Poverty and Nobility

This raucously entertaining farce—an adaptation of Eduardo Scarpetta’s best-known play—finds an ascendant 19-year-old Sophia Loren, in one of her first major roles, starring opposite the unassailable superstar Totò. It’s the late 19th century in Naples: Felice (Totò) and Pasquale (Enzo Turco) are down-and-out artists living under one grotty roof with their respective families, who are behind on rent and constantly bickering and fighting over spaghetti (and stuffing it in their pockets). A chance to live like the other half comes their way when a nobleman convinces the household to pose as his extended aristocratic family in order to gain the approval of his fiancée Gemma’s (Loren) father. Mario Mattoli’s colorful, theatrical staging and scalpel-sharp sight gags give his social satire a delightfully hilarious edge while his dialed-in cast brings out the musicality of Scarpetta’s whip-smart dialogue. 2K DCP by Cinecittà.