''A Thief in Paradise'' (Italian: ''Un ladro in paradiso'') is a 1952 Italian

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Domenico Paolella Domenico Paolella (18 October 1915 - 7 October 2002) was an Italian director, screenwriter and journalist. Born in Foggia, between 1933 and 1935 Paolella won several contests for amateur directors; in the same years he started working as a journ ...

and starring

Nino Taranto Nino Taranto (28 August 1907 – 23 February 1986) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1924 and 1971. Life and career Born in Naples, Taranto started his career as a child actor in 1918 starring in some loca ...

Hélène Rémy Hélène Rémy (born 1932) is a retired French film actress. She spent much of her career working in the Italian film industry.Curti p.62 Selected filmography * '' Cage of Girls'' (1949) * ''Sending of Flowers'' (1950) * ''Clara de Montargis'' ( ...

and

Francesco Golisano Francesco Golisano (25 June 1930 in Rome, Italy – 21 December 1991 in Velletri, Italy) was an Italian film actor. He was an employee of the Post Office when film director Renato Castellani held auditions to appear in ''Under the Sun of Rome' ...

. It was expanded from a

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

written by

Eduardo De Filippo Eduardo De Filippo (; 24 May 1900 – 31 October 1984), also known simply as ''Eduardo'', was an Italian actor, director, screenwriter and playwright, best known for his Neapolitan works ''Filumena Marturano'' and '' Napoli Milionaria''. Consid ...

.Bender p.60 It was shot at

Cinecittà Studios Cinecittà Studios (; Italian for Cinema City Studios), is a large film studio in Rome, Italy. With an area of 400,000 square metres (99 acres), it is the largest film studio in Europe, and is considered the hub of Italian cinema. The studios wer ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Plot

Vincent and Gennaro live by their wits and petty theft in the city of

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. On

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

, Gennaro steals a service of

glasses Glasses, also known as eyeglasses or spectacles, are vision eyewear, with lenses (clear or tinted) mounted in a frame that holds them in front of a person's eyes, typically utilizing a bridge over the nose and hinged arms (known as temples or ...

and gives it to his girlfriend Nannarella, a poor and honest

seamstress A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician. Nota ...

. Unfortunately, it was discovered, and Gennaro and Vincenzo are arrested. While it is recommended to St. Joseph, it seems that they shower them with a gesture of their goodwill. Released from jail after three months full of good intentions, they are forgiven and Nannarella resumes contact with Gennaro. Since Vincent and Gennaro cannot find honest work, the two are forced to steal more.

Cast

as Vincenzo De Pretore *

as Gennarino *

as Nanninella *

Filippo Scelzo Filippo Scelzo (19 April 1900 – 9 October 1980) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than forty films including '' Red Passport'' in which he played the male lead.Landy, Marcia. ''The Folklore of Consensus: Theatricality in the Italian ...

as The Surgeon *

Carlo Tamberlani Carlo Tamberlani (11 March 1899 – 5 August 1980) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 127 films between 1931 and 1976. He was born in Salice Salentino, Italy and died in Subiaco, Italy. His brother Nando Tamberlani was also an actor. ...

as Saint Joseph *Salvatore Costa as Father Carmine *

Fanfulla Luigi Visconti, better known by his stage name Fanfulla, (26 February 1913 – 5 January 1971) was an Italian actor and comedian. Life and career Born in Rome, Visconti debuted at very young age on stage alongside his mother, the actress Merc ...

as The Cheater *Marisa Finiani as Donna Carmela *

Carlo Delle Piane Carlo Delle Piane (2 February 1936 – 23 August 2019) was an Italian film actor. From 1948 until his death, he appeared in more than 100 films.Carlo Pisacane Carlo Pisacane, Duke of San Giovanni (22 August 1818 – 2 July 1857) was an Italian patriot and one of the first Italian socialist thinkers. He argued that violence was necessary not only to draw attention to, or generate publicity for, a c ...

*Amedeo Girardi *

Pina Piovani Pina Piovani (20 March 1897 – 2 January 1955) was an Italian stage and film actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or i ...

*Luigi Pisano *Manfredi Polverosi

References

Bibliography

* Bender, Robert Gene. ''The Dialect Theatre of Eduardo de Filippo''. Stanford University, 1963. * Dyer, Richard. ''Nino Rota: Music, Film and Feeling''. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019.

External links

* 1952 films Films scored by Nino Rota 1950s Italian-language films Films directed by Domenico Paolella Italian comedy films 1952 comedy films Italian black-and-white films 1950s Italian films Films shot at Cinecittà Studios Films set in Naples {{1950s-Italy-film-stub