Walter Chiari Movies

Andrea (Luca Barbareschi) is a designer's dream, a consumer who has everything, including insecurities. He decides one day to take off and visit his father (Walter Chiari) who lives some distance away in the mountains; the two have not seen each other in 20 years. While the father is struggling with an attraction he has for a 14-year-old girl, his son is struggling with whether or not he should have an extra-marital fling. Morality is not given much weight by either. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This off-beat drama is set within the sleazy Pigalle sector of Paris. The tale centers on a song-and-dance team who work in a night club. When not at the club, the two work as prostitutes. One of the women ends up entangled in a kidnapping and is killed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The legendary Shakespearean character Sir John Falstaff, the notoriously drunken, obese, and yet charming companion of the young Henry V, steps up from supporting character in several plays to the central focus of Orson Welles' Chimes at Midnight, considered by many critics the best of the director's acclaimed Shakespeare films. The script borrows scenes from several plays, but draws most heavily on the two parts of Henry IV, focusing on the shifting relationship between Falstaff and Prince Hal. Beginning as the prince's companion in debauchery and idleness, the corpulent jokester finds himself falling out of favor as the prince comes to terms with the importance of his destiny as England's future leader. While Falstaff's ample wit is still much in evidence, the film places greater emphasis on the tragic character beneath all the joviality, with Welles perfectly embodying this mixture of spiritually youthful prankster and sad adult. While his towering performance naturally takes center stage, the other cast members are also superb. The film's visual elements are also strong, with Welles' attention to composition matching his sensitivity to character. There are technical imperfections due to the film's extremely limited budget, including an inconsistent soundtrack, but they are unable to overshadow the film's many achievements. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Based on a popular Australian novel, this comedy was produced Down Under in 1966. Nino Culotta Walter Chiari is an Italian journalist who is lured by his brother into coming to Australia to work for his paper there. But when Nino arrives in Sidney, he finds out that there is no paper; his brother has taken off with the investors' cash. Left in the lurch was his brother's business partner, Kay Kelly (Clare Dunne). Nino vows to pay off his brother's debt and gets a job as a bricklayer to do so. He also tries to woo Kay, but he is repeatedly rebuffed, with humorous results. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

In this French comedy, a clever fellow proves himself smarter than the gangsters who would exploit him. The trouble begins in Paris when the vacationing hero accidentally gets into an auto accident with a smuggler. The crook is most apologetic for the mishap and kindly offers to let him drive his Cadillac to Bordeaux and continue with his holiday. The poor traveler doesn't know that the vehicle is a black market on wheels carrying everything from jewels to heroine. He is pursued by the smuggler and by a rival gang. He is so busy enjoying himself that he doesn't bother to look back at the gun battles raging behind him. He ends up picking up two hitchhiking women and continuing his leisurely journey. When he finally realizes that they are using him, he drives the crooks right to the police station. Later he discovers that the steering wheel of the car contains the largest diamond in the world. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Cult icon Lucio Fulci directed this anthology set in a courtroom, where four cases of fraud and confidence are presented. Raimondo Vianello and pretty Dominique Boschero star in the first, a tale of a wealthy businessman accused of fraud. Franco Franchi and Ciccio Ingrassia, who starred in ten of their "Franco and Ciccio" comedies for Fulci, play conmen who convince people that they've discovered archaeological treasures and Antonella Lualdi highlights a tale of crooked nuns. Finally, a doctor (Walter Chiari) is implicated in meedical misdeeds. Margaret Lee, Umberto d'Orsi, and horror director Camillo Mastrocinque also appear. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

In a theme which seems to have been popular at this time in Italian cinema (as in La Parmigiana, for instance), country-born-and-bred woman Daniela (Daniela Rocca) comes to the big city to look for a wealthy man. Her dream is to one day live in a penthouse, that ultimate urban symbol of having "arrived" financially. Putting her ideal before all else, even her moral standards, she goes from bad to worse as she tries to realize her dream. This otherwise routine drama is interspersed with a few comic moments and sharp observations. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

A stellar international cast compensates somewhat for the rambling plotlessness of The Girl Game. The film takes place during Carnival Time in Rio De Janeiro. As unconfined joy wafts its way through the streets, the lives of several fabulously wealthy visitors and a group of voluptuous stewardesses intersect, sometimes with startling results. Sylvia Koscina and Mylene Demongeot are among the visual delights of this garish romp. Originally released at 125 minutes, The Girl Game (also known as Copacabana Palace and The Saga of the Flying Hostesses) was pared down to 90 minutes for its play-off dates. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set during one day in Retiro Park in Madrid, this series of static skits involves people interacting in the park or sitting on benches, and talking. People passing through the park include a gentleman looking for a wealthy woman to romance. The woman he encounters, and other characters, alternate between the comic and the melodramatic as the skits unfold. Based mainly on dialogue rather than action, this day in the park features talented actors with not that much to say underneath it all. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

A womanizing bachelor with a cynical outlook on marriage urges a young salesclerk to avoid tying the knot with his landlady's daughter in this comedy starring Vittorio De Sica and Walter Chiari. Luigi (De Sica) believes that marriage is a scam. He's doled out so much advice on the matter that he's earned the nickname "The Professor," and when smitten salesclerk Marcello (Walter Chiari) begins falling for his landlady's daughter, he comes to Luigi in search of advice. Though the Professor urges Marcello to get out of the relationship while he still can, it isn't long before wedding bells are ringing and Marcello is a walking down the aisle. When his new life turns into a waking nightmare, Marcello snaps and gets arrested for the murder of his wife and mother in law. But things aren't always what they seem in Marcello's world, and it doesn't take long for the truth to come out. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

This minor Italian comedy was released in the U.S. as Wives and Obscurities. Gino Cervi and Walter Chiari star as an American immigrant and his son who return to Cervi's Italian hometown after 35 years. While the girls in town are fascinated by Chiari's sophisticated veneer, the local males resent his Yankee behavior and target him for persecution and humiliation. Ultimately, Chiari is forced to stand up to his Italian tormentors and prove he's as good as any of them without hiding behind his fancy American convertible and flashy clothes. Some of the film's provincial humor is blunted by the English-language dubbing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide