Agostino Salvietti Movies

Sperduti nel Buio was released in the U.S. as Lost in the Dark. The film traces the ups and downs of three Neapolitan street musicians. Vittorio de Sica plays Nunzio, a blind violinist, while Enrico Glori portrays Paolo, a deaf clarinetist. Both are enamored of singer Paolina (Fiorella Berti), the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy nobleman (Sandro Ruffini). Neither Nunzio nor Paolo are aware of the girl's lineage; when Nunzio finds out, he tries all too late to arrange a reunion between father and daughter. Meanwhile, Paolina finds happiness in the arms of a humble sailor. Though it probably wasn't intentional, Sperduti nel Buio has much in common with the 1938 English comedy-drama Sidewalks of London. ~ 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

An episodic, funny, though uneven spoof of human manners and foibles, this comedy by Vittorio de Sica begins in Naples when a disembodied voice announces to the city's residents "The Last Judgment will begin at 6:00 p.m." Naturally, not all are immediately willing to accept this statement -- but not for long. As comic vignettes unfold, the good citizens soon become even better as they try to undo past and present sins, just in case. There is a long list of top actors that show up briefly in the story, everyone from Alberto Sordi to Jimmy Durante, Melina Mercouri, Anouk Aimée, Vittorio Gassmann, and many, many others. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, 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