''The Most Wonderful Moment'' ( it, Il momento più bello) is a 1957 Italian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

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 ...

. This drama deals with

natural childbirth Natural childbirth is childbirth without routine medical interventions, particularly anesthesia. Natural childbirth arose in opposition to the techno-medical model of childbirth that has recently gained popularity in industrialized societies. Natur ...

, and was described as "clinically pure, informative, edifying and, on occasion, tenderly dramatic". Pietro is in love with a nurse; they keep their affair secret until she falls pregnant. Worried that marriage will affect his career, she prepares for the upcoming childbirth.

Plot

In the maternity ward of a large Roman hospital, we witness the secret love between the young doctor Pietro Valeri and the nurse Luisa Morelli. Pietro has difficulty in making a career and hesitates to marry Luisa as he does not know what future he could offer her. The situation seems to get worse when Luisa realizes she is expecting a baby. Pietro, always irresolute, seems to be in favor of a clandestine abortion, a solution that the girl refuses to consider. Luisa leaves the hospital and moves to her former colleague Margherita, who has set up on her own as a midwife. Margherita and Luisa organize pre-baby courses in which a revolutionary method of painless childbirth is developed, a technique learned in the same hospital where they worked. One of the young women assisted by Margherita is hospitalized in the ward where Pietro works and actually manages to give birth in conditions of relative serenity, transforming what mothers always considered "the worst moment" into the “most beautiful moment”: the episode comforts the doctor, who finally decides to marry Luisa and assist her in her maternity leave.

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 ...

as Pietro Valeri *

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 ...

as Luisa Morelli *

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 ...

as Margherita Rosati *

Bice Valori Maria Bice Valori (13 May 1927 – 17 March 1980) was an Italian actress, comedian and television and radio personality. Life and career Born in Rome, Valori studied at the Silvio d’Amico Academy of Dramatic Arts, graduating in 1948. The same ...

as Carla *

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) ...

as Ticket collector *

Ernesto Calindri Ernesto Calindri (5 February 1909 – 9 June 1999) was an Italian theater and film actor. He appeared in 40 films between 1938 and 1989. Selected filmography * '' Golden Arrow'' (1935) * ''It Always Ends That Way'' (1939) * ''The Children A ...

as Director of clinic * Riccardo Garrone as Dr. Benvenuti *

Emilio Cigoli Emilio Cardi Cigoli (18 November 1909 – 7 November 1980) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Cigoli was born in Livorno to actress Giovanna Cigoli. His grandfather worked as a silent film actor. He began his career on stage at ...

as Morelli *

Giuliano Montaldo Giuliano Montaldo (born 22 February 1930) is an Italian film director. Biography While he was still a young student, Montaldo was recruited by the director Carlo Lizzani for the role of leading actor in the film ''Achtung! Banditi!'' (1951). ...

as Don Grazini *

Sergio Bergonzelli Sergio Bergonzelli (25 August 1924 – 24 September 2002) was an Italian director, screenwriter, producer and actor. Life and career Born in Alba, Cuneo, Bergonzelli graduated in Philosophy, then he started working as an actor with the stage ...

as Mister Mancini * Vittorio André as Prof. Grimaldi (as Victor André) *

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 Matilde Fontana *

Edda Soligo Edda Soligo (1905–1984) was an Italian film and television actress.Verdone p.111 Selected filmography * ''Adam's Tree'' (1936) * '' The Man from Nowhere'' (1937) * ''The Former Mattia Pascal'' (1937) * ''Il signor Max'' (1937) * '' To Live'' (1 ...

as Head of home

References

External links

* 1957 films 1957 drama films Films scored by Nino Rota 1950s Italian-language films Italian black-and-white films Films directed by Luciano Emmer Films shot in Rome Films set in Rome Films with screenplays by Ugo Pirro Italian drama films 1950s Italian films {{1950s-drama-film-stub