''Liolà'' () is a 1963 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

Alessandro Blasetti Alessandro Blasetti (3 July 1900 – 1 February 1987) was an Italian film director and screenwriter who influenced Italian neorealism with the film ''Quattro passi fra le nuvole''. Blasetti was one of the leading figures in Italian cinema during ...

. It is based on ''

Liolà ''Liolà'' () is an Italian stage play written by Luigi Pirandello in 1916, which takes place in 19th century Sicily. The original text was composed in the Sicilian language, Sicilian dialect of Agrigento. The title character is a middle-aged si ...

'', a comedy play by

Luigi Pirandello Luigi Pirandello (; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature for "his almost magical power ...

. The film was released as ''A Very Handy Man'' in the U.S. in 1966.

Plot summary

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

at the end of the 1800s, the rich Zia Croce has a large profitably farm which he controls together with his cousin Zio Simone, who is married to the young Mita, which fails to give him a son, who in the future Zio Simone will inherit all the fruits and vegetables that produces the farm. On stage comes the young Liolà which is surprised to see Mita married to Zio Simone, because previously he had an affair with her. Tuzza, daughter of Zia Croce, discovers that Liolà intends to renew a relationship with Mita and so she seduces him, making herself pregnant. When the incident is discovered a commotion's going on and so Liolà, combining other trouble, gets pregnant Mita also, resumed after a relaizone love. Finally Zio Simone believes that his wife had given birth to a child who would donate their possessions in future; but the reality is suddenly discovered.

Cast

Ugo Tognazzi Ugo Tognazzi (23 March 1922 – 27 October 1990) was an Italian actor, director, and screenwriter. Early life Tognazzi was born in Cremona, in northern Italy but spent his youth in various localities as his father was a travelling clerk fo ...

: Liolà *

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 ...

: Tuzza Azzara *

Anouk Aimée Nicole Françoise Florence Dreyfus (born 27 April 1932), known professionally as Anouk Aimée () or Anouk, is a French film actress, who has appeared in 70 films since 1947, having begun her film career at age 14. In her early years, she studi ...

: Mita *

Pierre Brasseur Pierre Brasseur (22 December 1905 – 16 August 1972), born Pierre-Albert Espinasse, was a French actor. Biography The son of actors Georges Espinasse and Germaine Brasseur, the latter a cousin of Albert Brasseur; his grandfather, Jules Br ...

: Zio Simone Palumbo *

Elisa Cegani Elisa Cegani (11 June 1911 – 23 February 1996) was an Italian actress. She appeared in 60 films between 1935 and 1983. Partial filmography * ''Aldebaran'' (1935) - Nora Bandi * ''Cavalry'' (1936) - Speranza di Frassineto * '' The Countes ...

: Cesa *

Dolores Palumbo Dolores Palumbo (14 June 1912 – 30 January 1984) was an Italian stage and film actress. Life and career Born in Naples, the daughter of two stage actors, Palumbo debuted in 1930 with a bit role in the farce ''La bella trovata''. Shorty later ...

: Zia Croce *

Umberto Spadaro Umberto Spadaro (8 November 1904 – 12 October 1981) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in around 95 films between 1940 and 1979. His brother Peppino Spadaro was also an actor. Selected filmography * ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (1939) – ...

Graziella Granata Graziella Granata (born 16 March 1941) is an Italian retired film and stage actress. After graduating at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, and after some secondary roles in adventure films and comedies, thanks to a film contract with Ang ...

References

External links

* 1963 films Italian historical comedy films 1960s Italian-language films 1960s historical comedy films Films directed by Alessandro Blasetti Films set in Sicily Italian films based on plays Films based on works by Luigi Pirandello Films set in the 19th century 1963 comedy films 1960s Italian films {{1960s-Italy-comedy-film-stub