''Gastone'' is a 1960 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 ...

co-written and directed by

Mario Bonnard Mario Bonnard (24 December 1889 – 22 March 1965) was an Italian actor and film director. Bonnard was born and died in Rome. He began his cinematic career as an actor becoming a popular romantic lead in numerous silent films made before World ...

and starring

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 ...

Anna Maria Ferrero Anna Maria Ferrero (18 February 1935 – 21 May 2018) was an Italian actress. Early life and career Born Anna Maria Guerra, she changed her last name to Ferrero in honor of the composer :it:Willy Ferrero, Willy Ferrero. Her film debut came at t ...

and

Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Sciuscià'' and ''Bicycle Thieves'' (honorary) ...

. It is loosely based on the

Ettore Petrolini Ettore Petrolini (13 January 1884 – 29 June 1936) was an Italian stage and film actor, playwright, screenwriter and novelist. He is considered one of the most important figures of avanspettacolo, vaudeville and revue. He was noted for his numerou ...

's character and comedy play with the same name.

Plot

Italy, 1920s. The suffered glimmers of war seem very far away, especially if and when you have the opportunity to have fun in places like the tabarin: it is here that Gastone, aka Gaston Le Beau, profession danseur mondain, accompanied by the inseparable tailcoat, performs dancing with extreme elegance and entertains the wealthy ladies who go there. Enclosed in the magnificent image of "bell'Adone", a woman-wasting dancer, elegant and sexy, Gastone is actually a frivolous and artless character, a well-known scammer at the police station who not only cares about being desired by the admirers but wants something else: success, that full glory and never achieved due to the outbreak of the Great War. Surrounded by equally fatuous and in some cases dishonest characters, including princes, loan sharks and beautiful women, Gastone cultivates his ambitions when a new student, Nannina, enrolls in his improvised dance school. It is not just a young and beautiful girl employed as a maid with nobles, but an excellent dancer, ambitious and determined. With her, Gaston deludes himself that he has finally found the new star of the club, the perfect dance partner. But, upon entering the scene, Gaston is suddenly taken to the police station for a complaint and Nannina, now known as Anna La Belle, performs alone and has a huge consensus. Thus began, a little by chance and a lot for talent and with the help of a famous impresario, the new solo career of Nannina, able in a short time to reach the highest fame performing in the most famous theaters and clubs in Europe. Missing the opportunity, Gaston proves unable to realize that the public's tastes have changed and that his glossy world is on the way to sunset. Now forgotten, disheartened and penniless, Gaston looks for the last chance by returning to perform in a second-rate club with Rosa, an old flame always devoted. But the last performance turns out to be a total fiasco and the bel danseur, reduced to poverty, has only a vain consolation left: to see Nannina again perhaps for one last time, thus leaving the scene convinced that he is, always and in any case, the most beautiful and desired.

Cast

as Gastone *

as Nannina *

as The Prince *

Paolo Stoppa Paolo Stoppa Knight Grand Cross (6 June 1906 – 1 May 1988) was an Italian actor. Biography Born in Rome, he began as a stage actor in 1927 in the theater in Rome and began acting in films in 1932. As a stage actor, his most celebrated ...

as Achille *

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 Rosa *

Chelo Alonso Chelo Alonso (born Isabel Apolonia García Hernández, 10 April 1933 – 20 February 2019) was a Cuban actress who became a star in Italian cinema, and ultimately a 1960s cult film heroine and sex symbol in the U.S. She was well known for pla ...

as Carmencita *

Magali Noël Magali Noëlle Guiffray (27 June 1931 – 23 June 2015), better known as Magali Noël, was a French actress and singer. Biography Actress career Born in İzmir to French parents in the diplomatic service, she left Turkey for France in 1951, a ...

as Sonia *

Tino Scotti Tino Scotti (16 November 1905 – 16 October 1984) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 65 films between 1940 and 1984. He was born in Milan, Italy, and died in Tarquinia, Italy. Partial filmography * ''Fanfulla da Lodi'' (1940) * ''L ...

as The Illusionist *

Angela Luce Angela Luce (born 3 December 1938) is an Italian film actress and singer of Neapolitan song. She has appeared in 80 films since 1958. She was born in Naples, Italy. Partial filmography * ''La sposa'' (1958) - Margherita * ''Avventura a Capri'' ...

as Yvonne *

Nando Bruno Nando Bruno (6 October 1895 – 10 April 1963) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 84 films between 1938 and 1961. He was born in Rome, Italy and he died there. Selected filmography * ''A Lady Did It'' (1938) - Un collego di Pasquale ...

as Michele *

Salvo Libassi A salvo is the simultaneous discharge of artillery or firearms including the firing of guns either to hit a target or to perform a salute. As a tactic in warfare, the intent is to cripple an enemy in one blow and prevent them from fighting b ...

as The Commissioner *

Mimmo Palmara Domenico "Mimmo" Palmara (25 July 1928 – 10 June 2016) was an Italian actor. Biography Born in Cagliari, Palmara made his film debut in 1952 as a character actor in drama films by eminent directors such as Luchino Visconti, Mario Monicelli and ...

as The Agent *

Mino Doro Mino Doro (6 May 1903 – 13 April 1992) was an Italian actor who appeared in more than a hundred films between 1932 and 1970. Doro generally played supporting and character roles. He appeared as a blackshirt in the 1934 Fascist propaganda fi ...

as Cavallini *

Linda Sini Linda Sini (13 February 1924 – 5 February 1999) was an Italian film actress. She made 75 appearances between 1950 and 1979 and several appearances after this, mostly in film. Debuting in '' Sigillo rosso'' in 1950, she went on to star in ...

as Lucy *

Livio Lorenzon Livio Lorenzon (6 May 1923 – 23 December 1971) was an Italian actor who was mainly active during the 1950s and 1960s. Biography He played minor roles in some memorable commedia all'Italiana movies directed by the likes of Dino Risi and ...

as Captain Negri *

Nanda Primavera Nanda Primavera (23 August 1898 – 9 August 1995) was an Italian actress. She appeared in more than thirty films from 1936 to 1988. Filmography References External links * 1898 births 1995 deaths Italian film actresses {{Ita ...

as Donna Flora *

Anna Campori Anna Campori (22 September 1917 – 19 January 2018) was an Italian actress. From 1951 onwards, she appeared in 70 films. Life and career Born in Rome, Italy, after the debut on stage in a small company of prose Campori moved shortly after in ...

as The Singer

References

External links

*
''Gastone''
at

Variety Distribution Variety Distribution is an Italian-based film distribution company. It distributes Italian films worldwide, produced from the 1930s onward. History Variety Distribution (formerly Variety Film and Variety Communications) has been in the film ...

1961 comedy films 1961 films Italian comedy films Films directed by Mario Bonnard Italian films based on plays Films about actors Films set in Rome Films scored by Angelo Francesco Lavagnino 1960s Italian films {{1960s-Italy-comedy-film-stub