''The Adventuress from the Floor Above'' (Italian: ''L'avventuriera del piano di sopra'') is a 1941 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

Raffaello Matarazzo Raffaello Matarazzo (17 August 1909 – 17 May 1966) was an Italian filmmaker. Life Matarazzo started writing film reviews for the Roman newspaper ''Il Tevere'' before re-editing scripts for the Italian film company Cines. His first films w ...

and starring

Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Sciuscià'' and ''Bicycle Thieves'' (honorary) ...

Clara Calamai Clara Calamai (7 September 1909 – 21 September 1998) was an Italian actress. She was one of the most famous and popular Italian actresses in the 1930s and 1940s, sharing the limelight with actresses such as Alida Valli, Valentina Cortese, an ...

and

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 ...

. It was made 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 was part of the popular

White Telephone ''Telefoni Bianchi'' (; white telephones) films, also called deco films, were made by Italian film industry in the 1930s and the 1940s in imitation of American comedies of the time in a sharp contrast to the other important style of the era, cal ...

genre of

comedies Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term origin ...

.Moliterno p.58

Synopsis

When his wife goes away to attend her sister's wedding, the young

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

Fabrizio Marchini expects a quiet time at home. However that evening, a woman bursts into his

apartment An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ma ...

and demands refuge, claiming that her angry husband Signor Rossi is searching for her. He shelters her when the abrasive Rossi, who rents the apartment above, enters and demands to search the place. Once he is gone, she spends the night in his bed while he sleeps on the sofa. In the morning, however he discovers that both she and his wife's valuable pearl necklace have disappeared. With the assistance of a friend he attempts to track her down before his wife returns.

Cast

as Fabrizio Marchini *

as Biancamaria Rossi *

as Clara Marchini *

Olga Vittoria Gentilli Olga Vittoria Gentilli (19 July 1888 – 29 May 1957) was an Italian stage and film actress. She appeared in around forty films during the Fascist era and immediate post-war years. She generally played supporting roles in films such as ''Naples ...

as La madre di biancamaria *

Camillo Pilotto Camillo Pilotto (6 February 1888 Birth name: Camillo Raul Vittorio Pilotto. – 27 May 1963) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 101 films between 1916 and 1963. He was born and died in Rome, Italy. Selected filmography * ''The Song ...

as Rossi * Carlo Campanini as Arturo *

Ernesto Almirante Ernesto Almirante (24 September 1877 – 13 December 1964) was an Italian film and stage actor. Life and career Born in Mistretta into a family of actors, Almirante worked several years on stage along his father Nunzio. He was also active as a ...

as Il padre de Biancamaria *

Giselda Gasperini Giselda is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Giselda Leirner (born 1928), Brazilian writer, illustrator, and artist *Giselda Volodi (born 1959), Italian actress *Giselda Zani Giselda Zani (1909 in Italy – 1975 in Argentina) ...

as Lucrezia - la cameriera di Arturo * Jucci Kellerman as La cameriera *

Dina Romano Dina Romano (born Geltrude Ricci; 16 February 1876 – 7 November 1957) was an Italian stage and film actress. She appeared in more than fifty films during her career including '' The Materassi Sisters'' (1944).Landy p.285 Selected filmography * ...

as Matilde

References

Bibliography

* Moliterno, Gino. ''Historical Dictionary of Italian Cinema''. Scarecrow Press, 2008.

External links

* 1941 films Italian comedy films 1941 comedy films 1940s Italian-language films Films directed by Raffaello Matarazzo Italian black-and-white films Films shot at Palatino Studios 1940s Italian films {{1940s-Italy-comedy-film-stub