''Down with Misery'' ( it, Abbasso la miseria!) is a 1945 Italian

comedy drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

directed by

Gennaro Righelli Gennaro Righelli (12 December 1886 – 6 January 1949) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and actor. He directed more than 110 films in Italy and Germany between 1910 and 1947. In 1930, he directed the first Italian sound film, ''T ...

and starring

Anna Magnani Anna Maria Magnani (; 7 March 1908 – 26 September 1973) was an Italian actress.Obituary ''Variety'', 3 October 1973, pg. 47 She was known for her explosive acting and earthy, realistic portrayals of characters. Born in Rome, she worked her ...

Nino Besozzi Nino Besozzi (6 February 1901 – 2 February 1971) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1931 and 1970. He was born in and died in Milan, Italy. Partial filmography * ''The Private Secretary'' (1931) - Il ban ...

and

Marisa Vernati Marisa Vernati (21 June 1920 – 1 February 1988) was an Italian actress. Born in Rome, Vernati was helped by her aunt soprano Luisa Tetrazzini to enter the world of entertainment, starting with small roles in films directed by Raffaello Matara ...

. It was shot at the

Farnesina Studios Farnesina may refer to: Architecture * Casa della Farnesina, an historic building of the ancient Rome, in the neighborhood of Trastevere, Rome * Palazzo della Farnesina, the headquarters of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the government of the ...

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 ...

during the autumn of 1945. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Gino Brosio Gino may refer to: * Gino (given name) * Gino (surname) * ''Gino'' (film), a 1993 Australian film * ''Gino the Chicken'', Italian TV series See also * *Geno (disambiguation) *Gino's (disambiguation), various restaurants and fast-food chains *Gi ...

. It was released in the wake Magnani's success in

Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...

's ''

Rome, Open City ''Rome, Open City'' ( it, Roma città aperta, also released as ''Open City'') is a 1945 Italian neorealist war drama film directed by Roberto Rossellini and co-written by Sergio Amidei, Celeste Negarville and Federico Fellini. Set in Rome in 19 ...

''. It makes reference to the thriving

black market A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the se ...

postwar In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period c ...

Italy and was followed by a loose sequel ''

Peddlin' in Society ''Peddlin' in Society'' or ''Down With Riches!'' ( it, Abbasso la ricchezza!) is a 1946 Italian romance-drama film directed by Gennaro Righelli. it was a loose sequel to the 1945 film ''Down with Misery'' by the same director and also starring Ma ...

'' (1946) which focused on a similar theme.

Synopsis

Nannina, a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

housewife A housewife (also known as a homemaker or a stay-at-home mother/mom/mum) is a woman whose role is running or managing her family's home—housekeeping, which includes caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; making, buying an ...

, is frustrated by her

truck driver A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster, or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; a HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...

's husband Giovanni's refusal to take part in the black market and pressures him into take part in illegal actions with their more successful neighbour Gaetano. While he is

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 ...

Giovanni rescues and adopts a boy he finds in the bombed-out southern city. His wife is furious and coldly rejects the boy at first, but gradually warms to him. Meanwhile, Giovanni becomes involved in

fake currency Counterfeit money is currency produced without the legal sanction of a state or government, usually in a deliberate attempt to imitate that currency and so as to deceive its recipient. Producing or using counterfeit money is a form of fraud or fo ...

smuggling, bringing the family increased prosperity, until he is caught and sent briefly to prison. The boy's father than turns up, he had gone missing rather than be killed in the bombing, and offers Giovanni an honest job.

Cast

as Nannina Straselli *

as Giovanni Straselli *

Virgilio Riento Virgilio Riento (29 November 1889 – 7 September 1959) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 108 films between 1936 and 1959. Selected filmography * ''Sette giorni all'altro mondo'' (1936) - Man on train * ''Il signor Max'' (1937) - P ...

as Gaetano Schioppa *

as Caterina Schioppa *

Vito Chiari Vito is an Italian name that is derived from the Latin word "''vita''", meaning "life". It is a modern form of the Latin name Vitus, meaning "life-giver," as in San Vito or Saint Vitus, the patron saint of dogs and a heroic figure in southern I ...

as Nello Esposito *

Sandro Ruffini Alessandro "Sandro" Ruffini (21 September 1889 – 29 November 1954) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Born in Rome, Ruffini appeared in 64 films between 1913 and 1954, and was also active in theatre and radio. He was well known for his b ...

as Porzio Ray *

Lauro Gazzolo Lauro Gazzolo (born Ilario Gazzolo; 15 October 1900 – 2 October 1970) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Born in Nervi in Genoa, Gazzolo began his career on screen in 1938 starring in the comedy film ''The Document'' and beca ...

as Commendator Trombetti *

Aldo Silvani Aldo Silvani (21 January 1891 – 12 November 1964) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 110 films between 1934 and 1964. He was born in Turin, Italy and died in Milan, Italy. Selected filmography * ''Cardinal Lambertini'' ...

as The cellmate *

Vittorio Mottini Vittorio is an Italian male given name which has roots from the Byzantine-Bulgarian name Victor. People with the given name Vittorio include: * Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, pretender to the former Kingdom of Italy * Vittorio Adorni, prof ...

as The father of Nello *

Checco Durante Francesco "Checco" Durante (19 November 1893 – 5 January 1976) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 59 films between 1931 and 1973. He was born and died in Rome, Italy. Selected filmography * '' The Doctor in Spite of Himself'' (193 ...

as The bellman of the radiogram *

Mario Castellani Mario Castellani (24 November 190625 April 1978) was an Italian comic actor, best known as the sidekick of famous comic actor Antonio De Curtis (Totò). He appeared with the latter in all his major movies, as well as many of Totò's theatre pro ...

as A police officer

References

Bibliography

* Burke, Frank. ''A Companion to Italian Cinema''. John Wiley & Sons, 2017. * Gundle, Stephen. ''Fame Amid the Ruins: Italian Film Stardom in the Age of Neorealism''. Berghahn Books, 2019. * Sorlin, Pierre. ''Italian National Cinema''. Routledge, 2006.

External links

* 1945 films 1945 comedy-drama films Italian comedy-drama films Films directed by Gennaro Righelli Italian black-and-white films Lux Film films Films set in Rome Films set in Naples 1940s Italian films {{comedy-drama-film-stub