A Bell For Adano (1945) 480p Gene Tierney John Hodiak

Drama | War | USA | B&W | 100min | Dir: Henry King Cast: Gene Tierney, John Hodiak, William Bendix, Glen Langan, Richard Conte, Harry Morgan, Reed Hadley, Stanley Prager In WWII, a U.S. Army Major and his troops are tasked with administering the war damaged Italian town of Adano where the locals decry the loss of the town bell. The story concerns Italian-American U.S. Army Major Joppolo (John Hodiak), who is placed in charge of the town of Adano during the invasion of Sicily. Major Joppolo asks the town elders what the town needs most: some say food but most say "a bell" and his curiosity is raised. The priest explains that the whole heart of the town's activities centred upon the bell ringing. He then starts a long struggle to replace the 700-year-old bell that was taken from the town by the Fascists at the start of the war to be melted down for weapons. Adapted from the 1944 novel of the same title by John Hersey, which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1945. There was also a Broadway stage adaptation starring Fredric March which ran from December 1944 until October of 1945 at the Cort Theatre.