Toto, Peppino, and the Hussy
1956 · Directed by Camillo Mastrocinque
Original language: Italian
- comedy
- romance
The story
Antonio, Peppino and Lucia are three brothers who live in the country near Naples. Lucia's son, Gianni, goes to Naples to study medicine, but there he knows a ballet dancer. They fall in love and, when she goes to Milan, Gianni follows her. Informed of this and afraid that their nephew will stop studying, the three Caponi brothers leave for Milan to persuade Gianni to come back and continue studying and abandon the "Malafemmina" (bad girl).
What it’s like
Black-and-white postwar Italian comedy with the bustle of a city street: crowded Neapolitan kitchens and stairwells give way to the cooler, grey-tiled Milan of the later scenes. The camera stays mostly steady and theatrical, letting the two comic leads play to the frame, so the humour lives in timing, double takes and rapid-fire bickering in Neapolitan-inflected Italian. The score is light and bouncy, with dance-hall touches that suit the ballet-dancer romance at its heart. The vibe is warm, cheeky and slightly chaotic, the feel of a family squabble that never quite turns sour. The pace is brisk and episodic, the three brothers' misadventures stacking up in comic set-pieces rather than building toward any heavy climax. Slapstick and mild physical farce appear, but there is no real violence, gore or sexual content, and the romance stays chaste and playful. It suits a lazy afternoon, a rainy evening with something light, or anyone wanting gentle, old-fashioned laughs and affection for a feuding, loving family.
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