''Il fanciullo del West'' ( ''The Boy of the West'' ) is a 1943 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

Giorgio Ferroni Giorgio Ferroni (12 April 1908 – 1981) was an Italian film director. Life and career Giorgio Ferroni was born in Perugia on 12 April 1908. Ferroni began his career in film with short documentaries during World War II. He directed his first dra ...

and starring

Erminio Macario Erminio Macario (27 May 1902 – 25 March 1980), best known as Macario, was an Italian film actor and comedian. He appeared in 42 films between 1933 and 1975. Life and career Born in Turin, Macario made his debut at a young age in the amate ...

. It is named after Puccini's

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

La fanciulla del West ''La fanciulla del West'' (''The Girl of the West'') is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by and , based on the 1905 play '' The Girl of the Golden West'' by the American author David Belasco. ''Fanciulla'' followe ...

'' (''The Girl of the West'' ) and is considered the first western parody in Italian cinema and the precursor of the

Spaghetti Western The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

genre.

Plot

In an imaginary country of the old west two main local families are in constant rivalry. Lolita del Fuego, courted by the head of a band of brigands, is instead in love with the scion of the rival family, Mac Carey who, through clashes, ambushes and shootings, manages to thwart the gang and to marry the girl, reconciling the two rival families.

Cast

as Mac Carey *

Elli Parvo Elli Parvo (17 October 1915 – 19 February 2010) was an Italian film actress, born in Milan as Elvira Gobbo. She appeared in more than 50 films between 1934 and 1960. Selected filmography * ''Loyalty of Love'' (1934) as La nobildonna al b ...

as Lolita de Fuego *

Giovanni Grasso Giovanni Grasso (11 November 1888 – 30 April 1963) was an Italian stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1910 and 1955. He was born and died in Catania, Sicily, Italy. Born into a family of marionettists, he was ...

as Donovan *

Nino Pavese Nino Pavese (10 April 1904 – 21 December 1979) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Born in Asti and the younger brother of actor and voice actor Luigi Pavese, he began his career on stage with a theatrical troupe in the early ...

as Pedro Montes / Drake *

Adriana Sivieri Adriana Sivieri (born 21 June 1918) is an Argentine-born Italian retired film actress.Bertellini, Giorgio. ''The Cinema of Italy'', p. 256, Wallflower Press, 2004. She also worked in radio and as a voice actor, dubbing foreign films for release i ...

as Margherita Donovan *

Egisto Olivieri Egisto Olivieri (1880–1962) was an Italian stage and film actor. He appeared in more than forty films during his career including '' The Little School Mistress'' (1934).Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de ...

as Carey *

Carlo Rizzo Carlo Rizzo (April 30, 1907 – July 26, 1979) was an Italian stage and film actor.Chiti & Poppi p.333 He was the brother of the actor Alfredo Rizzo. A regular in post-war Italian cinema he also featured in several American films produced in It ...

as Fuller *

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 Penna Bianca *

Nada Fiorelli Nada may refer to: Culture * Nāda, a concept in ancient Indian metaphysics Places *Nada, Hainan, China *Nada, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States *Nada, Nepal, village in Achham District, Seti Zone * Nada, Texas, United S ...

as Evelina Carey * Marisa Valli as Mary Carey *

Aldo Pini Aldo may refer to: * Aldo (given name), male given name ** Aldo (footballer, born 1977) ** Aldo (footballer, born 1988) * Aldo Group, a worldwide chain of shoe stores * Aldosterone in shorthand * Aldo Bonzi, a town in Argentina {{disa ...

as John Donovan *

Piero Pastore Pietro Mario Pastore, also known as Piero Pastore (3 April 1908, in Padua – 8 January 1968, in Rome) was an Italian professional footballer who played as a striker; he later became an actor. Football career Pastore was the youngest ever playe ...

as William Donovan * Renato Capanna as Sheriff *

Vinicio Sofia Vinicio Sofia (13 November 1907 – 30 December 1982) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Born in Corleone, Sofia began his career on screen in 1933 when he made his film debut in '' Black Shirt'' directed by Giovacchino Forzano ...

as Pierre *

Giovanni Onorato Giovanni Onorato (February 7, 1910 - February 23, 1960) was an Italian film actor.Chiti & Poppi p.85 He was the father of the actor Glauco Onorato and the cinematographer Marco Onorato. Selected filmography * '' La stella del cinema'' (1931) * ' ...

as Black *

Gian Paolo Rosmino Gianpaolo Rosmino (2 July 1888 – 20 July 1982) was an Italian actor and film director. Rosmino enjoyed a lengthy screen career. After making his debut in the silent era in 1913 he appeared in more than 80 films and television series up to 1965 ...

as Sorcerer *

Erminio Spalla Erminio Spalla (7 July 1897 – 14 August 1971) was an Italian professional heavyweight Boxer (boxing), boxer, film actor and singer. Spalla studied fine arts in Brera (district of Milan), Brera, when in 1910 he saw film footage of the world box ...

as Factor *

Giulio Battiferri Giulio Battiferri (15 July 1893 – 22 January 1973) was an Italian actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1939 to 1972. He was married to the actress Pina Piovani. Life and career Born in Rome, Battiferri started his career ...

as Jim * Luisa Agosti as Fortune-teller * Oreste Onorato as Bandit

Release

The film was released in

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 ...

on February 25, 1943

Notes

External links

* 1943 films 1940s Italian-language films 1943 comedy films Italian black-and-white films Films directed by Giorgio Ferroni Italian comedy films 1940s Italian films {{1940s-Italy-comedy-film-stub