Assunta Spina is a 1915 Italian silent film. Outside Italy, it is sometimes known as Sangue Napolitano Neapolitan Blood.
The original novel from which the story was taken was written by Salvatore di Giacomo, and had been adapted to a successful theatre drama in 1909. Before Francesca Bertini became a famous actress, she would perform in this drama as a walkon in the laundry scenes. Five years later, when she had started her career as a film actress, she and actordirector Gustavo Serena adapted the drama for film. Bertini is sometimes listed as codirector of the film. The film stock was colorized withcolors and distributed worldwide by Caesar Film.citation needed One of the aims of creating this film was to reveal the subtle expressive power of filmmaking, compared to theatrical plays. Francesca Bertini fully displayed her talent for the first time, setting a new standard for acting on the silver screen. Her performance is generally rated as extraordinary, and in polar opposition to the work of writer and dramatist Gabriele DAnnunzio who was very popular at the time. ........
Source: Wikipedia