Lino Banfi Movies

German and Italian sociocultural attitudes get roundly skewered in this satirical comedy from director Neele Leana Vollmar , adapted from a popular autobiographical work by Jan Weiler. Christian Ulmen stars as Jan, a German with plans marry his Italo-German fiancée, Maria (Mina Tander), in Campobello, Italy, the hometown of her father, Antonio (Lino Banfi). From the beginning, Jan loathed the idea of marriage in this unusual location, but begrudgingly agreed in order to keep Maria happy; once there, he instantly falls into fish-out-of-water mode amid the bronze-skinned, earthy Italians, and tension begins to build under the surface -- leading to increasingly outrageous events. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Perhaps taking a cue from the popular 1970s Brit television comedy "Are You Being Served?," this Italian department store comedy is a series of skits involving customers and store personnel from several departments. In one skit, Elena (Laura Antonelli) and her husband the personnel director, are certain that an inept salesman in the bathroom fixtures department is actually the son of the store's owner. They launch into a campaign to woo him over without bothering to check up on his credentials. In another skit, the famous Italian actress Ornella Muti, playing herself, walks into one of the men's departments and sends a salesclerk into near heart failure. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This undistinguished comedy in two acts features Lino Banfi as Altomare, the owner of an appliance store, who is obsessed with superstition, spells, and amulets to fight the "evil eye" that bedevils him, and Gaspare (Johnny Dorelli) a charlatan magician who through serendipity, encounters a real witch and is the happy recipient of her magic powers. Gaspare can retain those powers only on the condition that he bring her a pistachio ice cream when she asks for it. But even magic cannot do much for Altomare or Gaspare as long as they do not pay attention to the very practical, mundane matters in their lives. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Fracchia (Paolo Villaggio) is a timid office worker whose life is turned upside-down when a maniacal killer is photographed and looks exactly like him -- unfortunately, the police do not usually hang around long enough to tell the difference between the pallid Fracchia and his double, the psycho murderer (the "human beast.") This leads to a merry chase around a hospital with the killer, Fracchia, and the police going around and around in a nearly senseless sequence. Hopefully, the police will straighten things out before Fracchia ends up on the wrong side of the prison walls. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In the mid-'70s, Ciccio Ingrassia had a falling out with partner Franco Franchi -- with whom he co-starred in numerous popular "Franco and Ciccio" comedies before and after the quarrel -- and set out on his own, directing himself in this fairly amusing parody. Mimmo Baldi plays Luigi, the overweight son of a town mayor (Lino Banfi), who finds an amulet and takes it home. The demons inside it begin possessing the entire family. Ingrassia stars as a conman who pretends to be an exorcist, but ends up possessed as well. At one point, a Franchi impersonator is defenestrated, illustrating the depth of Ingrassia's feelings at the time. Ubaldo Lay co-stars with Tano Cimarosa and Didi Perego, and cultists will recognize Salvatore Baccaro (La Bestia in Calore, El Castello dell'Orrore) in a typically bizarre role. Well photographed by Guglielmo Mancori, although Marino Onorati's screenplay may not be very funny to those unfamiliar with the rather insular nature of many Italian comedies. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi