Casta diva (1935): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1935, Casta diva is a drama and music film directed by Carmine Gallone, running about 87 minutes.

What it’s about. Martha Eggerth heads the cast of Casta Diva, but the central character is famed Italian composer Vincenzo Bellini, here played by American actor Phillips Holmes. Paying but scant attention the facts, the film concentrates on Bellini's colorful love life. Evidently the film went through several rewriting processes, as witness the curious performances of Donald Calthrop and Arthur Margetson, whose characters do complete about-faces halfway through the story. Amidst so many British accents, Martha Eggerth's Polish intonations seem out of place, but she photographs beautifully and sings quite well. Casta Diva was attractively filmed on location in Naples. Not to be confused with the 1954 remake (by Gallone himself) or to the English language version "The Divine Spark" (also directed by Gallone and starred by Eggerth).

Who’s in it. Casta diva stars Mártha Eggerth as Maddelena Fumarol, Sandro Palmieri as Vincenzo Bellini, Gualtiero Tumiati as Niccolò Paganini and Lamberto Picasso as Fumaroli, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 5.8/10, Casta diva has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Casta diva page.

If you liked it. Fans of Casta diva tend to enjoy The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, Schindler's List and The Godfather Part II.