History

Proud of being the youngest Italian graduate (he obtained his degree in law aged 18 years with a thesis on copyright in cinematographic work), he began his career in cinema very early, working where he could in his father’s trade, later flanking him in production and finally replacing him at the head of Titanus in 1950. Goffredo Lombardo inaugurated his resplendent career by dedicating the third remake of the melodrama I figli di nessuno (Raffaello Matarazzo, 1951) to his mother, who had acted in it in 1921.

In his first years of activity he already showed himself as a skilful and enterprising businessman, but he did not limit his producer career to the purely financial aspect: on the contrary, he took part in the creation of formats, script-writing and the discovery of promising actors and directors, exposing himself to personal risks in defending certain hazardous projects. The films put together by Titanus have some aspects in common as Lombardo scrupulously followed script and preparation stages and, although he preferred to leave total independence on set to the director, he did not forego viewing ongoing work or edited material on a small editing-table set up in his studio, and from there he would suggest (or sometimes impose) adjustments or cuts.

Lombardo is part of that group of old-style producers who created cinema for passion, a passion that would make Titanus a trademark par excellence in Italian cinema.

Hereafter the images of the photographic album realized by "The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences" in 1963 for Goffredo Lombardo. 

“Mondo sommerso” is the first Italian magazine dedicated to the underwater world. It was founded in July 1959 following the intuition of Goffredo Lombardo, a great lover of underwater diving, “to contribute to the knowledge of an indestructible, poetic, gigantic, mysterious element: the Sea”. The magazine would publish numerous photographs of the producer and his wife Carla, shot on board their boat Angelique, often with rich fishing hauls. It would also present photos of famous Italian actresses who lent their image, thus contributing a touch of glamour to the magazine.

Gustavo Lombardo was just a boy, in Naples in 1904, when he gave up on becoming a lawyer in order to start a business which would establish itself in time as the greatest Italian film company: Titanus. His meeting with Leda Gys would do the rest. It took place after a few years, when the very young actress was already building up a career that was going to make her the most contended interpreter of Italian silent cinema. Their son, Goffredo, inherited Titanus in the first post-WWII years, making it the reference trademark for hundreds of films. Goffredo launched a most effective producing policy: he used blockbusters to invest funds in research and experimenting. Thus some unforgettable masterpieces in Italian filmography were released under the Titanus brand such as Il bidone (F. Fellini, 1955), Rocco and his brothers (L. Visconti, 1960 ), Girl with a suitcase (V. Zurlini, 1961), I giorni contati (E. Petri, 1962) and The Leopard (L. Visconti, 1963).
Today, the baton has passed on to his son Guido. From grandfather, to father and son, a hundred years have gone by. The panorama is different. The final screen is now television's. But the most famed Italian factory for “motion pictures" continues to produce thrills.

Giselda Lombardi, Leda Gys on set, was one of the most beloved actresses in the last period of Italian silent cinema. She officially began her career in 1913, immediately standing apart from the great divas of the age in being so photogenic and in the spontaneity of her acting. Great influences on her career were Mario Caserini and Giulio Antamoro, who gave her the part of the Madonna in the film Christus (1916). She was subsequently hired by Poli-Film, but she only established herself as one of the most important stars in Italian cinema with Lombardo Film. In fact, immediately sensing the actress’s great potential, Gustavo Lombardo made her act in several films in which she alternated melodramatic performance with the more jaunty sort, typical of brilliant comedies, extremely naturally. Amongst her more well-known titles were Friquet (Gero Zambuto, 1919), Il miracolo (Mario Caserini, 1920), Scrollina (Gero Zambuto, 1920), the trilogy I figli di nessuno (Ubaldo Maria Del Colle, 1921) and La pianista di Haynes (Ubaldo Maria Del Colle, 1921).

Gustavo Lombardo and Leda Gys were not only linked by a professional connection but also by a sentimental relationship, crowned in 1920 by the birth of their son Goffredo. Leda Gys would continue to perform for more ten years, acting in four very successful Neapolitan films, among her others, directed by Eugenio Perego: Vedi Napule e po’ mori! (1925), Napoli è una canzone (1927), Napule e… niente cchiù! (1928) and Rondine (1929).

With La signorina Chicchiricchì (Eugenio Perego, 1929) she left the set, at the apex of her career, to dedicate herself to private life and to her son Goffredo. This same film ended the Neapolitan venture for Lombardo-Film, which transferred its base to Rome, renewing its name and its vision in production.