''Little Lady'' ( it, Signorinella) is a 1949 Italian comedy film 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

Gino Bechi Gino Bechi (16 October 1913 – 2 February 1993) was an Italian operatic baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, especially in Verdi roles. Life and career Bechi studied in his native Florence with Raul Frazzi and di Gior ...

, Antonella Lualdi and Aroldo Tieri. It was shot at the

Farnesina Studios Farnesina may refer to: Architecture * Casa della Farnesina, an historic building of the ancient Rome, in the neighborhood of Trastevere, Rome * Palazzo della Farnesina, the headquarters of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the government of the ...

in Rome and on location around Introdacqua in

L'Aquila L'Aquila ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy. It is the capital city of both the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila. , it has a population of 70,967 inhabitants. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valle ...

. 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 ...

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 ...

. It earned around 66 million

lira Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current currency of Turkey and also the local name of the currencies of Lebanon and of Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, including those of Italy, Malta and Israe ...

at the box office.Chiti & Poppi p.338

Plot

Two young steal a car and drive up into the hills of

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...

. There they are mistaken by the inhabitants of a town as the wealthy cousins of a young woman who lives there Maria.

Cast

as Don Cesare Balestri * Antonella Lualdi as Maria Censi * Aroldo Tieri as Un ladro * Ave Ninchi as Iris * Aldo Silvani as Ernesto De Blasi *

Dina Sassoli Dina Sassoli (15 August 1920 – 24 March 2008) was an Italian film actress. She was born on 15 August 1920, in Rimini, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. She was best known for her work with Italian director Mario Camerini. She died on 24 March 2008 in Ro ...

as Carmela *

Vinicio Sofia Vinicio Sofia (13 November 1907 – 30 December 1982) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Born in Corleone, Sofia began his career on screen in 1933 when he made his film debut in '' Black Shirt'' directed by Giovacchino Forzano ...

as Modesto Rinaldi * Ughetto Bertucci as Un ladro * Aldo Bufi Landi as Bruno de Blasi * Ada Dondini as Cesira, la governante * Enzo Garinei as Assistante del notaio *

Inga Gort ''Inga'' is a genus of small tropical, tough-leaved, nitrogen-fixing treesElkan, Daniel. "Slash-and-burn farming has become a major threat to the world's rainforest" ''The Guardian'' 21 April 2004 and shrubs, subfamily Mimosoideae. ''Inga''s l ...

as Monica *

Enrico Viarisio Enrico Viarisio (3 December 1897 – 1 November 1967) was an Italian theatre and cinema actor. Biography Equipped of a fine and elegant humour, Viarisio was discovered by actress Paola Pezzaglia Paolina Pezzaglia Greco (13 September 1886 &ndas ...

as Comm. Gegé Lapicella

References

Bibliography

* Aprà, Adriano. ''The Fabulous Thirties: Italian cinema 1929-1944''. Electa International, 1979. * Chiti, Roberto & Poppi, Roberto. ''Dizionario del cinema italiano: Dal 1945 al 1959''. Gremese Editore, 1991.

External links

* 1949 films 1949 comedy films Italian comedy films 1940s Italian-language films Italian black-and-white films Films directed by Mario Mattoli 1940s Italian films {{1940s-Italy-comedy-film-stub