In Sardinia, at the beginning of the twentieth century, the once powerful aristocratic Decherchi family is going through difficult times and is threatened with eviction. To be able to pay his debts, Don Paulu, the son, needs help. He seeks aid from Uncle Zua, an old miser, who rejects him bluntly. Upset by Paulu's misfortunes, Annesa, the servant girl adopted by the family and Paulu's lover, decides to kill Zua so that the Decherchis inherit from him...

A businessman marries Maria, the daughter of the rich professor, not for love but for personal gain. He betrays and humiliates her but she hides his despicable character from both her father and society at large and takes comfort in the company of a ship’s lieutenant. They fall in love but agree to interrupt their impossible relationship. Pregnant with her lover’s child, Maria decides to follow her heart and join him at sea but a series of dramatic events awaits them.

1942 film by Augusto Genina

Lieutenant Mario Ludovici, an army officer, gets himself transferred to a Libyan post when his romance with society girl Cristiana goes on the rocks. Ludovici is looked upon as a weakling by Captain Santelia, the hard-boiled commander of the troops, but after a bitter campaign against a rebel tribe Ludovici proves his true worth and returns as commander when Santelia is mortally wounded. Cristiana arrives and tries to entice him to return to Rome, but he decides to stay in Africa with the army.

This movie is a typical example of the cinema productions of 1910s. For today's viewer, the film serves an entirely different purpose. It's seen foremost out of curiosity about film-making in 1912, when a moving picture did not already exist for 20 years. Although it is not the first adaptation of the famous Shakespeare's drama (in 1908 ROMEO AND JULIET was filmed by J. Stuart Blackton), it is worth seeing thanks to its restored version with a new soundtrack and an intense feeling of its age.

The day broke the Spanish Civil War, Colonel Jose Moscardo, veteran of Africa, arrived in Madrid to prepare your trip to Berlin with the Spanish delegation that would participate in the Olympic Games. He learned of the military insurrection and quickly returned to Toledo. As commander of the square, Moscardó had no doubts, and at seven in the morning of July 21, 1936 issued the side of war. Aware of the precarious situation, entrenched in the Alcazar 1 800 people in place. Where he resisted constant attacks and bombings until the arrival of the national troops on September 27.