Pain, amour, ainsi soit-il

Vittorio de Sica is retiring from the Caribinieri, returning to Sorrento to become head of the Police Department. He comes equipped with an elderly governess, a brother who is a priest, and a great variety of uniforms, all with white gloves. What he lacks is a place to live. His family apartment has been occupied since the War by Sophia Loren, a widowed fishwife. She has a boyfriend with whom she fights a lot. This does not, of course, prevent her from coming on to de Sica, who easily loses his head over women -- it's Loren, who wouldn't? -- to keep the apartment and get her boyfriend a job with the police. The boyfriend objects to her methods. Meanwhile, de Sica is staying at the home of Lea Padovani, a highly religious and insanely repressed woman, as a favor to the priest.

I have the feeling that the movie's length of 110 minutes, although long for a comedy, is trimmed. Miss Padovani's sequences seem rather abrupt and Miss Loren, while startlingly beautiful, gives a performance that is rather harsh and monotonous; it's true she was only 20 when she made this, but she soon showed herself a capable farceur and actress of considerably greater range. Perhaps the producer and director simply lacked confidence in her abilities.

Despite these misgivings, this is a good comedy, mostly because of de Sica, who plays his well-written role of a mature and intelligent man who becomes a gibbering poet at the sight of a beautiful woman, with the beautiful freedom of a true clown.

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.

Always the female feud, and the dispute for men, who for the most part are quite unattractive, and I am not only referring to beauty, but also to character, and here we have a womanizer, except for this unpleasant detail, it is a good film ... certainly it is not worthy of oblivion ... I liked the outcome, and at that time women being beaten by loved ones was normal, since they have a "happy ending" together... Cool...

Enjoy it for the colorful scenery and De Sica as the aging lady's man.

The third part of the Maresciallo adventures trilogy is quite different from the previous two in being in colour and cinemascope, and replacing Gina Lollobrigida with Sophia Loren in a completely different environment. The Maresciallo returns to his native town Sorrento by the sea between Naples and Capri as a Comandante and is immediately exposed to new amorous adventures and perils, one being the crude fisherwoman Sophia Loren, who has occupied his home, and the other being a pious saint in the opposite direction (the lovely Lea Padovani). Sophia already has a boyfriend with a temper good enough to fight with anyone, so Sophia will not be easily convinced, although flattered by de Sica's undeniable gentlemanly advantages. The film is not on par with the two previous ones but the more enjoyable for its beauty and colours and wonderful environment. The dialog becomes second to the cinematography and rather banal intrigue, while the dialog is the backbone and core of the previous two. You lack Gina's tempestuous and very down to earth temperament, while Sophia Loren is more stylish but less convincing as a fisherwoman. Vittorio de Sica though is optimal as always.