Glauco Onorato Movies

Renato (Ugo Tognazzi) and Albin (Michel Serrault), the internationally popular homosexual couple from La Cage Aux Folles, return in this sequel directed by Edouard Molinaro. In this go-round, Renato and Albin find themselves innocent victims of an espionage ring and become involved with killers when several corpses begin to turn up. They are sought for some missing microfilm and through a series of convoluted circumstances are forced to flee, hiding out with Renato's family on their farm. Once there, Albin becomes an object of lust for a group of lonely farmhands. Benny Luke and Michel Galabru also reprise their roles from the first film. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

This bloody and comical look at the 1848 Italian revolution was director Dario Argento's only foray outside the horror-thriller genres. Adriano Celentano wanders Milan with a goofy baker and witnesses the growing corruption and horror that turns a just cause into senseless violence, rape, and mayhem. The script, co-written by Luigi Cozzi, isn't very funny -- the most amusing part of the film involves a squashed rat in a guy's mouth -- and proved to Argento that comedy was not his forte. Fans of the director will find it worthwhile, but the script is so insular that non-Italians are likely to find most of it uninvolving. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

The first Italian feature film shot in Moscow was directed by the renowned Vittorio De Sica and produced by Carlo Ponti. Sophia Loren stars as Giovanna, an Italian woman who marries Antonio (Marcello Mastroianni) 12 days before the outbreak of WWII. Antonio has no desire to fight in the conflict, and he fakes insanity to try to avoid the draft, but officials see through the charade. Antonio is sent to the Russian front, where the soldiers are plagued by freezing temperatures and short supplies of rations. He is found half-dead in the cold by a Russian peasant girl, Mascia (Lyudmila Savelyeva). She takes him in, and eventually, they marry. Giovanna waits in vain for word on the fate of her husband, who is officially declared missing in action. She goes to Russia to try to find him, searching records and cemeteries. Finally, she discovers first his new wife, then him, and reluctantly decides not to fight the situation. Returning home to Italy, she marries an older factory worker, Ettore (Germano Longo), and they have a son (who is played by the real-life son of Ponti and Loren). But Antonio still longs for Giovanna, and he returns to Italy to discuss a reconciliation with her. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

This anthology features three chilling horror stories. "Il Telefono" is credited to Guy de Maupassant, although he never wrote such a story, and concerns a woman (Michele Mercier) receiving telephone calls from beyond the grave. "Wurdulak", by Alexei Tolstoi, stars Boris Karloff as an aging vampire who can only feed on those he loves. Co-starring Mark Damon and Susy Andersen, it is clearly the best story of the three. The final tale, "La Goccia d'Acqua," is falsely credited to Anton Chekhov. It features Jacqueline Pierreux stealing a ring from a corpse she is preparing for burial, only to be murdered by the old woman's ghost. The American version differs in four major areas: the print is shorter, the stories appear in a different order, there is a linking device with Karloff speaking directly to the audience from a foggy void, and Roberto Nicolosi's musical score is replaced with one by lounge-icon Les Baxter. The American release of the film is also missing a comic coda featuring Karloff riding on horseback (or is he?); this appears in most Eurpoean prints of the film, including Mario Bava's original cut. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi