Gastone Moschin Movies
- 1975
The famed Italian film director Pietro Germi (his sharply observant and satirical films include The Immoralist, and Divorce Italian Style) began work on this comedy, but died before he could do more than write the screenplay. However, he lived long enough to choose Mario Monicelli as his successor. In the story, four friends keep their friendship alive and their Tuscan town lively by means of an endless series of practical jokes and pranks of various sorts. Perozzi (Philippe Noiret) works on the night desk of a newspaper, reporting on crime. Mascetti (Ugo Tognazzi), an aristocrat, has seen better days. They are joined in mischief by Melandri (Gastone Moschin) and Necci (Duilio DelPrete), an architect and a cafe-owner by profession respectively. When the town doctor (Adolfo Celi) manages to outwit the collective efforts of the four, he is soon invited to join their little club. The rhythms of life in a cheerful provincial town are effectively unveiled in this zany and affectionate film. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ugo Tognazzi, Philippe Noiret, (more)
- 1982
In a series of vignettes that serve as a sequel to Amici Miei, director Mario Monicelli brings back several of his stars from the earlier movie to continue their antics in Florence, home of the friends of the title. All five are (or in some cases, were) close companions and have a penchant for practical jokes. Count Lello Mascetti (Ugo Tognazzi) may not have much money, but then he has an unattractive, pregnant, unmarried daughter to compensate. Prof. Sassaroli (Adolfo Celi) is a surgeon who decides to get back at a slightly senile loan shark, and the other friends range from a bar owner to a love-sick man. Together, they are sure to go from one unlikely situation to the next. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Noiret, Ugo Tognazzi, (more)
- 1964
Four different takes on the meaning of love comprise this Italian anthology. "Love and Language," the first tale, centers on the difficulties of a Sicilian immigrant who is unable to master proper Italian. the second tale "Love and Life" centers on a jealous and unhappy wife who becomes so desperate to be free of her constantly philandering husband she takes on a lover of her own. When that doesn't work, she hires a gorgeous maid in hopes of finally getting proof that he is cheating. Unfortunately, things don't turn out quite the way she'd planned. In the third episode, "Love and Art" a nearly exhausted screenwriter hires a secretary to help manage his typing. She's a pretty lass and this makes his insecure wife crazy until he fires the female and hires a male secretary. Unfortunately, he too wants to write for the movies and soon begins making significant improvement to his boss's work making him a big success. The first screenwriter is so happy about this that he doesn't mind when his secretary begins having an affair with his wife. "Love and Death," the final episode centers on the love affair between a middle-aged widower and the grieving young widow he meets at the cemetery. Unfortuantely for his bank statement, the young, impoverished beauty isn't as bereaved as she seems. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylva Koscina, Gastone Moschin, (more)
- 1962
When an insurance salesman comes to a small Italian town, he is mistaken for a Fascist official sent from Rome. He is greeted by town officials and has an audience with a man plotting a resistance movement. The innocent salesman is caught up in the political upheaval that swept Italy in the days leading up to World War II. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nino Manfredi, Gino Cervi, (more)
- 1959
In this comedy, a bungling gang leader and his henchmen attempt to swipe a suitcase full of loot from a soccer pool. The task seems simple enough, but the gang suffers a variety of zany mishaps before the leader finally gets hold of the money. Just as he gets it, he is arrested by the police for jaywalking. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vittorio Gassman, Renato Salvatori, (more)
- 1966
In this espionage drama, a leading American spy has a miniature camera surgically implanted in his eye, unbeknownst to him, and with it photographs secrets for the Russians, helping them gather information about a newly created death ray. The scientist who created it knew the secret could fall into enemy hands and so placed his secret plans into the skull of his unknowing daughter before he died. Meanwhile another spy begins following her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brett Halsey, Anna Maria Pier Angeli, (more)
- 1970
While Michele Lupo's skillful thriller is certainly Italian, it is more of a traditional mystery than most of its contemporaries. The plot is the standard one involving greedy heirs being killed off in a country house following the reading of a will. Daughter Anna Moffo gets everything, and before too long, the cast starts dropping like flies. Ida Galli, Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, and sexy maid Orchidea DeSantis are among the suspects and victims, while Lance Percival and Gastone Moschin appear as comic-relief cops from Scotland Yard. The ending is fairly clever, although regular followers of the form may find it a bit obvious. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1969
This spaghetti western features hippie outlaws battling French singer Hallyday. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1974
In this Italian film, the Communist Party rises above the abuses observed in Russia during the '30s. A dedicated party member is arrested for working with a man whose theories are suspect. She is sent to Siberia, but her faith is such that she waits out the end of the Stalinistic abuse of communism. After World War II she is deported but manages to rejoin her husband. Nonetheless, she is aware that the gulags are growing more crowded than ever before. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ingrid Thulin, Sergio Fantoni, (more)
This entry in the Italian crime film cycle of the '70s presents an interesting take on the format. Emergency Squad seems unusually postmodern for its time because it places an equal amount of dramatic focus on its hero and its villain. The hero part is fulfilled by Ravelli (Tomas Milian), a cop consumed with the desire to get revenge on the crook who shot his wife to death during a robbery. The crook in question is Marseilles (Gastone Moschin), who is trying to assemble funds for his own retirement. As the revenge scenario moves toward the inevitable confrontation, Emergency Squad retains interest because it paints both leads in a complex fashion -- Ravelli's obsessive quest makes him as scary as he is sympathetic and the seemingly icy Marseilles reveals some surprisingly vulnerable sides to his character. Emergency Squad was the first of several Italian crime films for director Stelvio Massi, and star Tomas Milian would also become a mainstay of this genre. In 2005, Emergency Squad received a domestic DVD release from Mondo Macabro. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tomas Milian, Gastone Moschin, (more)
- 1964
This three-part Italian comedy with several pretty females is another in a long series of gang-directed efforts. Director Masimo Franciosa adds a surrealistic touch to "The Shower," the story of a dedicated husband who takes a liking to extramarital affairs. "The World Belongs To The Rich" is directed by Mino Guerrini and concerns an office worker who is tricked by his co-workers into believing he has won the lottery and become a millionaire. Guiliano Montaldo directs "The Swedish Wife" in which a husband (Renato Salvatori) shocks his traditional Italian family by returning from his honeymoon with an unconventional Swedish beauty. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gastone Moschin
- 1996
The three performers (one Italian, one Frenchman and one German) in a ramshackle and miniscule traveling circus are traveling through rural Italy looking for an audience when they encounter Father Gregorio who asks them to portray the three wise men in his village Christmas pageant. This comedy chronicles the many misadventures that ensue when they take the job. First they must deal with irate union actors, then with the women's chorus with whom they dallied, but their biggest problem comes when they must find an infant to play the baby Jesus. For some reason, everyone in town is childless and so the three hit the road in search of their Christ child. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1973
This film explores the events surrounding the assassination of Mussolini's chief political opponent, socialist Giacomo Matteotti (1885-1924). Matteotti (Franco Nero) was outspoken in his opposition to Mussolini and his principles. Because the investigation of the assassination by an honest judge (Vittorio De Sica) climbed up the rank and file of government officials and ultimately pointed directly to Mussolini himself, it made his political base very shaky, and he (Mario Adorf) moved from constitutional government to dictatorship. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Director Marco Vicario's sequel to his own Sette Uomini d'Oro, this similarly lighthearted crime film begins with The Professor (Philippe Leroy) and his men captured by American agents during a plot to steal a vault from a moving train. They are assigned to kidnap Castro-like Latin dictator Enrico Maria Salerno in order to avoid prosecution, and The Professor uses the mission as a convenient excuse to jack $7 million in gold from a nearby ship. Rosanna Podesta returns as the sexy Giorgia, and Vicario fills the film with campy setpieces including flying jet-packs and a bizarre ending circling back to the start of Sette Uomini d'Oro. Armando Travajoli's score is typical of its time, featuring a breathy female voice humming "oo-wah" to elevator music. This sequel seems unfocused compared to its tightly-knit predecessor, and is slightly disappointing as a result. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Leroy, Rossana Podestà, (more)
- 1968
In this satire, former Italian Resistance hero Natalino (Nino Manfredi) finds himself a total failure as a civilian. He becomes a mercenary when U.S. agents hire him to assassinate a neo-Nazi spy attempting to sneak his soft-drink formula to the communists. The Americans are to pay him $100,000 for the hit. His wife Elvira (Francoise Prevost) finds someone willing to do the job for half the amount. What should have been one gunman turns into five, each one chasing the other and the former Nazi for a coveted secret formula. The comedy comes full circle when the ex-Nazi is hidden in Natalino's apartment and makes love to his wife. After all assassination attempts fail, the spy confesses and kills himself. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nino Manfredi, Françoise Prevost, (more)
- 1962
Romance, sex, and marriage are the themes of this episodic Italian comedy. The first of the four vignettes, "The Women" tells the story of a bored adulterer who feels ignored by his gaggle of mistresses and decides to obsess upon seducing an old conquest one more time. He later inadvertently deflowers a virgin. In "The Serpent" an ignored wife endeavors to get her husband to pay attention to her while they are on a Sicilian holiday by faking an encounter with a poisonous snake. She later pretends that two helpful truck drivers, who picked her up after a breakdown, raped her causing their arrest. Later the husband arrives, explains his wife's behavior and promises to be more mindful of her. In "The Soldier" a soldier attempts to seduce a lovely widow during a train ride. She ignores him until all the other passengers leave then in utter silence makes passionate love. Later when the train reaches its destination, the soldier tries to follow her, but her relatives stop him. She gets into a car and disappears down the road. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claudia Mori, Catherine Spaak, (more)
- 1968
This satirical comedy illustrates that women are just as likely to succumb to the pleasures of the flesh as their male counterparts. Carol Baker enjoys a series of unashamed romantic romps with three different men. She tells her story to a homosexual male friend and a six-month-old cheetah when she is not enjoining the benefits of her harem. Her cozy arrangement is upset quickly when the men in her life get together and decide to take charge of their situation. Its slight nudity marked this film as an "exploitationer," but those seeking pornographic titillation will be disappointed, as the story is its main focus. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- 1970
This Swiss-made film, in the '70s Disney vein, concerns a scientist (Dean Jones) looking for the cure for the common cold. Instead, he discovers the secret of invisibility, and must struggle with his faithful sheep dog to keep the formula from being captured by evil forces. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Filmed from a child's viewpoint, this gripping drama follows the exploits of a doctor, his wife and their three children after they flee Rome in war-torn 1943 to find safety on their grandfather's farm in Lazio. Shortly after their arrival, the children, ages five-to-seven and largely clueless about the war and their parents' fear, settle down to making new friends with the local kids and attending the local school. But as time passes, the war encroaches upon the children's lives in small ways and they come to discover a surprising secret about the much-loved grandfather. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1966
In this drama, a single woman approaching 40 grows bored of her affair with a married trucker and writes to a singles column. She ends up paired with an outwardly conservative bookstore clerk. During their date, he drinks and soon turns into a rude, crude, drunken slob. She is mortified until he apologizes. She forgives him and they have sex. In the morning they resume their former lives. Perhaps they will meet again. Perhaps not. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sandra Milo, François Perier, (more)
