Eduardo de Filippo Movies

A couple with marital problems hopes to find new spirit living in a haunted house in this arcical comedy. Pasquale (Vittorio Gassman) and Maria (Sophia Loren) are a couple who are married, but not at all happily; he's a chronically unemployed musician, she can't stand her husband, and they've both decided they'd be better off dead. However, when their suicide pact goes wrong and both are still alive, Maria decides to pay a visit to Alfredo (Mario Adorf), who ran the orphanage where she was raised. Alfredo has had a lustful eye on Maria ever since she was a teenager, and he sees the current turn of events as a perfect opportunity to break up her marriage. Alfredo offers to "help" the couple by having them housesit at an old mansion which is said to be haunted; unknown to them, Alfredo has secreted himself away in the house in order to drop clues that ghosts walk. Adding to the confusion, Pasquale decides to make some extra money by renting out one of the rooms to a streetwalker, Sayonara (Margaret Lee), which leads Maria to suspect that her husband is either the new lodger's customer or her pimp. Marcello Mastroianni also makes a cameo appearance. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Marcello Mastroianni stars in this film which combines much of the 1965 release Paranoia with new footage. A police inspector is told of the bizarre behavior of a pistol-packing papa who shoots blanks at his wife to keep her intimidated. He inserts a real bullet every so often just to let her know she should pay attention. Another story has Mastroianni as a man who tries to sell his blonde wife to a wealthy sheik with a large harem. His wife has her own ideas and sells her husband instead as an addition to a male harem. He is condemned to servitude as the beautiful blonde steps into a luxury car and leaves him in the desert. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Each of the episodes in the three-part Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (Ieri, Oggi E Domani) stars Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni. In "Adelina-Naples," Loren and Mastroianni are married, and Loren is in trouble with the law. Each time the authorities close in, Loren eludes capture by revealing a swollen belly; back in 1964, Italian law forbade the arrest of a pregnant woman until six months after the child's birth. In "Anna," Loren is married to a wealthy industrialist and has an affair with Mastroianni. So obsessed is she with material possessions that she's willing to walk out on Mastroianni when he smashes her sports car. And in "Mara," high-priced prostitute Loren attracts the attention of a young seminary student, but refuses to seduce him -- then takes a vow of chastity, aggravating her regular customer (Mastroianni). While the first episode is the funniest, it was the last episode which received the most press-coverage, thanks to Loren's "striptease" scene, revealing La Loren in skimpy bra and panties (a bit parodied by the stars in Robert Altman's otherwise-dreadful Prêt-à-Porter). Though the title Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow has absolutely no relation to the film at hand, it is a far more appealing cognomen than the film's British release title, She Got What She Asked For. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this war drama, a band of Italian soldiers, elated to hear that the war is finally over, promptly desert and head for home. Only two soldiers remain loyal to the army and they promptly begin heading back to the main forces. En route they are enticed by partisan soldiers who want the two to join them. Later they are joined by more soldiers. One of them is arrested by the Fascists for concealing an American paratrooper. When the two finally return, the Germans force them to work on a road gang. They are attacked by partisans, and one of the soldiers escapes. His partner is shot so the soldier joins the rebels. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This romantic Italian anthology film is comprised of six episodes that deal with a century of love. The first vignette, "Garibaldin," set in 1854, follows a rebellious priest who attempts to sway others to his beliefs. "Pendolin" examines a philandering wife's affair with a hotel porter who really only wanted to give her her lost earrings. "Purification" follows an honorable soldier who refuses to convey his commanding officer's last words to his unworthy girlfriend. In the fourth episode, "Golden Wedding," an elderly couple celebrate their wedding anniversary and discover mutual disillusionment. "The Last Ten Minutes" examines the efforts of a priest and a condemned man to conceal the truth about the man's crime from his wife. Finally, in "Amore," which is set in 1954, a father tries to persuade his daughter's husband to stay married to her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Napolitani a Milano (Neapolitans in Milan) was co-written and directed by Eduardo De Felippo, himself a Naples native. De Felippo also plays the leading role, a slum-dweller named Salvatore. When a new housing project is built, Salvatore and his neighbors are evicted. Five of these neighbors refuse to vacate, and are killed when the building they're living in collapses. Led by Salvatore, a group of friends and relatives (more than the victims actually had!) march to Milan, demanding financial restitution. Despite its seemingly sober subject matter, Napolitani a Milano is essentially a comedy, with a few brief romantic interludes featuring Frank Latimore and Anna Maria Ferrero. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Seven Deadly Sins is a portmanteau film (a la Quartet and O. Henry's Full House) assembled by some of the biggest talents in the Italian and French film industry. The film's six sections (one containing two sins) are designed by separate titles, which should be self-explanatory. "Avarice and Anger" stars its director, Eduardo DeFilippo, as a miser who comes to grief. "Lust," directed by Yves Allegret, contrasts minor flirtation with major sexual passion. "Pride," directed by Claude Autant-Lara, details the fall from grace of a snooty mother and daughter. The other episodes include "Sloth," directed by Jean Dreville; "Envy," directed by Roberto Rosselini; and "Gluttony," directed by Carlo Rim. An eighth sin, directed by Georges Lacombe and starring Gerard Philipe, is thrown in as a comic bonus. Seven Deadly Sins is a lot of fun, though each of the individual episodes could use a little work in the continuity department. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ragazze di Piazza di Spagna is better known by its English-language title Three Little Girls from Rome. The girls in question are Marisa, Elena and Lucia, played respectively by Lucia Bose, Cosetta Greco and Liliana Bonfatti. All three work in a fancy Roman house of fashion, and all three have aspirations beyond the confines of their current work. Eventually Marisa becomes a top fashion model, but at the expense of her personal happiness. Elena has her heart broken by her bookkeeper boyfriend. And Lucia flits from romance to romance, eventually "landing" on a race-horse jockey. There's more to the story than this, of course, but to reveal more would spoil the viewer's enjoyment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Playwright Eduardo de Fillipo not only adapted his theatrical piece Filumena Marturano to the screen, but also starred in it and directed as well. de Fillipo's sister Titina plays the title character, a Neapolitan mother who is determined to "legitimize" her three out-of-wedlock children. She targets her ex-lover Domenico Soriano (de Fillipo), a disillusioned rouge, as her future husband. The latter prefers much younger bedmates, but Filumena isn't about to give up without a fight -- albeit a gentle and loving one. Like many of Eduardo de Fillipo's films, Filumena Marturano took some time before achieving an American release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Gina Lollobridgida was a virtual unknown in the U.S. when Campagne a Martello was released to English-speaking countries in 1950. Critics said then what they'd say later: as an actress, Gina was very pretty. The story concerns an Italian prostitute named Agostina (Lollobridgida) who is left without a steady source of income when the American GIs go home. Returning to her own island village, Agostina is secure in the knowledge that she has a sizeable financial nest egg waiting for her. Alas, the money has been rerouted to a home for orphaned and illegitimate children. Incurring the wrath of the locals by demanding that her money be returned, Agostina eventually sees the error of her ways. Director Luigi Zampa shot this film at the same time as an English version with different actors. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide