Much of Giuseppe Palmas' photographic archive is occupied by personalities from the world of film. And for a photographer who worked for the tabloids, it could not be otherwise. Throughout the decade of the 1950s, on the other hand, the cinema is by far the most popular form of entertainment, the one which creates the most idolized diva's, the names most closely followed and talked about. As early as 1951 Palmas' Rolleiflex captures such personalities and scenes such as the young Antonella Lualdi during the shooting of I due sergenti by Carlo Alberto Chiesa. At this point, however, his approach is random and casual, picturing mainly the filming site in Milan. Unfortunately there were very few films shot in and around Milan. Rome is the city of cinema and it is not by chance that Palmas decides to move to the capitol in early 1953. It is an important year for Italian cinema, in which the era of Neo-realism comes to an irreversible end (a few Neo-realistic films follow in successive years, but these are mostly episodic) leaving room mainly for the production of comedies and melodrama's (the latter which was already experiencing a box office boom thanks to the trilogy Catene, Tormento, and I figli di nessuno).

Next came the comedy, which began to gain in popularity over comic films starring a single actor (for example Totò, photographed by Palmas on many occasions including the shot of the Neapolitan actor at his home with young Maurizio Costanzo). In 1953 the comedy achieves its definitive popular consecration with Pane, amore e fantasia by Comencini, a film in which Palmas captures the first call for "Action!" with the typical nose of a photo journalist. The star of the film is the "bersagliera" Gina Lollobrigida, who in the series Il processo di Frine from Altri tempi directed by Blasetti, had already been called a bombshell ("maggiorata fisica"). And the bombshell is one of the elements which begin to characterize Italian cinema of the 1950s. It was more important for actresses to have a voluptuous physique than acting talent. This home made star cult also consisted of the "poor but beautiful" type which played on the contrast between sober plots and the mythic halo surrounding rather clamorous love affairs and behaviour which was often on the edge of being scandalous. The array of stars grows. Not all of them are really great and their popularity is brief. Nearly all of them have been captured by Palmas' flash, both in private settings (the list is rather long and goes from Loren to Ralli, including Pampanini, Milo, Sanson, Schiaffino, Allasio and Masina) as well as public occasions such as the "Silver Ribbon" awards (Lollobrigida and Magnani) or the "Gran galà del cinema" (Eleonora Rossi Drago) or the Venice Film Festival (Miriam Bru).

Although Palmas' only works occasionally on the set and portrays strictly leading actors and actresses - there are a few reportages from sets, such as Elena di Troia with the young Rossana Podestà pictured with Ulysses' wooden horse in the background, or Accadde al commissariato with Lucia Bosé and Walter Chiari - he took many portraits of starlets and aspiring actresses. Many girls aspiring to secondary roles were compelled to ask for Palmas' services for their portfolios. The names are many, from Nadia Bianchi to Edda Lancetti, from Marcella Marian to Wilma Viani, to name only a few. Some of them actually launched careers in secondary roles, while others never appeared in the titles nor the credits.

Another significant chapter covered by Palmas' camera is "Hollywood on the Tiber". Starting in the early 50's most American producers discovered the advantages of using the Cinecittł studios as well as the Italian workforce. While two American films, Il principe delle volpe (1948) by Henry King with Tyron Power and Quo vadis (1950) by Mervyn LeRoy, had already been produced in Italy, the real hallmark of that era of American films produced in Italy is Vacanze romane (1952) by William Wyler, with the princess incognito Audrey Hepburn and the smitten journalist Gregory Peck. Two years later the beautiful Ava Gardner and tough guy Humphrey Bogart arrived in Rome to film La contessa scalza: both came in front of Palmas' lens at various times. Other stars photographed by Palmas included William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Ingrid Bergman (soon-to-be Mrs. Rossellini), Audrey Hepburn (back in Italy for the filming of "War and Peace"), Anthony Quinn and Laurence Olivier. Palmas was an attentive witness to that carefree era, as shown among others by the photo of Ava Gardner surrounded by journalists and photographers in a state of total adoration.

By the end of the decade a different genre and new personalities had appeared on the scene. The era of auteur cinema led by Fellini (another favorite subject of Palmas) gained in importance, while comedy, in the context of the economic boom, became rougher and meaner. Giuseppe Palmas, before returning to his native Cesena, had the chance to portray the very young Brigitte Bardot, Claudia Cardinale and Catherine Spaak. These actresses were capable of driving mature middle-class men crazy and were destined to mark diverse and significant films of the coming years.

Antonio Maraldi