Reviews

The sex just adds tension to the film, but it gives a good insight into greedy peasant like attitude to morals (non really), and other universal values. It's about getting sex, money and lazy comfortable life, with least amount of effort.

A symbolic scene is while checking the property of rich heiress, he (Ugos character) even climbs on its wall to count the number of hens, cocks and chickens in their pen...so I can be sure, not only that he will be well fed, but the woman is indeed wealthy! How can you go wrong...if she has 30 hens in the pen ! Very peasant attitude to wealth!

Even Ugo Tognazzi, commented he liked the depiction of provincial, 'petite bourgeoise', quite vulgar, and greedy Italy in this film ! Of course, all this is done in a dark comedy ....with an odd happy ending twist. The three spinster sisters become the loose women of the town, while 'Ugo's character is reduced to be immobile in a wheelchair , after getting a seizure for having too much extra-marital sex !

Not much of a story, like in "un homme, une femme"(also with a famous song in the film) , its real strength is the atmosphere it invokes, - the desolute landscape which accentuates the feeling of loneliness, the truculent male star, the hard stares from the judging locals, the weak and fragmented dialogue, the not too bright couple who were madly in love, it's just one of those films that you can't forget, and of course, very french in style, ....the scenes of anal sex were unnecessary, but the film was released in the 1970's so a bit of scandal , only helped to sell more the film to the public.

I think a remake of this film in the US, could be done nowadays. Filmed in the plains of the Midwest, in some god forgotten village, it would be a hit, especially considering the amount of free publicity US films get !

I remembered seeing it on Italian TV as a child and even then I liked it, seeing it again yesterday, I thought it wouldn't resist the test of time, instead, I throughly enjoyed it.... for all the qualities you don't see in films nowadays, (especially in modern Italian films).

Briefly, a tale of a cultivated(Vittorio de Sica), educated, charming middle-aged womanizing, newly installed chief of the traffic police (complete with resplendid uniform including white gloves), whom on arriving at his long lost native Sorrento , finds his family home occupied/squatted by a beautiful fishmonger (sofia Loren, at her most splendid).While starting procedures of evicting her he also starts courting her, with poetic citations, charming one liners and complements, inducing the jealousy of her semi - boyfriend/suitor.Complicating matters further, the haunty, aloof but good looking noble woman owner of the house where Vittorio is temporarily living , falls for Vittorio.But all this happens in a semi comic and humorous vein...after all it's a romantic comedy. The film ends with a typical happy ending...but the whole film is held up by the old world charms of Vittorio de Sica....Sofia loren acted well too.

I sometimes wonder if its possible nowadays to make a remake of this film, ....but sometimes I feel it wouldn't work....no female nudity,no profanitites, no sex, and no vulgarities...while I feel I'm in a minority in appreciating good taste, it seems not so with, modern day film or/and TV producers who always want to 'modernize' their 'art' with the aforementioned charateristics. A real pity,... perhaps a new film style could be a return to class and good taste.

It seems that in the 1950's it was customary to divide up an Italian film in various separate stories !! As is the case of this film. Alberto Sordi's little 'story' is certainly entertaining..... as an aspiring actor, whose prospective film gay film director tries to seduce him !! But the other little stories are deciding very dull, perhaps interesting to see the social mores and ways, of 'jet setting' types the 1950's, ....but apart from that, not worth to see ! I definitely pressed to fast forward button of my VideoRecorder until the next scenes of Alberto Sordi !!

Another curiosity, which I noticed also in the 'Vitelloni' film of Federico Fellini.....whenever there's a scene where a homosexual tries to seduce another man, the public is made to understand this situation indirectly, no direct mention of the word 'homosexual' (or other slang words for it) is ever said !! Perhaps the censorship of those times didn't allow it.... they only say (as in this film) that the man in question, behaves 'in a strange way' !!

......certainly better than the winter holiday version 'Vacanze d'inverno' of 1959, the 'brevi amori..' film is more similar to 'venezia,la luna, e tu' from 1958. Unlike the latter film, 'brevi amori..' is 100% comedy, where Alberto Sordi 'Anselmo Pandolfini' , plays the role of an ugly, persistent, and (initially) annoying courtier/admirer to a beautiful actress, high society ?, young woman. At first he is laughed of, especially by his ultra handsome rival, but with his firm insistence, and gradually emerging charm, he seduces the lady, to the total shocked surprise of his rival. All this in the settings of a beach holiday in the exclusive(only in the 1950's) resort of Palma de Majorca, Spain. Entertaining throughout, with rare boring moments, ideal if you want to kill two hours, but it will difficult that is film will re-emerge from some dusty cellar of a film production company.Increasingly it is difficult to see Alberto Sordi films from the 1950's and 1960's in Italy, let alone abroad(but still 20 or so of his films are sold on Italian Internet DVD shopping sites). My vote a well deserved 7

Pietro, in order to satisfy the cravings for luxury and upper class respectability, of his beautiful wife, changes job from bathroom equipment salesman to arms salesman .....his earnings shoot up, but so does his problems !!!

He increasingly becomes out of touch of his family's obvious enjoyment of their prestigious social status, and selling weapons to petty African dictators(some very funny scenes) is stressful to say the least made worse by the presence of a rival French salesman!

It is a common theme in Alberto Sordi films of men victim to their beautiful wife's whims, to the extent that they sometimes ruin themselves !! Also this obsession of attaining high class 'respectability' is definitely an all Italian phenomena, esp. in the 1950's and 60's.

However Alberto Sordi always manages to make fun, of these national tracts without being overbearing and rhetorical.

The film in the second half , losses direction and becomes a boring,moral and anti-war rhetoric....a pity....with a bit more thought this part of the film could have been made better. But films in those times(1950's & 1960's), in Italy, at least, were quickly written and made on shoe string budgets, hence, the rather silly names to these films.Money had to be made quickly on these films, so little time on the artistic side was dedicated.

I have always felt that a remake could be made of the film,perhaps with Bob Hoskins or Danny de Vito in the role of Pietro. It's one of the few Italian films that could be successfully transposed to a more Anglo-Saxon settings.

It could a real hit !! My vote for the film a generous 7.

Comedy of newly hired police officer with his excessive youthful enthusiasm, pedantic and obsessive ways, causes a lot of exasperation among his more laid back colleagues. Also his courtship of a young lady is done strictly by the police rule book, with military like respect and obsequiousness. A good Alberto Sordi comedy, but certainly not his best.

Not worth to buy DVD or Video, but worth to watch on TV (in the unlikely event it ever gets shown on Italian TV,…..forget about ever seeing it outside Italy). The best Alberto Sordi comedy(or tragi-comedy) DVD films worth to buy, are……

'Vita difficile', 'Il Vigile', 'Tutti a casa', 'Il maestro di Vigevano', 'Americano a Roma', to name a few.

Vote for this film, only 6.

By the late 1950's Italy seems to have developed the custom of going to 'White week' holidays, that is week long skiing holidays, something very popular nowadays. Alberto Sordi & Co, always ready to make fun of the latest trends in Italian society couldn't let this pass, and film was created dealing with jet setters holidaying among the the 'lower' class(that is our working class hero, Alberto Sordi), in the prestigious resort(still is) of Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Alberto Sordi's disastrous attempts to socialize with the high society provides good entertainment, but the film becomes decidingly dull, in the scenes he is absent.

The film does provide (unintentionally), a view of 1950's attitudes, like a,surprising love for drinking Whisky ! At the time Italians were hopelessly in love with anything American, so you wouldn't be caught dead ordering a glass of cool white wine in those times………it was definitely , Whisky con Soda !! Thankfully in Italy nowadays, everyone is back to ordering a cool glass of white wine,beer or plain espresso at the bar!

Also the females talked about their own marriage infidelity, in the same tone as we talk about change of weather ! But this later fact, does show more of a stereotyped working class view of the upper class that the Upper class are so........ sophisticated that you(of the lesser caste), cannot speak to them for five minutes without making a total fool of yourself, with their thin ironic smile and measured polite manners they show a patronizing attitude towards you,... but of course you of the 'lesser' sort had better show the maximum respect to them, since they are after all extremely clever, and have an encyclopediatic cultural knowledge…..and of course, the Upper class know everything …… while we the lower class, are shameless in our ignorance.

The Upper class drink gallons of Whisky(+soda) and of course, Martini cocktails, (whatever it is ?…., but it must be sophisticated since they drink it, with an olive inside and from small champagne glasses!) . The Upper class being very intelligent, play a very intelligent game called bridge(another 1950's and 60's obsession), change lovers like pajamas, (while we working class slug it out with work and traditional family values), and in general have a jolly good time………Dash it, Geeves pass me my champagne!!

If you can survive watching married noblewomen sunning themselves on the chalet terrace gentily teasing each other about past and present lovers, (what ever happened to their hubbies …. , ooh yes…of course they are with their own lovers….how silly and bourgeois of me !!)……….and resist fast forwarding the video to the next Alberto Sordi scene, you will see a more anthropological study of how Italians would really like to live,(at least the men) but of course don't, ……..it's not reality show, just very bad comedy ! My vote for the film……..6.

......then.......it became an Italo-French movie "Le Cage aux Follie" in 1978 with Ugo Tognazzi and Michel Serrault , written by French and Italian script writers (Edouardo Molinaro and Marcello Danon), .......but to see in 1997 a book in a English Bookstore of the American version of the film written by two Americans , made me wonder if

copyright laws had been respected ??? It was originally written by a French playwriter way back in the late 1960's..............no mention of him at all,........ even though the American version(Birdcage) and the Italo-French version are identical even in the dialogue ! It's all right to make remakes of European films(which are always bad copies), but at least the rights of the original authors should be respected !

Comment on this version : a good film, but with a script like that, it couldn't go wrong !!!

Cheers (from a European spoilsporter),

Kristen

Known as "Avanspettacolo" ...these were theatre groups touring Italy, in the 1930's and 40's , which provided slapstick comedy,singers and always,always....semi clad young women dancers !!(See my comment on "Gastone" with Alberto Sordi about "avanspettacolo" shows ).

It was formula which was very successfull , it was cheap, and usually a film was projected afterwards !! It was the only entertainment for the Italian masses before the advent of television,( which degraded enertainment to new levels of baseness and stupidity !!See the film of Fedrico Fellini "Ginger and Roger" were TV shows were portrayed in all their shallowness).

In this film, instead of showing the theatre group working in Rome, it shows their life when on the move, where they meet all sorts of crazy provincial types, excited about the arrival of this travelling theatre circus, but because of their provincial simplicity, create hiliarious situations and misunderstandings for the more "sophisticated" artists !!

It is a funny film at times, but it's more interesting in it's

portrayal of life "in the old times that never come back",the poverty,the honesty,the humbleness and simplicity of Italians of another epoch !! A 7 vote.

When I saw on Italian T.V. last year, I was impressed with the quality of the drama,dialogue and its generally realistic tone about present day (and past) Italian society, in the film ! Prof.Lipari(played by Silvio Orlando), is a charismatic,disillusioned but yet popular teacher with the pupils in a run down state school,but yet, always in conflict with his colleagues,especially with the headmaster !

His life is further complicated when a new(beautiful) female teacher , arrives who proves to be even better than him in creating a rapport with the students ! The new teacher was one of his ex pupils.And she candidly admits that when she was a student she was deeply in love with him ! This surprising revelation revives memories in Prof.Lipari when he went out with some of his students, especially her and a male student(Gangia?).At this time Prof. lipari had created an ideal relationship with his students, which he can't create now. The student Gangia?(not sure if its his name) is troubled with his life, and cannot reach out to his friend,Lipari, he subsequently kills himself after leading a life of drugs and drink ! His death haunts Prof.Lipari till this day, making it even more difficult for him to create relationships with anyone.

It sounds like a pretty dreary film, but there is a strong overtone of irony,sarcasm and comedy in the whole film, making this film, far more enjoyable to watch, without being too meleodramatic !

The script of this film, could be taken up by an American film company, with perhaps Robin Williams as the teacher ! It would have a good chance of success !(The film has a rather indecisive and sad ending,which the Americans would just hate, but thats the way we Europeans like our cinema, realistic and gray, not black and white with happy endings !) But first the producers must see this film well, and even read the book from where the script originated from ! Definitely I think this film is far better than 'Dead Poets Society' a film I didn't even see to the end, I was so bored by it !

For its melanchonical style,and good story line it deserves the 8 vote I gave it.

Story of an ambitious young medical school graduate who through not always ethical means makes a rapid career. Even though its not the best of Alberto Sordi's tragicomical films, this film tells the public about all the inefficiencies and absurdies of the national sanitary system, almost to become a documentary ,but retaining always that 'commedia all'Italiana' satire on Italian society ! The film was so pungent in its critism of the amorality of the Italian medical category, that the Italian Medical Association condemned the film , even though many doctors in private admitted to Alberto Sordi that his film basically depicted well the situation. Now the system of 'mutue' has been abolished in Italy, so the film is only relevant as social criticism for Italy of the early 1970's, but always interesting to watch, and additionally you can have a few laugh's.A 7 vote.

It seems the previous commentators have described the background for the film well enough ! So there is no need I add more! The film is very nice, about forbidden love in late 19 th century Norway, and the social conditions in Northern Norway in those times, a in very typical Hamsun setting ! I saw the film at the Norway film festival in Rome,Italy 1995, and I became interested in Norwegian cinema, as a consequence ! I find it unfortunate that the only negative comment of the film is highlighted on the film page , it does injustice to the film, as it deserved to be distributed in the rest of Europe ! Also the total vote seems to be wrong, it should be in the 7 or 8 area, judging from the total votes bar graph , showing a lot of votes in that area........something is not right here !...... as Jimi Hendrix said in his song 'Red House' !!

Even though lacking a plot, this part documentary/comedy film is really a mosaic of impressions of Rome, from when Federico Fellini first arrived during the 2nd world war, to scenes of Rome in the early 1970's. Personally I think Fellini's best films are the partly biographical ones,and this film is among Fellini's best ! The film is divided into mosaics or sections. Each section or 'mosaic' lasts about 20 to 30 minutes, and really is all about real life experiences of Fellini's Rome, filmed in slightly surreal, 'arty' style, dealing with the human element of Romes working class who nearly speak in the local vernacular or dialect 'li Romanaaccio', and because of that some scenes are really hilarious! (Except for the last section about the priest's/cardinals high fashion really boring, but very surealistic). The most grottesque is the visit to the hore-house by young Federico Fellini, as it was like during the wartime...horrible,surrealistic,and a little bit sad ! The section on the comedy theatre is the most funny and famous(the most famous scene: an irate spectator throws a live cat to a comedian making a poor preformance,to the ilarity of the audience !).

The section gives an affectionate view of the Italian comedy/vaudeville theater between the two world wars called "avan-spettacolo" (before the show).Infact,before any film was shown in Italy the cinema would entertain the restless crowds with vaudeville type shows,comedy,magic and singing(usually skimply dressed women).These shows evolved into something well established so the films were shown elsewhere !! Many of Italy's best actors/actresses came from this background,where they had to do a hard apprenticeship,under the guidance of a master actor !Only after 5-10 years apprenticeship, could they finally aspire to be "avan-spettacolo" stars !

This explains why Italy's best actors/actresses were the 1950's /1960's stars of the Italian cinema,of which the most loved is Alberto Sordi.Here are the names of some these stars...Gianni Agus,Macario,Ugo Tognazzi,Marcello Mastroianni,Walter Chiari,Paolo Stoppa,Aldo Fabrizzi,Toto.....the list is endless..........all great actors, ...and I must say the Italian actors of today are a poor imitation ! No wonder !!,... they have no experience,but alot of pretensions,bordering on arrogance !! My vote for the film 8.

Another fabel/comedy of the dangers for the poor Italian man who dares to rise up in society and challenge the high and mighty.This film is made in a more comical but realistic vein, and is well filmed.Alberto Sordi's acting is superb, and there is not a boring moment in the film ! This is a typical Italian neo realistic comedy, which was in such peak form in the late 1950's and early 1960's.Rarely, do Italians make such entertaining films nowadays,(with the exception of Pieracchioni and further back in time , Carlo Verdoni). This time Alberto plays the part of a newspaper vendor who dreams about sociliazing with the high society...but his dreams become reality when he befriends a nobleman fallen on hard times, who teaches him about manners and social mores when hanging around with nobles and super rich ! The results are definitely not up to expectations...but Alberto still manages to sociliaze with the jet set ....with disastrous and hilarious results ! Until he understands its better to marry a girl from his own modest background and 'keep to his stations', then run after crazy, jet setting, educated and polished people in which he stands out like a raw thumb !

The preformance of Vittorio de Sica(plays the part of poor nobleman) is as usual superb, and of course Alberto Sordi never disappoints ! A 8 vote.

Another fabel/comedy of the dangers for the poor Italian man who dares to rise up in society and challenge the high and mighty.This film is made in a more comical but realistic vein, and is well filmed.Alberto Sordi's acting is superb, and there is not a boring moment in the film ! This is a typical Italian neo realistic comedy, which was in such peak form in the late 1950's and early 1960's.Rarely, do Italians make such entertaining films nowadays,(with the exception of Pieracchioni and further back in time , Carlo Verdoni).

Othello(played by Alberto S.), an unemployed loser, is constantly being jeered at and publicly humilated at the local Cafès and bars, for being a useless man supported by his hard working wife ….until…..through family connections and friends he gets a job as a traffic policeman in his small provincial town.

The table is completely overturned, and as he proudly struts around in his black shining uniform,... not a bad word is said behind his back,as he smugly points out to his son, because now Alberto has become the authority, and no-one dares move when he passes by !However there is one problem,he enters his role with a little too enthusiasm , fining and hassling everyone, including the Mayor, local politicians and big wigs, but their annoyance is further increased , when he enters the local political scene, as a mayoral candidate with resounding success upsetting the established order, and at this point the old plutocrats hit back,and Alberto, is forced by blackmail , to return to his former police job !!

A well deserved 9 vote

The original script idea was good !! But the film was far too much slow paced, to point of boredom ! You seriously risk falling asleep. And I don't see how people can find it such a good film ! After almost an hour and a half...... I stopped the video tape, I had had enough....even the CNN is more interesting ! Definitely, a 3 vote.

Albero Sordi is known in Italy, not only for his many comical and dramatic film roles but also for playing parts which reflected the new realities of Italian society.In 1970 the football sports industry was nothing new , but a comedy/comical film about it definitely was.

Albero Sordi plays the part of Benito Fornaciari, a pale, religiously devout Catholic Upper Middle class Italian, who inherits from a long lost uncle a minor league football club , of all things !! He decides to visit the club so as to sell it.But the local population has other ideas ,through an almost armed uprising they "force" him not to sell the club, but rather, lead it to other glories on the football field.Gradually his initial reservations about football slowly erode away to be replaced by an almost fanatical devotion to "his" football club, to the point that he abandons his family,friends and home town. He also becomes involved with other pleasures of life, like loving the beautiful female cook,eating his heart out from the local culinary pleasures,and best of all hanging out with the football players during their training retreats. This film is in the Alberto Sordi style, of how an Italian can change from being a very conservative person to a complete bohemian outgoing person.Showing the various shades of Italians you can find in Italy,whom can easily revert from one character to another(I'm not sure if that happens so easily in reality,but for the films sake, its always a good laugh !).

Surely a film to see if you want to spend 2 hours having a good laugh ! A 7 film.

...Only Alberto Sordi could play the role of an unemployed theater actor,who hustles his way through unpaid bills, who constantly overvalues himself,scorns the lesser arts(e.g.films), but is constantly humiliated by his poverty, and accepts any role at the last minute !!

This film is one of few which gives an affectionate view of the Italian theater between the two world wars called "avan-spettacolo" (before the show).Infact,before any film was shown in Italy the cinema would entertain the restless crowds with vaudeville type shows,comedy,magic and singing(usually skimply dressed women).These shows evolved into something well established so the films were shown elsewhere !! Many of Italy's best actors/actresses came from this background,where they had to do a hard apprenticeship,under the guidance of a master actor !Only after 5-10 years apprenticeship, could they finally aspire to be "avan-spettacolo" stars ! (Since foreigners mostly know Italian films through Federico Fellini's art,it may interesting to note,that the "avan-spettacolo" is almost faithfully reconstructed in Fellini's film "Roma",1972?).

This explains why Italy's best actors/actresses were the 1950's /1960's stars of the Italian cinema,of which the most loved is Alberto Sordi.Here are the names of some these stars...Gianni Agus,Macario,Ugo Tognazzi,Marcello Mastroianni,Walter Chiari,Paolo Stoppa,Aldo Fabrizzi,Toto.....the list is endless..........all great actors, ...and I must say the Italian actors of today are a poor imitation ! No wonder !!,... they have no experience,but alot of pretensions,bordering on arrogance !! This film is a light comedy,but very realistic in the portrayal of the excessive vanity,self-esteem and unrealistic dreams that actors have ! My vote for the film 8.

The film is about an old fashioned Italian with moral values of the 1930/40's ,who has to find a wife in the modern, woman's liberated society of Australia of the 1960/70's !!!Little does he know... that also Italian sexual mores & morals have changed since his departure from Italy 30 years earlier to resemble the ones of Australia !! His wife hunting task is made even more arduous by his stringent moral requirements in his lonely hearts column newspaper announcement placed in his native Italy !! Number one, requirement... that she is a virgin ("illibata" from film title)....after a long letter correspondence with the prospective bride, he finds at the airport's arrival hall a stunningly beautiful woman(Claudia Cardinale)to meet him.....for whom he falls in love with immediately !!(Needless to say the meet for the first time at the airport !!). As his friend points out "there is something strange about such beautiful woman needing to leave Italy, and marry a poor Italian immigrant on the other side of the globe !!.....she's evidently running away from something !!" His intuition was spot on.She was an ex-prostitute escaping from her pimp !! The rest of film is a farce comedy, of he not knowing of her past !! She being told by Alberto Sordi that he will take her, to her prospective husband ..........so shy is he !! The film is a delightful light comedy of illusions,mistaken identities, and cultural clash......in the age when there still existed mass Italian emigration abroad or to Northern Italy !!

From the 40's to the 70's many films have been made in Italy about these expatriate Italians ("Pane e Chocolato","I Magliari","Rocco e suoi fratelli", just to name a few !!) describing their daily grind,with its joys(few) and sorrows(more) !! Many of these films were very good !! But nowadays Italy has become a "normal" rich, West European society and film makers nowadays have difficulty finding inspiring stories to tell, which explains also the poor quality of todays Italian films .....unless the the director & film script finds some inspiring story from Italy's often tragic and difficult past !!

Again a sad comedy about the reality of post war economic boom time in Italy .... and the difficulty of the humble average Italian trying to adapt to the new reality !! Alberto Sordi plays the part of a humble elementary school teacher good at his job , happy with his modest station in society ! Not so his beautiful ambitious wife whom he loves dearly ! As in many Alberto Sordi films, his character always profoundly devouted to his wife, falls victim to his wife's exaggerated ambitions....with disastrous consequences !! Because its directed by the Genovese film director Elio Petri(a film director sensitive to social issues), this Italian comedy is even more hard hitting in its condemnation of consumerist fever and down right greed which hit Italy in the 1950's and 1960's, and it presents a rather negative picture of Italian women(which unfortunately is realistic). Unlike American films which always ends on a happy note, this film ends sadly but realistically in the best traditions of European cinema ! This film is similar to "il boom" , but better ! My vote , definitely 9 (a vote I rarely give to Italian films).

Another of those Alberto Sordi black comedy's which reveals his acting excellence ! As usual it always the poor,humble and(too) honest Italian trying to get rich the easy way,(to satisfy more his wife's ambitions than his own) but his efforts has disastrous consequences !! As the previous commentator wrote, it is the usual fable of the little Italian who 'dares' to challenge the high and mighty, but ultimately fails miserably.....the moral being everyone must remain to their stations, if you're born poor don't reckon you can fight the rich and get away with it !A typical Italian way thinking especially in the 1950's and 60's. The quality of this film is only further confirmed by the presence of such high calibre Anglo-American artists as Bette Davis and Joseph Cotton.Surely they would never play in a rubbish European film ! European films (as all U.S. actors know) pay poorly , bur often offer great roles....surely good for their future careers ! A great film....but best appreciated if you are familiar with South European more's and culture.A 8 vote from me.

Another Alberto Sordi black comedy(similar to "il boom") with bouts of hilarity, but underlying a sad truth of postwar Italy in the 1950's.The existence of a minority of Italians unable to adapt to "bourgeois" civilian life after spending too many years soldiering during the 2nd world war.Alberto Sordi becomes an idealistic loser in an increasingly amoral,money grabbing society which Alberto Sordi tries to oppose, with honest journalism(his last permanent job). Alberto Sordi ends up losing everything,money,wife even freedom (he ends up in jail for libel).A most poignant moment of Alberto Sordi's life and Italian society in general is when Alberto Sordi returns to his wife's village in a luxurious car wearing expensive clothes..and wins back his wife .....but she soon finds out later that all these luxury goods were lent to him by his despotic boss, a rich industrialist who constantly humiliates Alberto Sordi as he works as a man servant in his villa !.(With a memorable final scene).One of Alberto's Sordi's best film(Also he says it too! ).Recently restored in Italy.A 9/10 film.