''Fumo di Londra'' (Thank You Very Much) (internationally released as ''Smoke Over London'' and ''Gray Flannels'') is a 1966 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 ...

written, directed and starred by

Alberto Sordi Alberto Sordi (15 June 1920 – 24 February 2003) was an Italian actor, voice actor, singer, comedian, director and screenwriter. Early life Born in Rome to a schoolteacher and a musician and the last of five children, Sordi was named in hon ...

. For his performance Sordi won the

David di Donatello The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David'', a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the ''Accademia del Cinema Italiano'' (The Academy of Italian Cinema). There are 26 award cat ...

for Best Actor.

Plot

Dante Fontana is an antique dealer from

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...

infatuated with the culture of the British upper classes. His wife and relatives mock him and snub him, seeing him as a silly daydreamer doing no serious work. Unfussed, Dante plans a vacation to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to learn more about the culture he so admires. However, once in London, he struggles to fit in, is awkward, often makes mistakes betraying his Italian origins, attracting the scorn of the British upper classes he would like to impress. After taking part in fox hunting, Dante is invited to the house of an English aristocrat and showed a supposedly ancient

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities ** Etrusca ...

statuette. Dante says the object is fake and breaks it, provoking the angry reaction of the English who open fire on him. Terrified, Dante hides with a group of hippies and joining them in a demonstration. Arrested, Dante is sent back to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

where he resumes his monotonous routine.

Belvoir Castle Belvoir Castle ( ) is a faux historic castle and stately home in Leicestershire, England, situated west of the town of Grantham and northeast of Melton Mowbray. The Castle was first built immediately after the Norman Conquest of 1066 an ...

was the location (as country-house of the Duchess of Bradford).

Cast

as Dante Fontana *

Fiona Lewis Fiona Lewis (born 28 September 1946) is a British actress and writer from Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex.Profile
, bfi.org.uk; acc ...

as Elizabeth *

Amy Dalby Amy Mary Dalby (3 January 1888 – 10 March 1969) was an English actress of stage and screen, often in kindly or eccentric spinster roles. Amy first acted at the age of six. Her final performance was in the 8 March 1969 episode "The Battle of G ...

Duchess Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranked ...

of Bradford *

Alfredo Marchetti Alfredo (, ) is a cognate of the Anglo-Saxon name Alfred and a common Italian, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish language personal name. People with the given name include: *Alfredo (born 1946), Brazilian footballer born as Alfredo Mostarda Filho ...

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Bolla *

Clara Bindi Clara Bindi (born 1 November 1927) is an Italian actress. Biography Born in Naples, Bindi joined the Eduardo De Filippo theater company in the 1947-48 season and in 1948 made her film debut as Giulietta Del Bello in '' La macchina ammazzacattiv ...

as The Wife *

Michael Trubshawe Michael Trubshawe (7 December 1905 – 21 March 1985) was a British actor and former officer in the Highland Light Infantry Regiment of the British Army. Trubshawe was very close friends with fellow British actor David Niven, serving with hi ...

as The Colonel * Jean St. Clair as Headmistress

References

External links

* 1966 films Italian comedy films 1960s Italian-language films English-language Italian films Films directed by Alberto Sordi Commedia all'italiana 1966 comedy films Films scored by Piero Piccioni Films set in London 1960s Italian films {{1960s-Italy-comedy-film-stub