''Il Vedovo'' (The Widower) is a

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

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

Dino Risi Dino Risi (23 December 1916 – 7 June 2008) was an Italian film director. With Mario Monicelli, Luigi Comencini, Nanni Loy and Ettore Scola, he was one of the masters of ''commedia all'italiana''. Biography Risi was born in Milan. He had an o ...

Plot

Alberto Nardi (

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 ...

) is a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

businessman who fancies himself a man of great capabilities, but whose factory (producing lifts and elevators) teeters perennially on the brink of catastrophe.
Alberto is married to a rich and successful businesswoman from

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, Elvira Almiraghi (

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 ...

) who has a no-nonsense attitude and barely tolerates the attempts of her husband to keep his factory afloat with her money.
Alberto tries to "keep up" with his wife and her rich and successful friends but he only manages to ridicule himself. Amused by his antics Elvira publicly treats her husband as a silly clown, confident that he'll never leave her in the hope of profiting from her fortune.
One day a train on which Elvira was supposed to be traveling (to pay visit to her old mother) suffers a horrible accident falling off a bridge and no survivors are reported.
Alberto is overjoyed and in a veritable ecstatic rush plans to liquidate most of Elvira's assets, brings his mistress in her country villa and starts dreaming of a bright future only to be frustrated when Elvira appears alive and well: a last-minute phone call from his own accountant and handyman ( Marquis Stucchi) prevented her from boarding the doomed train.
Frustration and anger throw Alberto in a nervous breakdown from which he emerges with a diabolic plan: to sabotage the elevator in the city attic he shares with Elvira to have her killed and inherit her fortune for good.
The German engineer working in his factory agrees with Nardi's plan and with the help of unlikely accomplices like Marquis Stucchi and his own uncle (who acts as Alberto's chauffeur) the murderous project is set in motion, with an unintended and tragicomical result. The movie is a splendid example of the

commedia all'italiana Commedia all'italiana (, pl. Commedie all'italiana, "Comedy in the Italian way") or Italian-style comedy is an Italian film genre born in Italy in the 1950s and developed in the 1960s and 1970s. It is widely considered to have started with Mar ...

which Risi directs on an unusually

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

register where Sordi depicts an outrageously sleazy character (arrogant to his subjects, megalomaniac, a bigoted unrepentant fascist who yet longs for recognition from the businessmen who envies). It is also a period piece, showing the contradictions and miseries lying behind Italy's postwar

economic miracle Economic miracle is an informal economic term for a period of dramatic economic development that is entirely unexpected or unexpectedly strong. Economic miracles have occurred in the recent histories of a number of countries, often those undergoing ...

Cast

: Alberto Nardi *

: Elvira Almiraghi *

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 ...

: Marquis Stucchi *

Leonora Ruffo Leonora Ruffo (13 January 1935 – 25 May 2007) was an Italian film actress. Career Born in Rome as Bruna Bovi, the daughter of Angelo Bovi, basketball coach of Ginnastica Roma, Italian Championship pluri-winner, Ruffo failed to obtain the main ...

: Gioia *

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 ...

: Nardi's Uncle *

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 ...

: Italia, Gioia's Mother *

Mario Passante is a character (arts), character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in ...

: Lambertoni *

Enzo Petito Enzo Petito (24 July 1897 – 17 July 1967) was an Italian film and stage character actor. A theatre actor under Eduardo De Filippo in the 1950s in the Teatro San Ferdinando of Naples, with whom he was professionally closely associated, Petito al ...

: Fritzmayer *

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 * Rugge ...

: Fenoglio *

Gigi Reder Gigi Reder (born Luigi Schroeder; 25 March 1928 – 8 October 1998) was an Italian actor and voice actor. He was best known for the role of Filini in the ''Fantozzi'' film series. Biography Born in Naples in to a German father and a Neapolita ...

: Girondi * Enzo Furlai: Giordano *

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'' ...

: Margherita *

Ignazio Leone Ignazio Leone (19 April 1923 – 30 December 1976) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 105 films between 1952 and 1976. Selected filmography * '' The Walk'' (1953) * '' I Chose Love'' (1953) * ''Amici per la pelle'' (1955) * '' A Wom ...

: Doorman *

Alberto Rabagliati Alberto Rabagliati (27 June 1906 in Milan – 8 March 1974 in Rome) was an Italian singer. Early career Alberto Rabagliati was born in Milan in 1906 and was the son of piedmontese spouses: his father Leandro Valentino Rabagliati and his moth ...

: Himself *

Rosita Pisano Rosa Pisano (15 October 1919 – 24 December 1975) was an Italian stage, film and television actress. Life and career Pisano was born in Naples, into a family of dialect theatre actors. She debuted on stage as a child actress in her family comp ...

: Nardi's Secretary

Censorship

When Il Vedovo was first released in Italy in 1959, it was subject to review by the Committee for Theatrical Review of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities. Before being screened publicly, the Committee recommended the removal of the following: 1) Father Agostino, who took part in the funeral as a priest, is shown sipping a glass of wine; 2) Elvira’s line “She is a fool, an

Anita Garibaldi Anita Garibaldi (, ; 30 August 1821 – 4 August 1849), born Ana Maria de Jesus Ribeiro, was a Brazilian republican revolutionary. She was the wife and comrade-in-arms of Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi. Their partnership epitomized ...

type of fool… but instead of a hero she found my husband.” The reason for the restriction, cited in the official documents, is because the aforementioned scene was considered immoral and the line running against national reputation and decency. The official document number is N° 3036; it was signed on 17 Nov 1959 by Minister Domenico Magrì.

Remake

A remake entitled ''

Wannabe Widowed ''Wannabe Widowed'' ( it, Aspirante vedovo) is a 2013 black comedy film directed by Massimo Venier. It is a remake of 1959 Dino Risi's film '' Il vedovo''. Cast *Luciana Littizzetto as Susanna Almiraghi *Fabio De Luigi as Alberto Nardi *Alessandr ...

'', starring

Luciana Littizzetto Luciana Littizzetto (born 29 October 1964) is an Italian comedy actress, shock jock and humor writer. Littizzetto is known in her home country for her irreverent gags, lampooning government ministers and church prelates alike. Nicknamed "Luciani ...

and

Fabio De Luigi Fabio De Luigi (born 11 October 1967) is an Italian actor, voice actor, comedian, film director, television presenter, and former basketball player. Biography Great-grandson of Tonino Guerra; has a son, Dino, born in 2007, and a daughter, Lola, ...

, was released in 2013.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vedovo, Il 1959 films 1959 comedy films Films set in Italy Films set in Milan 1950s Italian-language films Italian black-and-white films Films directed by Dino Risi Films scored by Armando Trovajoli Commedia all'italiana 1950s Italian films