Leonardo Da Vinci (1971) and Caravaggio (1967). ^[1] Perilli died on November 24, 1994, in Rome at the age of 92, leaving a legacy as one of the most enduring and respected screenwriters in Italian film history. ^{[1] [2]}

Early life

Early years

Ivo Perilli was born on April 10, 1902, in Rome, Lazio, Italy. ^[1] Detailed information about his childhood, family background, education, or pre-career activities remains scarce in reliable biographical sources, with records primarily confirming only his birth date and place in the Italian capital. ^[4]

Career

Beginnings in Italian cinema (1930s)

Ivo Perilli began his career in Italian cinema during the early sound era, initially working as a production designer on several films. He served in this role for Figaro and His Great Day (1931), Vele ammainate (1931), and La Wally (1932). ^[5] These early assignments involved creating sets and visual environments for productions in the emerging Italian talkie industry. He soon expanded into assistant director positions, contributing to Gli uomini, che mascalzoni… (1932) as an assistant director and to T'amerò sempre (1933) as second assistant director. ^[5] These roles provided him with practical experience on set under established directors, facilitating his integration into the collaborative workflow of 1930s Italian filmmaking. Perilli then transitioned to screenwriting, earning credits on T'amerò sempre (1933), Ragazzo (1934), Luciano Serra, Pilot (1938), and Department Store (1939). ^[5] His writing output increased notably in the late 1930s, with six screenwriting credits in 1939 alone, reflecting his growing prominence in script development during this period. ^[5] These formative experiences in production design, assistant directing, and screenwriting laid the groundwork for his later prolific career as a screenwriter. ^[6]

Wartime and immediate post-war work (1940s)

During the 1940s, Ivo Perilli remained active in Italian cinema through the wartime years and into the immediate post-war era, contributing primarily as a screenwriter and assistant director during a transitional period marked by wartime constraints and the early reconstruction of the industry. ^[1] He also directed two feature films during this time: Margherita fra i tre (1942) and La primadonna (1943), the latter for which he also wrote the screenplay. ^[5] He collaborated with director Mario Camerini on several projects, including co-writing the screenplay for The Betrothed (I promessi sposi, 1941), an adaptation of Alessandro Manzoni's classic novel. Perilli also served as assistant director on Due lettere anonime (Two Anonymous Letters, 1945), where he additionally provided the story and screenplay, and on La figlia del capitano (The Captain's Daughter, 1947), where he handled adaptation and screenplay duties alongside his assistant director role. ^{[7] [5]} In the later part of the decade, his screenwriting work included Prelude to Madness (Amanti senza amore, 1948), The Wolf of the Sila (Il lupo della Sila, 1949), and a co-credit on the screenplay for Bitter Rice (Riso amaro, 1949), which featured contributions from a team of writers including Corrado Alvaro, Giuseppe De Santis, Carlo Lizzani, Carlo Musso, and Gianni Puccini. ^{[8] [9]} This period bridged his early Italian work to later international projects. ^[1]

Peak period and international projects (1950s–1960s)

The 1950s and 1960s represented the peak of Ivo Perilli's career as a screenwriter, a period of high productivity during which he contributed to numerous Italian films and increasingly to large-scale international co-productions and literary adaptations. ^[2] He collaborated with major directors across both European and Hollywood productions, often adapting classic literature for the screen. ^[2] This phase built on his earlier post-war Italian experience by expanding his scope to global audiences and prestigious projects. ^[2] In the early 1950s, Perilli worked on key Italian films including Anna (1951) and Europa '51 (1952), the latter directed by Roberto Rossellini and featuring a screenplay that reflected neorealist themes through a story of personal transformation amid postwar disillusionment. ^[2] He followed this with Ulysses (1954), directed by Mario Camerini, where he contributed to the screenplay adapting Homer's Odyssey into a fantasy-adventure format starring Kirk Douglas and Silvana Mangano. ^{[2] [10]} Perilli's mid-1950s work shifted toward international epics, most notably providing the adaptation for King Vidor's War and Peace (1956), a major Hollywood production based on Leo Tolstoy's novel that featured an all-star cast including Audrey Hepburn and Henry Fonda. ^{[2] [1]} He also supplied the screenplay for Alberto Lattuada's Tempest (1958), an adaptation of Alexander Pushkin's novella set against historical drama. ^[2] Into the 1960s, he continued contributing to international projects with the screenplay for Five Branded Women (1960), a war drama directed by Martin Ritt. ^[1] His credits included uncredited writing on Richard Fleischer's Barabbas (1961), a biblical epic starring Anthony Quinn, and writing for Pontius Pilate (1962). ^[1] Perilli assisted on John Huston's ambitious The Bible: In the Beginning... (1966), another large-scale biblical adaptation. ^[1] These works underscored his versatility in handling grand narratives and multinational productions during his most prominent years. ^[2]

Later career and television (1970s)

In the 1970s, Ivo Perilli transitioned toward television mini-series while contributing to one final feature film, marking the closing phase of his extensive screenwriting career. ^[1] This period followed his earlier involvement in international feature productions during the 1950s and 1960s. ^[1] He collaborated as a writer on the 1971 RAI television mini-series The Life of Leonardo Da Vinci, contributing to five episodes of the biographical production directed by Renato Castellani. ^[1] In 1974, Perilli provided the story and screenplay for the feature film Till Marriage Do Us Part (original Italian title Mio Dio, come sono caduta in basso!), a comedy directed by Luigi Comencini. ^[1] Perilli's final credits came in 1977 with the television mini-series Castigo, a four-episode adaptation of Matilde Serao's novel for RAI, directed by Anton Giulio Majano. ^{[11] [12]} These projects concluded his professional activity, ending a career that had begun in the 1930s and encompassed contributions to over fifty films and television works. ^[1]

Personal life

Family and marriage

Ivo Perilli married actress Lia Corelli in 1953. ^[1] Their marriage endured until her death on December 17, 1987. ^[1] The couple had two children: actress and voice actress Valeria Perilli and poet Plinio Perilli. ^[1] Valeria Perilli was born in Rome. ^[13]

Death

Final years and death

Ivo Perilli passed away on November 24, 1994, in Rome, Lazio, Italy, at the age of 92.^[1][14] He died from a stroke in the same city where he had been born on April 10, 1902.^[15] Little is documented about his activities in the final years beyond his residence in Rome, where he spent the later part of his life.^[1]