''La governante'' (''The Governess'') is a 1974 Italian comedy-drama film directed by

Giovanni Grimaldi Giovanni Grimaldi (14 November 1917 – 25 February 2001) was an Italian screenwriter, journalist and film director. He was sometimes credited as Gianni Grimaldi. Biography Born in Catania, Sicily, Grimaldi entered the cinema industry in 19 ...

and starring

Turi Ferro Salvatore "Turi" Ferro (10 January 1921 – 10 May 2001) was an Italian film, television and stage actor. He is considered the most important actor in the Sicilian theatre post-World War II era. Life and career Born in Catania, Ferro laun ...

and

Martine Brochard Martine Brochard (born 2 April 1944) is a French actress and writer. Life and career Born in Paris, Brochard debuted in 1968 in a minor role in François Truffaut's '' Baisers volés''. In 1970, she moved to Italy, where she became a minor s ...

. It is based on a stage play by

Vitaliano Brancati Vitaliano Brancati (; 24 July 1907 – 25 September 1954) was an Italian novelist, dramatist, poet and screenwriter. Biography Born in Pachino, Syracuse, Brancati studied in Catania, where he graduated in letters and where he spent the most pa ...

. The film got a great commercial success, grossing over 1.8 billion lire at the Italian box office.Sandro Casazza (11 January 1978). "Il tramonto della zia sexy". ''

La Stampa ''La Stampa'' (meaning ''The Press'' in English) is an Italian daily newspaper published in Turin, Italy. It is distributed in Italy and other European nations. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Italy. History and profile The paper was fou ...

''. Retrieved 6 December 2013.

Plot

In Catania, in the house of the Platania family, a young French girl arrives as housekeeper: Caterina Leher. The elderly widower Leopoldo lives in this family unit; his son Enrico, engaged in ex-marital adventures; her daughter-in-law Elena, a wild intellectual who allows herself to be courted with discretion by the bitter writer Alessandro Bonivaglia, a tolerated frequenter of the house; their two little children, all served faithfully by a naive girl: Jana. Both Caterina and the Platania family are religious, but of a very particular religiosity. Catherine is "the sin" not so much because education and nature have endowed her with anomalous instincts as because these instincts, mixed with a fanatic desire for respectability, overwhelm her in a cog of complacent remorse and distorted mortifications. This behavior of Caterina suffers damage to Jana, who, following a slander by the housekeeper, is expelled and sent back to her hometown. During this journey she is involved in a train accident which causes her death. Having hired a new maid, Francesca, Leopoldo discovers the woman in intimate relations with Caterina. Having obtained Leopoldo's forgiveness, learned from him of Jana's tragic death, she attempts suicide, but is saved by the elderly widower who does not forgive herself for having pushed her teenage daughter many years earlier, for excess of intransigence. to take his own life.

Cast

: Leopoldo Platania *

: Catherine *

Paola Quattrini Paola Quattrini (born 9 March 1944) is an Italian actress. Career She debuted as child actor in ''Il bacio di una morta'' (1949). From then she started a very long career between stage, film and television, starring in hundreds of productions. I ...

: Elena *

Agostina Belli Agostina Belli (born 13 April 1949) is an Italian film actress. She has appeared in more than 50 films since 1968. Life and career Born in Milan as Agostina Maria Magnoni, Belli made her debut in 1968 with a minor part in ''Bandits in Milan'', ...

: Jana *

Pino Caruso Giuseppe Caruso (12 October 1934 – 7 March 2019), best known as Pino Caruso, was an Italian actor, author and television personality. Life and career Caruso was born in Palermo, Sicily and debuted as dramatic stage actor in his home town in ...

: Enrico Platania *

Vittorio Caprioli Vittorio Caprioli (15 August 1921 – 2 October 1989) was an Italian actor, film director and screenwriter. He appeared in 109 films between 1946 and 1990, mostly in French productions. Biography Caprioli was born in Naples. Having graduated fr ...

: Alessandro *

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) – ...

References

External links

* Italian comedy-drama films Films directed by Giovanni Grimaldi Italian films based on plays Films scored by Piero Umiliani Films set in Sicily 1974 comedy-drama films 1974 films 1970s Italian films {{comedy-drama-film-stub

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links