L'argent de la vieille

A masterpiece from Luigi Comencini. Another masterpiece of an unrestrained cinema that was (for a very long time) inspired and remarkable; Full, alike life... alike a work of art. Luigi Comencini's 'Lo Scopone Scientifico' is entertaining, funny, touching but also sharp, intelligent and intensely sad; it reflects the conditions of many of us: defeat, ignorance and inequality. It's a radiography on how persistent poverty creates a self-perpetuating cycle within the impoverished classes. It speaks of today's democratic societies! Check it out! You'll be amazed how much (today!) you can read out of this movie...Do you know what happens at this very exact time in our history? I'll say it again, check it out, watch this film, you'll know it. Wake up Folks!

This is another film resulting from the long and fruitful professional relationship between actor Alberto Sordi and writer Rodolfo Sonego, the most notable of which is probably Risi's 'la Vita Difficile'. Sordi and director Luigi Comencini were no strangers to each other either, having made, amongst others, the marvellous 'Tutti a casa'.

In common with so many films of the genre referred to as Commedia all'Italiana this has an underlying pathos and bitterness which stems from the constant struggle between 'the haves' and the 'have nots'.

The card game of the title, the rules of which are a mystery to me, played by junk-man Peppino and his wife against the millionairess and her companion epitomises this struggle. Never has the phrase 'money comes to money' seemed so apt.

This is an excellent film with a marvellous cast. Sordi of course never misses a beat whilst Silvana Mangano expresses so much by doing so little. They both won a David di Donatello award for this. The casting of Bette Davis is quite frankly a masterstroke. She is superb, her voice being seamlessly dubbed by Lia Zoppelli and Joseph Cotten makes the best of a pretty thankless part in this his third film with Miss Davis. The looks that pass between the players during the games are wonderfully directed by Comencini.

The game spreads from the confines of the magnificent villa to include all the inhabitants of the shanty town who are warned by the priest of the dangers of too much dreaming and of believing that money makes miracles, to no avail alas. Meanwhile back at the villa the tension becomes almost unbearable as the underdogs hit a lucky streak and are sitting on life-changing wealth but will Peppino play the right or the wrong of just two cards.....?

This film is all about money; what people without will do to get it and those with will do to keep it. That reminds me, I must do the Lottery this week. Well, I can dream, can't I?

Fairy tales are usually dark but very rarely are this human or that funny for that matter. Bette Davis plays a wealthy American with an addiction to card playing and to winning. She has become an expert on the local card games of different countries around the world where she owns houses. Bound to a wheel chair, the card games are her only close connection with the world of the living. In Rome, the card game is called "scopone" and she summons a married couple to be her adversaries. The couple, a magnificent Alberto Sordi and an unrecognizable Silvana Mangano, are the poorest of the poor, with a family of five children. As soon as Bette arrives to Rome, she calls them and gives them one million lire to play with. Sistematically, every year she will win the million back. Sordi and Mangano spend the rest of the year practicing, dreaming that one day they will win. The building up to the climax is one of the most painfully funny things I've ever seen. Pathetic and uplifting at the same time. Bette Davis is superb as the capitalist torturer/benefactor with a great Alberto Sordi at her side. Try not to miss it.

Poverty and wealth confront each other over a (not very) friendly game of cards in this often nerve-wracking black social comedy. From her luxurious Italian villa overlooking the ghettos of Rome, a rich, miserly American widow extends her annual invitation to a poor young local couple for an evening of Scopone, the regional variant of bridge. Every year it's the same story: the old widow lends them money before ruthlessly winning it back, building their anticipation and then dashing their hopes for victory and a quick fortune. But this year the desperate Italian couple has been practicing their strategy, unaware that their pragmatic young daughter has been doing likewise, with different motives and with chilling consequences. The casting of Hollywood veterans Bette Davis and Joseph Cotton is relatively meaningless since their voices have been (poorly) dubbed into Italian, but the film is both sharp and lively, and the climactic showdown at the card table generates surprising intensity, too much to be simply funny.

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.