''Figaro Here, Figaro There'' (Italian: ''Figaro qua, Figaro là'') is a 1950 Italian
historical 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
Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia
Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia (8 July 1894 – 4 January 1998) was an Italian film director whose career spanned from the 1930s to the mid-1960s. He mainly directed adventure pictures and popular comedies, including some starring Totò. His 1942 ...
and starring
Totò
Antonio Griffo Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno Porfirogenito Gagliardi de Curtis di Bisanzio (15 February 1898 – 15 April 1967), best known by his stage name Totò (), or simply as Antonio de Curtis, and nicknamed ''il Principe della risata ...
and
Isa Barzizza
Isa Barzizza (born 22 November 1929) is an Italian actress who has appeared in 46 films since 1947.
Life and career Early life
Born in Sanremo, Barzizza is the daughter of the conductor and composer Pippo Barzizza. Gianfranco Baldazzi. "Isa Ba ...
. The title and the plot allude to ''
The Barber of Seville
''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based ...
''.
[Bìspuri pp. 84–85] It was made at Scalera Studios in Rome. Set design was by
Alberto Boccianti.
Plot
The film is set in the eighteenth century. The protagonist is Figaro, the Sevillian barber, who is likely to be arrested because he operates his shop on Sundays, which is forbidden. Figaro is a friend of a nobleman who fell in love with Rosina, his friend and daughter of the governor. But Rosina's father does not agree to their marriage. One day Rosina, through her maid Dove, tells the Count that one night she is staying at the inn "of four bulls". The Count and Figaro go with a friend to the inn before they get to Rosina and her court.
Their plan is to replace the host, pose as their owners of the inn and abduct Rosina. But unfortunately not all is according to plan. Pedro, a dangerous bandit, learns that Rosina and her court must stay at the inn that night and his men raid the inn: they capture Figaro, the Count and his friend. Finally Rosina comes and is disappointed when she sees that her beloved is not there. Figaro, however, has an idea: he writes a note to tell her that the man in the white hat is Pedro. Unfortunately at that time soldiers capture Figaro and Pedro, and stop believing that it is Pedro and the plan fails. Figaro is sentenced to death by firing squad, but in the end escapes helped by the Count. Eventually, after many vicissitudes, Count marries Rosina and Figaro goes to live with them.
Cast
*
Totò
Antonio Griffo Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno Porfirogenito Gagliardi de Curtis di Bisanzio (15 February 1898 – 15 April 1967), best known by his stage name Totò (), or simply as Antonio de Curtis, and nicknamed ''il Principe della risata ...
as Figaro
*
Isa Barzizza
Isa Barzizza (born 22 November 1929) is an Italian actress who has appeared in 46 films since 1947.
Life and career Early life
Born in Sanremo, Barzizza is the daughter of the conductor and composer Pippo Barzizza. Gianfranco Baldazzi. "Isa Ba ...
as Rosina
*
Gianni Agus as Count of Almaviva
*
Renato Rascel
Renato Rascel (), stage name of Renato Ranucci (; 27 April 1912 – 2 January 1991), was an Italian film actor and singer. He appeared in 50 films between 1942 and 1972. He represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1960 with the s ...
as Don Alonzo
*
Guglielmo Barnabò
Guglielmo Barnabò (11 May 1888 – 31 May 1954) was an Italian stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1926 and 1954.
Life and career
Born in Ancona, Barnabò made his stage debut in 1921 at the Greek Theatre of ...
as Don Bartolo
*
Jole Fierro
Jole Fierro (22 November 1926 – 27 March 1988) was an Italian actress.
Born in Salerno, Fierro made her debut in the early 1950s in the Neapolitan dialect theater, and shortly later she made her first appearances in films. In June 1954, she a ...
as Colomba
*
Luigi Pavese
Luigi Pavese (25 October 1897 – 13 December 1969) was an Italian actor and voice actor.
Biography
Born in Asti, Pavese started his career in 1916 working as a silent film actor at 19 years of age. He then began his theatrical debut in 192 ...
as Pedro
*
Franca Marzi
Franca Marzi (18 August 1926 – 6 March 1989) was an Italian film actress. She appeared in 80 films between 1943 and 1977.
Life and career
Born in Rome as Francesca Marsi, after working in the revue, Marzi made her film debut in her early ...
as Consuelo
*
Pietro Tordi
Pietro Tordi (12 July 1906 – 14 December 1990) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 100 films between 1942 and 1988. He was born in Florence, Italy.
Selected filmography
* '' Doctor Antonio'' (1937) - L'altro conspiratore
* '' Don C ...
as Fiorello
*
Ugo Sasso
Ugo Sasso, born Domenico Pasquale Giuseppe Sasso (23 March 1910 - 21 July 1981), was an Italian film and television actor.
Life and career
Born in Turin, in the early 1930s Sasso moved to Rome to attend the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografi ...
as Hurtado
*
Mario Siletti
Mario Giovanni Siletti (22 July 1903 – 19 April 1964) was an Italian actor. He was born in Turin. He performed in more than 160 films from 1932 to 1964. He began appearing in American films no later than 1946. From 1962 to 1964, he also portra ...
as the president of the court
*
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 the actor
*
Giulio Calì
Giulio Calì (26 March 1895 – 20 January 1967) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1927 and 1966.
Life and career
Born in Rome, Calì started his career on stage, being mainly active in Roman dialect thea ...
as the barber help
References
Bibliography
* Ennio Bìspuri. ''Totò: principe clown : tutti i film di Totò''. Guida Editori, 1997.
External links
*
1950 films
1950s Italian-language films
1950s historical comedy films
Films directed by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia
Films set in the 18th century
Films set in Seville
Films shot at Scalera Studios
Films based on The Barber of Seville (play)
Lux Film films
Italian historical comedy films
1950 comedy films
Italian black-and-white films
1950s Italian films
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