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Filmed in 1940, This elaborate costume drama is based on a historical novel by Thomas Grossi. Carlo Ninchi stars as Marco Visconti, head of the Milanese militia during the Middle Ages. When not fighting for the liberty of his countrymen, Visconti is engaged in a rivalry over the love of beautiful aristocrat Rice del Balzo (Mariella Lotti). Since he'd once been in love with the girl's mother, Visconti feels that he has a proprietary right to the heroine, but his younger, handsomer cousin Ottorino (Roberto Villa) has other ideas. Surprisingly laid back for a historical epic, the film bursts into life during the action sequences, which include a lively jousting tournament. As he did for many foreign films in the late 1940s, film critic Herman G. Weinberg provided the English-language subtitles for Marco Visconti.