The best Folco Lulli’s drama movies

In the South American jungle, supplies of nitroglycerine are needed at a remote oil field. The oil company pays four men to deliver the supplies in two trucks. A tense rivalry develops between the two sets of drivers on the rough remote roads where the slightest jolt can result in death.

Professor Sinigaglia (Marcello Mastroianni) is the title character in this darkly comedic Italian drama about mistreated factory workers in the city of Turin. Toiling away in appalling conditions in a textile mill, these employees have no one to stand up for them until Sinigaglia puts his academic career on the line by helping them to start a strike. Although the teacher comes under scrutiny by unsympathetic authorities, he maintains his dedication to the workers' cause.

Edmond Dantes is falsely accused by those jealous of his good fortune, and is sentenced to spend the rest of his life in the notorious island prison, Chateau d'If. While imprisoned, he meets the Abbe Faria, a fellow prisoner whom everyone believes to be mad. The Abbe tells Edmond of a fantastic treasure hidden away on a tiny island, that only he knows the location of. After many years in prison, the old Abbe dies, and Edmond escapes disguised as the dead body. Now free, Edmond must find the treasure the Abbe told him of, so he can use the new-found wealth to exact revenge on those who have wronged him.

In Italy, Checco Dal Monte manages a troupe of traveling performers with plenty of heart but minimal talent. At a small town engagement, he encounters the starry-eyed, gorgeous Lily Antonelli, and hires her as a dancer on the show. Vivacious Lily quickly sells out crowds and earns the resentment of Checco's mistress, Melina Amour, but the fledgling performer has far bigger ambitions and soon sets her sights on a higher-profile role.

Italy, 1916. Oreste Jacovacci and Giovanni Busacca are called, as all the Italian youths, to serve the army in the WWI. They both try in every way to avoid serving the army.

The 19-year-old Elena, who is as pretty as she is bright, works as a rice girl for the landlord Guerrini. Having become aware of her name, he finds out that she is his illegitimate daughter of whom he knew nothing. He tries to secretly help Elena, who has fallen in love with the car mechanic Gianni. But that only creates mistrust. When Guerrini's worthless nephew harasses the girl, the situation is dramatically worse.

Among others, Ernesto returns to Turin after the war from a German POW camp; his household destroyed and family deceased, he tries making an honest living.

Recently widowed Persian King Ahasuerus wants to marry the beautiful Esther. But Esther is a Jewess, and Haman, the king's evil minister, is spreading hatred against the Jews. Set in the 4th century B.C., this Biblical epic stars Richard Egan (Demetrius And The Gladiators, A Summer Place) as Ahasuerus and Italian leading man Sergio Fantoni as Haman. Esther is portrayed by none other than Joan Collins, who would later gain fame as the scheming Alexis Carrington, in the hit TV series Dynasty. Directed by Raoul Walsh (The Thief of Bagdad, High Sierra, White Heat). 1960 / Running Time: 109 min. / Color

The tragic love story between Guido, the owner of a marble quarry and Luisa, the humble daughter of one of his employees, ends up in her giving birth to a baby boy. Giulio's mother is against them: at first she takes her son abroad with an excuse and then has her grandson kidnapped making Luisa think the boy died in a fire.

An Italian sex worker falls in love with a black American soldier during World War II.

A barbarian army attacks Viking settlements along the Russian steppes.

Set amongst the Italian peasantry of WW2, Caccia Tragica (Tragic Chase) is set in motion when a truck loaded with money targetted for farming projects is stolen by bandits. The local villagers set aside their petty political and personal differences, banding together to capture the outlaws and recover the loot. The story takes a romantic detour by concentrating on the romance between two young people caught in the middle between the pursuers and the pursued. At the time of its release, Caccia Tragica was perceived as a Communist tract (it was produced by the left-leaning National Association of Italian Partisans). This didn't prevent the film from winning an award at the 1947 Venice Film Festival, quite a coup for first-time director Giueseppe De Santis.

Zenobia, Queen of Palmira, revolts against Rome and defeats the Roman troops, but she makes a big mistake when she falls in love with enemy officer Marco Valerio.

A young shepherd returns home after the Second World War having been held in a prisoner of war camp. He finds that the local landowner has stolen his sheep and his girlfriend. When he also assaults and murders his sister, the shepherd takes revenge.