''The Bigamist'' ( it, Il bigamo) is a 1956 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

Luciano Emmer Luciano Emmer (19 January 1918 – 16 September 2009) was an Italian film director. He was born in Milan, but most of his childhood lived in Venice. He started as filmmaker at filming Giotto's frescoes in Padua in 1938. Screenwriter Sergi ...

Plot

Mario De Santis, an enterprising trade representative who sells toothpastes, regularly married to Valeria, sees his life upset by the accusation of being bigamous. Accompanied to the police station, he is confronted with a certain Isolina Fornaciari, whom he would have married in Forlimpopoli a few years earlier. Mario, furious at the accusation, goes into de facto ways with Isolina's father, with whom he has a fight so much that he is put under arrest. Moreover, no one seems to believe in his innocence, not even his wife, who lets herself be negatively influenced by her sister and the family lawyer. When Mario is granted bail, his case is entrusted to an eccentric prince of the forum, talkative and extravagant. A friend of Mario's, met in prison, realizes that it could be a case of the same name and sets out to travel all over Rome in search of Isolina's real husband. When he finds him, he manages to drag him to court where, in the meantime, Mario - following the advice of his defender - has pleaded guilty. Thus the court, while recognizing him innocent of the charge of bigamy, condemns him for self-malignancy; and Isolina, who, complicated by her condition as an elderly single girl, had exploited the circumstance to try to frame a handsome man, is in turn condemned for perjury. Having served the small sentence inflicted on him, Mario can finally return to the arms of his family, who are waiting for him at the exit of the prison.

Cast

Marcello Mastroianni Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni (28 September 1924 – 19 December 1996) was an Italian film actor, regarded as one of his country's most iconic male performers of the 20th century. He played leading roles for many of Italy's top di ...

- Mario De Santis *

Franca Valeri Alma Franca Maria Norsa (31 July 1920 – 9 August 2020), known professionally as Franca Valeri, was an Italian actress, playwright, screenwriter, author, and theatre director. Life and career Born in Milan as Alma Franca Maria Norsa, she manage ...

- Isolina Fornaciari *

Giovanna Ralli Giovanna Ralli, (born 2 January 1935), is an Italian stage, film and television actress. Life and career Born in Rome, Ralli debuted as a child actress at 7; at 13 she made her theatrical debut, entering the stage company of Peppino De Filip ...

- Valeria Masetti *

Marisa Merlini Marisa Merlini (6 August 1923 – 27 July 2008) was an Italian character actress active in Italy's post-World War II cinema. Merlini appeared in over fifty films during her career, which spanned from World War II to 2005. In Luigi Comencini's 1953 ...

- Enza Masetti *

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) ...

- L'onorevole Principe / Attorney Principe *

Memmo Carotenuto Memmo Carotenuto (23 August 1908 – 23 December 1980) was an Italian actor. He appeared in 125 films between 1941 and 1980. Selected filmography *''The Wedding Trip'' (1969) * ''Assassination in Rome'' (1965) * ''Male Companion'' (1964) ...

- Quirino Proietti *

Ave Ninchi Ave Maria Ninchi (14 December 1914 – 10 November 1997) was an Italian supporting actress who played character roles on stage, television, and in over 98 feature films that included ''Tomorrow Is Too Late'' (1949) and Louis Malle's ''Murmur ...

- La signora Masetti / Missis Masetti *

Vincenzo Talarico Vincenzo Talarico (28 April 1909 – 16 August 1972), was an Italian screenwriter and film actor. He wrote for 27 films between 1940 and 1966. He also appeared in 15 films between 1946 and 1964. He was born in Acri, Italy and died in Fiuggi ...

- L'avvocato di parte civile *

Guglielmo Inglese Guglielmo Inglese (24 November 1892 – 14 January 1972) was an Italian actor, radio personality and playwright. Life and career Born in Naples into a family of Apulian origins, Inglese debuted on stage as a child actor at 2 years old, and t ...

- Don Vincenzino *

Mario Passante is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his cre ...

Fernando Milani Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

Ruggero Marchi Ruggero (), the Italian equivalent of Roger, may refer to: * Ruggero I of Sicily (1031–1101) Norman king of Sicily *Ruggero Berlam (1854–1920), Italian architect *Ruggero Bonghi (1826–1895), Italian scholar, writer and politician *Ruggero B ...

Salvo Randone Salvatore "Salvo" Randone (25 September 1906 – 6 March 1991) was an Italian theatrical, television and film actor. Born in Syracuse, Sicily, Randone debuted on stage in mid-1920s and, after some years in which he played roles of little we ...

Anita Durante Anita Durante (28 September 1897 – 2 May 1994) was an Italian actress. Born Anita Bianchi in Rome into a humble family, after attending a dramatic society for several years Durante made her official debut on stage in 1919, in Ettore Petrol ...

- Amalia

References

External links

* 1956 films 1950s Italian-language films 1956 comedy films Italian black-and-white films Films directed by Luciano Emmer Films set in Rome Films with screenplays by Age & Scarpelli Italian comedy films Films scored by Alessandro Cicognini 1950s Italian films {{1950s-Italy-comedy-film-stub