Totò Movies
The delightful Italian stage and screen comedian Toto was born to a prominent but penniless Neapolitan family at the turn of the century. Following World War I service, Toto first took to the stage as music-hall revue comic. Firmly established in the legitimate Italian theater by 1936, he made his first film appearance in Fermo con le Mani. So popular was he by the late 1940s that his movie vehicles often incorporated his name in the titles: some of these, notably Toto e Cleopatra, Toto d'Arabia and Toto Sexy, were parodies of established "serious" film genres. Toto has often been described as "The Italian Fernandel," even though the only common denominater between the two comedians was the unbridled adulation of the public. In 1958, European audiences were treated to the long-awaited teaming of Toto and Fernandel in the satirical comedy The Law is the Law. Toto died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 69, shortly after completing his final feature, Capriccio all'Italiana (1968) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1949
Toto, the brilliant Italian comic actor, frequently appeared in parodies of previous movie hits. Toto le Moko is a lampoon of Jean Gabin's Pepe le Moko, and as such plays best if one is familiar with the Gabin picture. Toto plays the cousin of notorious Pepe le Moko, leader of all illegal activities in the Casbah. When Pepe disappears, Toto is obliged to take his place. Through a combination of a magic potion and sheer dumb luck, Our Hero manages to keep himself alive, and also finds time to dally with several desirable lovelies. But when Pepe returns, there's you-know-what to pay. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Totò, Gianna Maria Canale, (more)
- 1949
It is hardly necessary to note that the star of Totò cerca casa is popular Italian farceur Toto. Nor does it require a PhD to figure out the film's plotline. That's right: Totò wants to find a place to hang his hat, but the postwar Italian housing shortage makes this difficult. The "plot" is merely a series of anecdotes, some hilarious, others only moderately amusing. The glue that holds the enterprise together is Totò, who can make anything work. Totò cerca casa was the first of the comedian's four 1950 efforts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Totò, Aroldo Tieri, (more)
- 1949
Italian film comedian Toto was usually better than his material. L'Imperator di Capri is one of a handful of films that is truly worthy of Toto's farcical skills. The plot is a familiar one for the star, involving mistaken identity, close shaves, and a dalliance with a beautiful woman. Forced to pose as a visiting Indian prince, Toto does his best to carry off the deception while visiting the island of Capri. This time, he must contend with the amorous advances of two well-proportioned ladies, played by Yvonne Sanson and Marisa Merlini. Writer/director Luigi Comencini manages to extract the best of Toto and his idyllic surroundings in this frantically funny film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Totò, Yvonne Sanson, (more)
- 1952
The English-language title of Toto a Colori is Toto in Color -- and it delivers on this promise. For the first time in his film career, that matchless Italian comedian Toto goes through his paces in living Ferraniacolor. There's not much of a plot: Toto performs several of his favorite stage routines before an enthusiastic audience. The best of these include a "human puppet" routine and a sketch involving a female pickpocket. While the color is pleasing to the eye, little is done to exploit its aesthetic value; one would have liked to see a few gags involving garish color schemes, colorful emotional mood-swings, and such. Supporting the star throughout the film's 100 minutes are Isa Barizza, Fulvia Franco, Franca Valeri and Galeazzo Benti. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Totò, Isa Barzizza, (more)
- 1953
Aldo Fabrizi is both director and co-star of the Italian Una di Quelle (One of Those). Basically, however, the film is a vehicle for the inspired film-clown Toto. The latter plays the ardent suitor of a seemingly respectable young widow named Maria. Actually, Maria is a prostitute, albeit an inept and unsuccessful one. With Toto's "help," she manages to bungle her first -- and last -- assignment, culminating in an emergency visit to a doctor (played by Fabrizi). What might have been treated as a turgid drama by Hollywood, emerges as a lovable comedy under the careful guidance of Signor Fabrizi. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Totò, Aldo Fabrizi, (more)
- 1953
This Italian anthology is comprised of five separate episodes. In the first tale, two impoverished parents must leave their baby because they cannot afford to feed it. The second concerns two aristocrats who have fallen into poverty and end up reunited when they both are cast as extras in a movie. The third tale centers upon a priest as he attempts to counsel a suicidal woman. The next tale looks at a happy cabby. Finally, a beautiful woman tries to evade an obsessed stalker with a video camera. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1954
Vittorio De Sica, Cesare Zavattini, and Giuseppe Marotta wrote this anthology of tales depicting various aspects of Neapolitan life, with the emphasis of poignancy and comedy: "The Racketeer" features Toto with a gangster as his unwanted house guest; "Pizza On Credit" gave Sophia Loren one of her first starring roles, as a wayward wife who loses her wedding ring; "The Gambler" stars De Sica in a hilarious performance as a compulsive gambler whose rich family won't give him money, so he's reduced to playing cards with the young son of his servant; "Theresa" features Silvana Mangano as a prostitute who discovers that a man really does have to be crazy to marry her. (Two other episodes were cut for the film's U.S. release.) ~ Nicole Gagne, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Totò, Pasquale Cennamo, (more)
- 1958
If Hollywood could put the names of Abbott and Costello in the titles of the team's pictures, why couldn't Italy honor its favorite actors in a similar fashion. Toto, Vittorio e la Dotoressa stars that matchless Italian comic actor Toto, matinee idol/director Vittorio De Sica, and, as Dotoressa, sultry American songstress Abbe Lane. The plot concerns the misadventures of Dotoressa, a Neopolitan doctor who is pursued by a pair of her wackiest patients (DeSica and German Cobos). Frantically, Dotoressa turns to private detective Toto for help--and that's her first mistake. Adding to the general hilarity is up-and-coming slapstick comedian Darry Cowl in a supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Totò, Vittorio De Sica, (more)
- 1958
Fernandel plays a French customs sergeant who conducts an ongoing war of nerves with Italian smuggler Toto on the Franco-Italian border. The French sergeant discovers that, through a long-ago hospital mix-up, he is actually an Italian citizen. Now Fernandel is legally prevented from arresting Toto--and to make matters worse, he is the lawbreaker in Italian eyes because of his divorce and remarriage! The publicity attending the long-anticipated teaming of France's favorite funnyman Fernandel (born Fernand Joseph Desire Contandin) and his Italian counterpart Toto (born Antonio de Curtis Gagliardi Ducas Comneno di Bisanzio) helped to make The Law Is the Law one of the most successful films in both comedians' careers. The film, incidentally, was a French production (originally titled La Loi c'est la Loi), so in fact it was Toto, not Fernandel, who was the "alien." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
In this Italian sci-fi comedy, Toto is not a little dog, but an enormously popular comedian. The story centers on him as he and another embark upon a space race. Their efforts are hampered by aliens who clone the heroes to keep them from exploring further. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Mario Monicelli's classic crime comedy Big Deal on Madonna Street (I Soliti Ignoti) features Vittorio Gassman and Marcello Mastroianni as a pair of thieves who head a group of criminals in a break-in attempt. Their plan involves digging an underground tunnel from an apartment that leads to a neighboring business and drilling their way inside. In addition to each of the burglars struggling with individual personal problems, the group must reassess their plans after they find themselves not in the store, but a different room of the apartment from which they started. Big Deal on Madonna Street is a spoof of Jules Dassin's caper classic Rififi. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vittorio Gassman, Marcello Mastroianni, (more)
