EDNOTE. Several days ago Dane Gill spotted a reference to Dmitri Nabokov in an Itaian film of the sixties. I forwarded the note to DN and here is his reply. I append an item describing the film itself and Dane Gill's original inquiry. I also would remark that DN's brief film career echoes his father's role as an extra in several Berlin films of the Twenties.
 
----- Original Message -----
From: Dmitri Nabokov
To: chtodel@cox.net
Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2004 11:33 AM
Subject: DN in Italian film "Una jena in cassaforte"

 
Here is a reply for eagle-eyed Dane Gill. "Una jena in cassaforte", aka "Hybrid", was shot mostly in Varese, north of Milan.The director was Sergio Canevari, who had also worked on a spaghetti Western unfinished because an acquaintance of mine fell off his horse and broke an arm, and later on porn  (hard or soft, I don't know). The only actress of note in "Jena" was Cristina Gajoni, who had also worked with Fellini. I played the male lead. "Una jena" etc. translates into "A Hyena in the Bank Vault". The hyena is a symbol of death, and the bank vault contained diamonds heisted by a gang whose somewhat sinister representatives (and not) meet in a gloomy villa to divide the booty. My character, an Engishman with a slight limp to justify a switchblade cane, tries to do in the others -- male and female -- , steal their keys (all were needed),and abscond with their shares. In the end I meet a grisly end, butchered by my own cane in an abandoned well. The action takes place against the background of a carneval in the distance, hence in February. To spruce up the ending, a studio scene was subsequently added in which I performed surreal gyrations plastered with diamonds. That's about all I remember of the plot. Shooting partly outdoors at night, without warm clothes and with snow blowtorched off the estate's lawns where necessary, was not a warm business. I was to make my US opera debut in Tulsa shortly after  the shooting but arrived there with a huge cold, and my US debut ended up taking place some months later, in Hartford. The film was not a milestone of cinematography, although my personal reviews were good. After a Milan opening in 1967, it ran in Italian theatres for a while and then moved on to late-night Mediaset TV. Some time later, I was surprised to hear from someone who had seen it late at night in the US. Very recently I happened upon it in an Internet listing under its original title as well as "Hybrid", which it had apparently acquired in transit -- and which doubtlessly handled better, especially in translation. I borrowed a copy, on reels, and showed it in a Montreux cinema  to my parents, James Mason, and Vivi Crespi, who were all generously indulgent.
 
I had been living in Milan, then Monza since December, 1959. I thank Dane for reducing my age. My Italian was pretty good. I was checking translations, and writing newspaper articles. Everyone spoke Italian during the shooting as a guide for dubbing, which, at the time, was common practice for the dialogue of native speakers as well as foreign actors. It was done mostly at Fonoroma by a handful of skilled specialists (with ubiquitous voices), largely because of technical considerations. If memory does not deceive me, Claudia Cardinale was the first major Italian actress who successfully insisted that her own voice be recorded, charmingly husky quality and all.
 
"Dimitri": I have often been awarded the superfluous "i", more often in Italy than elsewhere, perhaps because of the exigencies of the euphonious language.
 
I think I have answered all the questions. Hospital life allows some extra time. But I'll be happy to regain my liberty tomorrow.
 
If Dane or anyone else can help, I would happily acquire the film, on any support including DVD, for old time's sake, since all I have are a few stills.
 
Best greetings,
 
DN
-------------------------------------------------------
Film synopsis supplied by DBJ from site A-Z


      UNA IENA IN CASSAFORTE (1967)  AKA Hybrid     IT (thriller)
      Director:        Cesare Canevari
      Writer:           Alberto Penna, Cesare Canevari

      Editor:            Enzo Monache

      Music:           Gian Piero Reverberi

      DP:               Claudio Catozzo

      Staring:     Dmitri Nabokov , Marie Luise Greisbergi , Ben Salvador ,
Alex Morrison , Karina Kar , Stan O'Gadwin , Otto Tinard , Cristina Gaioni ,

        Several men and women make their way to a large mansion as guests.
They relax for a while, then get down to the business that they are there
for. A rich man called Boris has died and left a fortune of diamonds in a
huge safe. Someone pulls a lever and the steel casket rises from a pool in
the garden. Each of the guests has a key, and the safe can only be opened
when all keys are used. However, one of the guests for the life of him can't
find his key. The angry guests suspicions are centered towards Janine, but
even a strip search reveals nothing. Everyone mopes around until the early
hours of the morning, getting more and more stressed. The guy who lost his
key is so distraught that he loses control completely, and falls from the
building to his death.
        Still everyone thinks Janine has the missing key, or at least knows
where it is, but she is later found murdered in her room. The woman who
found her decides to leave while she's still alive. Keith, one of the other
guests, is having none of it. He uses his cane with retractable blade to
kill her and takes her key. It becomes harder to keep track of the treachery
and deceit as everyone does their best to get the upper hand. The building
that they're in is quite old but it's full of modern hi-tech equipment. The
best part is when one of the guests gets drowned in a garage. Water is let
in, and the doors sealed off, all by remote control. The ending of Una iena
in cassaforte has a certain inevitability about it, but it's done quite well
and is even quite psychedelic. Then right at the end, the "FINE" message
stays in the bottom corner of the screen pulsating for the final couple of
minutes as the final twist occurs, very strange!

        The music is quite different than most Italian thrillers, much more
up-beat. Perhaps it would have been better suited to a comedy or a Diabolik
style spy movie? Una iena in cassaforte is a strange kind of film that is
quite hard to categorise. The title translates as "The hyena in the safe"
which makes it sound rather giallo-ish. But it isn't really a proper giallo,
maybe a thriller with a touch of intrigue. The basic idea of a group of
greedy guests hoping to cash in on a rich mans death is a very familiar one.

        Cesare Canevari was a minor director of Italian exploitation films,
who is more famous for the Nazi death camp film Gestapo's last orgy which is
still banned in the UK.



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----- Original Message -----
From: "Dane Gill" <pennyparkerpark@hotmail.com>
To: <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2004 1:13 PM
Subject: Una Jena in cassaforte



>
> ----------------- Message requiring your approval (13
lines) ------------------
> Greetings
> Una Jena in cassaforte is the name of an Italian film from 1967. It stars
> someone named Dimitri Nabokov? Is this DN with a slight name change or a
> bizare coincidence? I understand that DN can now speak Italian, but wether
> or not he could at age 25 is unknown to me, plus I don't know what he was
> doing in 1967. Could someone who either knows the film or DN's activities
in
> 67 please clarify this. Thanks
> Dane Gill