Hesperia, Tullio Carminati and Ida Carloni Talli were the stars of the Italian silent drama Vertigine/Vertigo love (Baldassarre Negroni, 1919), produced by Film d'Arte Italiana (FAI). In Spain the film was distributed as El Vertigo and Chocolat Imperial published a series of six coloured 'cromos' of the film.
![Hesperia in Vertigine (1919)]()
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperial, Grandes Exclusivas Verdaguer, no. 1 (in a series of 6 'cromos'). Photo: FAI. Hesperia in Vertigine (Baldassarre Negroni, 1919). Unknown is who the two men are.
![Hesperia, Giovanni Schettini and Tullio Carminati in Vertigine (1919)]()
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperial, Grandes Exclusivas Verdaguer, no. 2 (in a series of 6 'cromos'). Photo: FAI. Giovanni Schettini, Hesperia and Tullio Carminati in Vertigine (Baldassarre Negroni, 1919).
![Hesperia and Tullio Carminati in Vertigine (1919)]()
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperial, Grandes Exclusivas Verdaguer, no. 3 (in a series of 6 'cromos'). Photo: FAI. Tullio Carminati and Hesperia in Vertigine (Baldassarre Negroni, 1919).
None of our sources describes the plot of Vertigine/Vertigo love (Baldassarre Negroni, 1919), but happily the plot is described on the back of the Spanish collectors cards. We translated the Spanish texts for this post.
A party takes place at the Royal Palace in Birlandia, when the Prince Regent substitutes the Royal couple Marisa and Carlos de Seydoon who are dethroned. Carlos is killed by counter-revolutionaries, while Marisa, chased from the court, leads a life as countess Marisa de Seydoon (Hesperia).
She goes to Rome by train, by chance in the same compartment as count Enzo (Tullio Carminati) who is unaware of her beauties, so she uses all her assets to seduce him. They get acquainted at the dinner wagon and because of trouble with the train, they share the same hotel.
They make several excursions together during which their love blossoms. They meet on old study friend of Enzo, Fausto Ursini (Giovanni Schettini). Ursini visits Enzo because he needs money as creditors want to take away the estate so dear to his mother (Ida Carloni Talli). Touched, Enzo helps him and buys the estate.
Marisa passes wonderful days at the estate, while both she and Fausto's mother don't know it is by now Enzo's property. While Enzo is away, and the summer blossoms drug Fausto and Marisa, the two young people fall in love, even if Marisa keeps her distance. When Enzo returns, Marisa is afraid he may find out and accuses Fausto of ingratitude towards Enzo.
Fausto's mother suspects something is going on, but also Enzo notices Marisa is not herself. She finally admits Fausto has declared her his love. Enzo, blind of rage, reacts to Fausto, who admits his guilt and offers his life. Enzo instead forces Fausto to reveal his mother the truth. Fausto cannot cope with so much disgrace to his mother, so he commits suicide.
Enzo, realising that his woman will now forever doubt him, disappears. Marisa, who before felt the weight of her crown, now left by Enzo, retires to a lonely villa, to mourn over her tragic fate and the loss of both men who marked her rise and fall.
The female star of the film, Hesperia, was one of the Italian divas of the silent screen. She often worked with director Baldassarre Negroni, who also became her husband.
At the time, Giuseppe Lega, in the magazine Apollon, thought Vertigine/Vertigo love (Baldassarre Negroni, 1919) was a rather old-fashioned drama. He called it below the level of the talent of the young scriptwriter Luciano Doria, who adapted his own novel in cooperation with director Baldassarre Negroni. Hesperia made the most of it, Tullio Carminati could have been better, while best was Ida Carloni Talli.
![Hesperia, Tullio Carminati and Giovanni Schettini in Vertigine (1919)]()
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperial, Grandes Exclusivas Verdaguer, no. 4 (in a series of 6 'cromos'). Photo: FAI. Giovanni Schettini, Tullio Carminati and Hesperia in Vertigine (Baldassarre Negroni, 1919).
![Hesperia and Tullio Carminati in Vertigine (1919)]()
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperial, Grandes Exclusivas Verdaguer, no. 5 (in a series of 6 'cromos'). Photo: FAI. Hesperia and Tullio Carminati in Vertigine (Baldassarre Negroni, 1919).
![Ida Carloni Talli and Giovanni Schettini in Vertigine (1919)]()
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperial, Grandes Exclusivas Verdaguer, no. 6 (in a series of 6 'cromos'). Photo: FAI. Ida Carloni Talli and Giovanni Schettini in Vertigine (Baldassarre Negroni, 1919).
Sources: Vittorio Martinelli (Il cinema muto italiano: I film del dopoguerra, 1919 - Italian), icff.co.uk and IMDb.
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperial, Grandes Exclusivas Verdaguer, no. 1 (in a series of 6 'cromos'). Photo: FAI. Hesperia in Vertigine (Baldassarre Negroni, 1919). Unknown is who the two men are.
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperial, Grandes Exclusivas Verdaguer, no. 2 (in a series of 6 'cromos'). Photo: FAI. Giovanni Schettini, Hesperia and Tullio Carminati in Vertigine (Baldassarre Negroni, 1919).
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperial, Grandes Exclusivas Verdaguer, no. 3 (in a series of 6 'cromos'). Photo: FAI. Tullio Carminati and Hesperia in Vertigine (Baldassarre Negroni, 1919).
Two men who marked her rise and fall
None of our sources describes the plot of Vertigine/Vertigo love (Baldassarre Negroni, 1919), but happily the plot is described on the back of the Spanish collectors cards. We translated the Spanish texts for this post.
A party takes place at the Royal Palace in Birlandia, when the Prince Regent substitutes the Royal couple Marisa and Carlos de Seydoon who are dethroned. Carlos is killed by counter-revolutionaries, while Marisa, chased from the court, leads a life as countess Marisa de Seydoon (Hesperia).
She goes to Rome by train, by chance in the same compartment as count Enzo (Tullio Carminati) who is unaware of her beauties, so she uses all her assets to seduce him. They get acquainted at the dinner wagon and because of trouble with the train, they share the same hotel.
They make several excursions together during which their love blossoms. They meet on old study friend of Enzo, Fausto Ursini (Giovanni Schettini). Ursini visits Enzo because he needs money as creditors want to take away the estate so dear to his mother (Ida Carloni Talli). Touched, Enzo helps him and buys the estate.
Marisa passes wonderful days at the estate, while both she and Fausto's mother don't know it is by now Enzo's property. While Enzo is away, and the summer blossoms drug Fausto and Marisa, the two young people fall in love, even if Marisa keeps her distance. When Enzo returns, Marisa is afraid he may find out and accuses Fausto of ingratitude towards Enzo.
Fausto's mother suspects something is going on, but also Enzo notices Marisa is not herself. She finally admits Fausto has declared her his love. Enzo, blind of rage, reacts to Fausto, who admits his guilt and offers his life. Enzo instead forces Fausto to reveal his mother the truth. Fausto cannot cope with so much disgrace to his mother, so he commits suicide.
Enzo, realising that his woman will now forever doubt him, disappears. Marisa, who before felt the weight of her crown, now left by Enzo, retires to a lonely villa, to mourn over her tragic fate and the loss of both men who marked her rise and fall.
The female star of the film, Hesperia, was one of the Italian divas of the silent screen. She often worked with director Baldassarre Negroni, who also became her husband.
At the time, Giuseppe Lega, in the magazine Apollon, thought Vertigine/Vertigo love (Baldassarre Negroni, 1919) was a rather old-fashioned drama. He called it below the level of the talent of the young scriptwriter Luciano Doria, who adapted his own novel in cooperation with director Baldassarre Negroni. Hesperia made the most of it, Tullio Carminati could have been better, while best was Ida Carloni Talli.
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperial, Grandes Exclusivas Verdaguer, no. 4 (in a series of 6 'cromos'). Photo: FAI. Giovanni Schettini, Tullio Carminati and Hesperia in Vertigine (Baldassarre Negroni, 1919).
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperial, Grandes Exclusivas Verdaguer, no. 5 (in a series of 6 'cromos'). Photo: FAI. Hesperia and Tullio Carminati in Vertigine (Baldassarre Negroni, 1919).
Spanish collectors card by Chocolat Imperial, Grandes Exclusivas Verdaguer, no. 6 (in a series of 6 'cromos'). Photo: FAI. Ida Carloni Talli and Giovanni Schettini in Vertigine (Baldassarre Negroni, 1919).
Sources: Vittorio Martinelli (Il cinema muto italiano: I film del dopoguerra, 1919 - Italian), icff.co.uk and IMDb.