Caterina Boratto Movies

The murder of a millionaire has unexpectedly humorous results in this farcical comedy. When Phoebe (Sean Young) and Julian (Richard Lewis), two Americans on a tour of Europe, discover a lost dachshund, they learn that a $5,000 reward has been posted for the dog's return. Phoebe and Julian head to Monte Carlo to return the pet and claim the money, but they find that the dog's owner has been murdered -- and suddenly, they're suspects in the killing. As hapless detective Inspector Bonnard (Giancarlo Giannini) investigates the crime (imagining that the maid and butler must somehow be involved), he grills several other American tourists he believes are likely suspects, including gambling addict Augie Morosco (John Candy) and loud-mouthed suburbanites Neil and Marilyn Schwary (James Belushi and Cybil Shepherd). George Hamilton appears as an unusually opportunistic gigolo; former SCTV star Eugene Levy directed. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This Italian production was released directly to video, despite the casting of several well-known stars in leading roles. It is also somewhat remarkable for having no less than five alternate titles. In the story, Robert Domenici (Michael York) is a concert pianist suffering from a rare disease which produces super-rapid aging. On a visit to Venice during festival season he decides to take revenge on the world by killing and dismembering former girlfriends. He is nearly impossible to trace, as any description of his appearance rapidly becomes inaccurate. However, he meets his match in the wily Inspector Downey (Donald Pleasance), who persistently pursues him. This mild horror film also features Edwige Fenech, whose uncertain English has great charm. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this sympathetic biography of Claretta Petacci, Benito Mussolini's mistress of 10 years, the Petacci family is a primary source of information -- which introduces a definite bias on how she is viewed. Claretta met Mussolini in the mid-'30s and remained with him after he was dismissed in 1943 by King Victor Emmanuel (American and Allied forces invaded Sicily and started north to Rome at that time). Claretta's family also fled to the north, where Mussolini was set up in a puppet dictatorship by the Germans until the end of the war. Photographs of Mussolini and Claretta hanging from a gas-station pole in 1945 while crowds stare at their bodies were disseminated worldwide, yet information on them has been kept in the classified files of the Italian government. In this docudrama, Claretta is played by Claudia Cardinale and Claretta's younger sister Miriam Petacci, still alive in 1984, plays herself as she "meets" with a television reporter (Catherine Spaak) at Claretta's tomb to talk about her famous sister's life. Claretta and Mussolini (Gabriele D'Annunzio) first get together on the estate of a poet who supported Mussolini and were not separated once they became lovers. U.S. Army newsreels add verisimilitude to the story, but the script is too superficial and the treatment too overtly sentimental to sustain interest and may even alienate some viewers. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This talky French costume drama chronicles the adventures of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette as they attempt to flee Paris during the 1791 revolution. While en route to Varennes, the couple encounter and have philosophical debates with a number of fascinating historical figures including Thomas Paine and Restif de la Bretonne. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The final work of notorious Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini, this film updates the Marquis de Sade's most extreme novel to fascist Italy in the final days of WW II. Dispensing with the novel's meditations on sexual liberation and the search for truth, Pasolini presents four decadents who kidnap dozens of young men and women and subject them to the most hideous forms of torture and perversion in an isolated villa. Rape, murder, and a coprophagic banquet are only the beginning of the atrocities on display. Photographed by Tonino Delli Colli, the film also features a lavish score by Ennio Morricone. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

This Spanish/Italian melodrama concerns the rivalry between a mother and her daughter for the affections of a rakish drifter. The mother has known his affection before, but on this particular journey through their town, he is drawn to the girl instead. He takes her to his favorite assignation place, a nearby whorehouse, and they begin to see one another regularly, until one day the mother takes her place. The girl's response to this is somewhat drastic. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this nasty drama, a 17th-century Italian nun's long repressed sexual passion is awakened when a handsome nobleman rapes her. Confused by her unholy emotions, the nun sees that the aristocrat is arrested. Unfortunately, the louse impregnated her and shortly after bearing his child, she helps him escape from prison. Reunited, the two embark upon a passionate affair. One day another nun sees the two making love. Unfortunately, she dies before she can tell anyone. Later the offending nun is captured and given a life sentence for having sex and helping to murder her colleague. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Diabolik (John Phillip Law) is the criminal mastermind who has just pulled off a huge heist. He spends most of his free time with his girlfriend, Eva (Marisa Mell), in fond embrace. The police minister (Terry-Thomas) is approached by Valmont (Adolfo Celi), a master criminal who proposes to use his underworld connections to catch Diabolik for the police. In between their gratuitous lovemaking, he and the exotic Eva are chased by police and the mob in this plodding crime drama. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Director Alessandro Blasetti used an all-star Italian cast for this satirical comedy that pokes fun at the selfishness of humans and uses one character to link a series of comic vignettes. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

The postwar American popularity of Italian film stars Anna Magnani and Aldo Fabrizi resulted in the belated U.S. release of many of their earlier efforts. Completed in 1942 as Campo de Fiori, The Peddler and the Lady didn't make it to America until 1949. Per the film's English-language title, the story concerns a fish peddler (Fabrizi) who courts a wealthy young lady (Caterina Boratto). Magnani is consigned to the supporting role of an earthy fruit vendor. She overacts outrageously, but one is hard-pressed to take one's eyes off her. Naturally, Anna Magnani was billed over the title as the star when Peddler and the Lady played American houses. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Chi e' Piu Felice de Me? (Who is Happier Than I?) is purely and simply a vehicle for popular Italian tenor Tito Schipa. The star plays a world-renowned singer who meets heroine Caterina Boratto during a minor car accident. He is rich and famous, she is poor and unknown, so when he enters into a brief affair with her, he forgets all about it soon afterward. Much later, Schipa and Boratto meet again in America -- by which time, Boratto has also become a much-beloved singing star. When she informs him that he is the father of her son, Schipa is overcome with remorse, but sadness gives way to joy when he willingly acknowledges the child as his own. PS: Schipa and Boratto both sing a whole lot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The old Sardou play Marcella was warmed up and modernized by director Guido Brignone. The title character, played by Caterina Boretto, will do anything to save her brother from being sent to prison. This includes co-habiting with the nobleman responsible for her brother's incarceration. Hoping to put her shame behind her, Marcella lands a job as a servant in an aristocratic household. Her idyllic romance with the son of her employer is shattered when her old nemesis, the amorous nobleman, makes a return appearance. Surprisingly, he offers to clear Marcella's name, permitting her a happy ending at long last. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide