The Golden Coach 1952

In a remote 18th-century Peruvian town, the Le Viceroy [Duncan Lamont] orders a magnificent golden coach, hoping to pay for it with public funds. There is chatter that he plans to gift it to his mistress, the Marquise [Gisella Mathews], but he insists the purpose is to awe the people and flatter the local nobility, who eagerly anticipate the chance to parade in it. By coincidence, the coach arrives on the same ship as an Italian commedia dell’arte troupe, a lively mix of men, women, and children who perform as singers, actors, and acrobats. The troupe is led by Don Antonio [Dante], who also embodies the stock character of Pantalone on stage, and features Camilla [Anna Magnani], who plays the cheerful Columbina.

Once the troupe refurbishes the town’s dilapidated theater, their performances begin to win the crowd, especially when Ramón [Riccardo Rioli], the town’s bullfighter, is won over by Camilla and joins in the applause. A command performance at the Viceroy’s palace draws even the gentry, who hold back their praise until the Viceroy signals his approval and requests a meeting with the troupe’s women. Camilla’s warmth and humor soften him, and he becomes genuinely charmed. When the Viceroy sends Camilla a splendid necklace, her jealous admirer Felipe [Paul Campbell] erupts in anger, trying to seize it backstage and triggering a riot that forces him to flee and enlist in the army.

The Viceroy then reveals that he will pay for the coach with his own money and present it to Camilla. This move stirs anger among the Marquise and the rest of the nobility, who are already resentful over his demands for funds to fund a military campaign against an insurgency. Led by the Duke [Ralph Truman], the nobles threaten to strip him of his post unless the coach is handed over to the government for official use only. As the tension peaks, Camilla, who has been listening in, enters and bluntly calls him a little man before snatching the coach and making a swift exit.

After a triumphant bullfight, Camilla tosses Ramón her necklace, which emboldens him to visit her that night and propose they become a celebrity couple to boost their earnings as performers. She contemplates this, even as Felipe’s hold over her grows stronger, and the possibility of returning the coach to Ramón weighs on her. Their plans are interrupted by a visitor; Camilla sends Ramón to alert the Viceroy that she now belongs to Ramón, but instead Felipe arrives to take her to live among the natives, a prospect she accepts, though she cannot bring the coach with her.

The Viceroy arrives, Camilla leaves Felipe to inform him of her decision, and soon discovers that the Viscount has defied the nobles and hopes the Bishop will approve their move. Feeling guilty, Camilla questions her own actions, while Felipe and Ramón clash in a sword fight and burst into Camilla and the Viceroy’s space. Camilla commands both men to go away, the Viceroy exits, and the two men are arrested outside.

The next morning, the Bishop [Jean Debucourt] enters the palace and announces that Camilla has given the coach to the Church, which will use it to transport the last sacraments to the dying. The Viceroy retains his position, and the Bishop calls for peace and reconciliation among the disputing factions.

As the curtain falls, Don Antonio breaks the fourth wall to remind Camilla that, as an actress, her true self and happiness are found onstage. She wonders if Felipe, Ramón, and the Viceroy truly exist anymore, and Don Antonio replies that they do not. She answers with a small, rueful honesty: “A little.”

“A little.”