''Lively Teresa'' (Italian: ''La vispa Teresa'') is a 1943 Italian " white-telephones"

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

Mario Mattoli Mario Mattoli (; 30 November 1898 – 26 February 1980) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed 86 films between 1934 and 1966. His 1939 film ''Defendant, Stand Up!'' was shown as part of a retrospective on Italian comedy ...

and starring

Lilia Silvi Lilia Silvi (22 December 1922 – 27 July 2013) was an Italian film actress. Silvi was one of several young actresses presented as an Italian equivalent to the Canadian-born Cinema of the United States, Hollywood star Deanna Durbin. She appeared ...

, Roberto Villa and

Carlo Ninchi Carlo Ninchi (31 May 1896 – 27 April 1974) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1931 and 1963. He was born in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, and died on 27 April 1974 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy. Selected filmogra ...

. It was produced in the style of the White Telephone comedies popular during the Fascist era. The film was only fully released following the

Liberation of Rome The Battle of Anzio was a battle of the Italian Campaign of World War II that took place from January 22, 1944 (beginning with the Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle) to June 5, 1944 (ending with the capture of Rome). The op ...

, alongside other equally innocuous films such as ''

The Innocent Casimiro ''The Innocent Casimiro'' (Italian: ''L'innocente Casimiro'') is a 1945 Italian comedy film directed by Carlo Campogalliani and starring Erminio Macario, Lea Padovani and Olinto Cristina. It is based on a play ''Scandalo al Collegio'' by Mario Am ...

''. This provoked criticism from supporters of the emerging neorealist movement who wanted to promote what they regarded as more innovative films, while the major film companies such as

Lux Film Lux Film was an Italian film distribution (and later production) company founded by Riccardo Gualino in 1934. Gualino was an anti-fascist businessman who had clashed with the regime of Mussolini in 1931 and had been forced into internal exile on ...

and Minverva preferred more populist offerings.Gundle p.268 It was shot at the

Palatino Studios The Safa Palatino Studios are a complex of film and television studios in the Italian capital Rome. It is owned by Mediaset, who use it for the production of television programmes. Historically, the site was used as a film studio from the 1930s to ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Piero Filippone Piero Filippone (1911–1998) was an Italian art director who designed the sets for around two hundred films. He created the sets for Roberto Rossellini's 1954 film '' Journey to Italy''.Brunette p.416 Selected filmography * '' Three Cornered H ...

and

Mario Rappini 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 ...

Plot

A wealthy

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

is disturbed when he discovers that his son Alberto has fallen in love with an ambitious

manicurist A manicurist or nail technician is a person whose occupation is to style and shape a person's nails. This is achieved using a combination of decorating nails with coloured varnish, transfers, gems or glitter. Basic treatments include manicures a ...

Luisa. He arranges for him to go on holiday to

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

while he tries to buy off Luisa. However, Luisa has secretly accompanied Alberto, and has got her friend Teresa to take her place at the beauty parlour. Alberto's parents mistake her for Luisa, and complications ensue.

Cast

as Teresa * Antonio Gandusio as Antonio, suo zio *

Vera Carmi Vera Carmi (23 November 1914 – 6 September 1969) was an Italian film actress. She appeared in more than 50 films between 1940 and 1956. She was born in Turin, Italy and died in Rome, Italy. Life and career Carmi was born Virginia Doglioli ...

as Luisa, la manicure * Roberto Villa as Alberto Mari *

as Carlo Mari, suo padre *

Giuditta Rissone Giuditta Rissone (10 March 1895 – 22 June 1977) was an Italian film actress who appeared in 25 films between 1933 and 1966. She was born in Genoa and died in Rome. Giuditta Rissone married the director and actor Vittorio De Sica in 1937 in ...

as Matilde Mari, madre di Alberto *

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 Albertaccio *

Aldo Silvani Aldo Silvani (21 January 1891 – 12 November 1964) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 110 films between 1934 and 1964. He was born in Turin, Italy and died in Milan, Italy. Selected filmography * ''Cardinal Lambertini'' ...

as Il colonello Rossi *

Cesare Fantoni Cesare Fantoni (1 January 1905 – 15 January 1963) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Born in Bologna, Fantoni began his acting career in Luchino Visconti’s stage proses until making his first on-screen appearance in 1937. ...

as Il maggiordomo di casa Mari *

Achille Majeroni Achille Majeroni (24 August 1881 – 12 October 1964) was an Italian film actor. Born in Syracuse, Sicily, son of Achille Majeroni and his second wife Graziosa Bignetti, he made his stage debut at age twelve with the Marazzi-Diligenti c ...

as Un collabotatore del signor Mari *

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 La segretaria del Signor Mari * Carlo Lombardi as Il commendatore *

Carlo Campanini Carlo Campanini (5 October 1906 – 20 November 1984), was an Italian actor, singer and comedian. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1939 and 1969. Life and career Born in Turin, Campanini attended a technical school and a course of ...

as Un cliente dal barbiere *

Peppino Spadaro Peppino Spadaro (1898-1950) was an Italian actor.Paietta p.162 His brother Umberto Spadaro was also an actor. Selected filmography * ''1860'' (1934) * ''Saint John, the Beheaded'' (1940) * ''Jealousy'' (1942) * ''The Taming of the Shrew'' (1942) ...

as L'usciere siciliano * Leopoldo Valentini as Un cliente al bar

References

Bibliography

* Gundle, Stephen. ''Mussolini's Dream Factory: Film Stardom in Fascist Italy''. Berghahn Books, 2013.

External links

* 1943 films 1943 comedy films Italian comedy films 1940s Italian-language films Italian black-and-white films Films directed by Mario Mattoli Minerva Film films Films shot at Palatino Studios 1940s Italian films {{1940s-Italy-comedy-film-stub