Totò, Peppino e la... malafemmina

Totò and Peppino De Filippo are farmers in the south of Italy who's nephew (popular Italian singer Teddy Reno) is studying to be a doctor in Naples. Reno meets singer Dorian Gray (not the Oscar Wilde character) and they fall in love. He follows her tour to Milan, but word gets back to his family and they come to Milan to try and bribe Gray into leaving him. When everything goes haywire, Reno gets to woo Gray back with his big hit song ... "Malafemmina".

I've had really bad experiences with movies starring Italian comedy duos, so I expected to hate this film, but I really liked it. Totò and Peppino's comedy is all verbal, sort of like Abbott and Costello without Costello's annoying slapstick. The films feels like a Martin and Lewis film ... a plot that's there mostly to drive the film along and give open up spaces for comedy routines and songs.

I really enjoyed this and would watch more of their films.

I'm pleasantly impressed by the positive general judgments and reviews about this magnificent film (especially as also expressed by non-Italians), the reason being the fact that it's a comedy subtly concealed by many 'dialect' puns (sometimes even extended to various European languages ...). I would like to add to all the other reviews just one important element: the one related to the song that 'inspired' this film, and that has encouraged a whole genre in the following years in Italy. The song 'Malafemmina' was written - and often sung - by Totò himself (a 'Princely' poet as well). The term 'malafemmina' has many shades, and does not necessarily have to be referred to a woman's moral habits, but in this case it should be understood more as a 'cruelty of heart' attributed to women who does not care about the evil she can do to those who happen to be caught between their 'clutches' ... The film is the result of a perfect mix of situations that allow two great products from the Italian revue theater to express their full potential and in some cases genius. Genius manifests itself only when the conditions for its emergence are created, and therefore everyone is deserving in this film, because everyone contributed to the end result: comical perfection! If something special about this movie has to remain in you, that is just the song itself: listen carefully to it, and if you do not know the language then look for a translation on the web ... And an additional advice, look for another poem of Totò's, possibly in your own language: 'a livella (ie: the bubble level) ... It will help you understand why Totò (also the 'Prince' ... of laughter) was so great.

P.S. For those who aren't acquainted with the subject, it's useful to know that Totò was indeed entitled to 'princedom' in sheer terms of heraldry. That's the reason for so many allusions as of above.

Nothing to add: This film is one of the masterpiece of Totò, better: one of the masterpiece of Italian comic cinema. Antonio de Curtis and Peppino's dialogues are the top of entertainment: the writing of the letter to Marisa is the most famous sketch of Italian cinema. The plot is simple, but no one care. This movie will make you laugh for two hours but also reflect about social problems of Italy after the World War II especially what concern the restrict mentality of the country people.

Well-nigh impossible not to be enchanted by this delightful comedy starring Toto and Peppino de Filippo as two country bumpkins who travel to Milan to rescue their nephew played by Teddy Reno from the clutches of the 'malafemmina' of Dorian Gray.

Suffice to say this is essentially a vehicle for Toto and Peppino who give a masterclass in comedy timing and although there are three credited dialogue writers this dynamic duo were frequently known to deviate. By all accounts the justifiably famous 'letter' scene is improvised.

Teddy Reno is personable and possesses a pleasant singing voice whilst the Oestrogen of voluptuous Dorian Gray practically leaps off the screen.

Well directed by Camillo Mastrocinque with a lovely score by Lelio Luttazi this film is an absolute joy from start to finish although predictably drubbed by the critics.

Comedy does not always travel well but the artistry of Toto and Peppino is truly universal.

This is my favorite all time black and movie. To understand the humor, you need to know enough Italian (and sometimes Naples accent too) to understand it, and to understand the jokes.. they don't translate to other languages.

Toto' aka Antonio de Curtis for me is what Chaplin was to many - except that he is funny with the movies with audio, unlike Chaplin. There are many of his movies I like a lot and enjoy seing after having been a long time abroad (out of Italy), but this is far the greatest. Toto' and Peppino are two poor men from the Southern Italy countryside, and hear that their nephew is dating a 'bad woman' (the title means that, but not necessarily in bad sense) in Milan, and they go there to rescue him.. thinking they are abroad.. this movie is so full of timeless jokes, it is impossible to watch this and be on a bad mood.