| The Assisi Underground | |
| Director: | Alexander Ramati |
| Screenplay: | Alexander Ramati |
| Music: | Dov Seltzer |
| Cinematography: | Giuseppe Rotunno |
| Editing: | Michael J. Duthie |
| Studio: | Golan-Globus Productions |
| Runtime: | 115 min |
| Country: | United States, Italy |
| Language: | English |
The Assisi Underground is a 1985 American-Italian film made for television, written and directed by Alexander Ramati. It is an adaptation of his 1978 novel, The Assisi Underground: The Priest who Rescued Jews, which is based on a true-life account by Father Rufino Niccacci of events surrounding the Assisi Network, an effort to hide 300 Jews in the town of Assisi, Italy during World War II. The film stars Ben Cross, Irene Papas, Maximilian Schell, Karlheinz Hackl, and James Mason in his final performance before his death in July 1984. His final role in a feature film was The Shooting Party.
In 1943 Franciscan priest Rufino Niccacci is asked by the bishop of Assisi Giuseppe Placido Nicolini to covertly rescue Italian Jews from the Nazis.
The film received a poor response from critics.[2] [3]
In 1998, The New York Times published an article about an Assisi resident who had come there as a refugee.[4]
On October 5, 2012, The National Catholic Register published a long two-part article pegged to the opening of a new exhibition based on 25 years of research into the city's role in saving thousands of refugees, including approximately 300 Jews.[5] [6]