''Toto Looks for a House'' ( it, Totò cerca casa) is a 1949 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

Mario Monicelli Mario Alberto Ettore Monicelli (; 16 May 1915 – 29 November 2010) was an Italian film director and screenwriter and one of the masters of the ''Commedia all'Italiana'' (Comedy Italian style). He was nominated six times for an Oscar, and was awa ...

and Steno. The film is stylistically related to

Italian neorealism Italian neorealism ( it, Neorealismo), also known as the Golden Age, is a national film movement characterized by stories set amongst the poor and the working class. They are filmed on location, frequently with non-professional actors. They pri ...

, though it can be seen as a parody. It was a commercial success, being the second most popular film at the box office that year.Bondanella p.113

Plot

In an afterwar Italy the problem for every citizen is to find a comfortable place to live. Beniamino Lomacchio (Totò) is one of the many people without a home and, together with his family, he's been living in a school. He cannot live there much longer, though, because school re-opens in September. Beniamino is a poor clerk and does not know what to do; he just hopes he'll find a comfortable apartment with a landlord who doesn't ask for too much rent. One day, however, Beniamino finds a place to move into: a cemetery caretaker's house. Not all the family is convinced it's a great idea. They stay there for a short while, fleeing when they think they see a ghost. After leaving the house, Beniamino finds another job at the studio of an artist. But even here the family Lomacchio will not agree with Beniamino. They then find a large apartment. But they've been cheated; the apartment has already been rented out to another family. Eventually, even after staying in the

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world to ...

, Beniamino is in a car accident. He's finally found a home: a psychiatric hospital.

Cast

Totò Antonio Griffo Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno Porfirogenito Gagliardi de Curtis di Bisanzio (15 February 1898 – 15 April 1967), best known by his stage name Totò (), or simply as Antonio de Curtis, and nicknamed ''il Principe della risata ...

as Beniamino Lomacchio *

Alda Mangini Alda Mangini (1914–1954) was an Italian singer and film actress.Ponzi p.67 She appeared in several films alongside the Neapolitan comedian Totò Antonio Griffo Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno Porfirogenito Gagliardi de Curtis di Bisanzio ...

as Amalia, la moglie de Lomacchio * Lia Molfesi as Aida, la figlia * Mario Gattari as Figlio *

Aroldo Tieri Aroldo Tieri (28 August 1917 – 28 December 2006) was an Italian actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1939 and 1969. Life and career Born in Corigliano Calabro, son of the journalist and playwright Vincenzo Tieri, Aroldo Tieri ...

as Checchino, il fidanzato *

Folco Lulli Folco Lulli (3 July 1912 – 23 May 1970) was an Italian partisan and film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1946 and 1970. He was the brother of actor Piero Lulli. Selected filmography * ''How I Lost the War'' (1947) * '' ...

as Turco *

Enzo Biliotti Enzo Biliotti (28 June 1887 – 19 November 1976) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 80 films between 1916 and 1958. He was born in Livorno, Italy and died in Bologna, Italy. Selected filmography * '' The Betrothed'' (1923) * ''Villafra ...

as Il sindaco *

Mario Castellani Mario Castellani (24 November 190625 April 1978) was an Italian comic actor, best known as the sidekick of famous comic actor Antonio De Curtis (Totò). He appeared with the latter in all his major movies, as well as many of Totò's theatre pro ...

as Truffatore *

Pietro De Vico Pietro De Vico (1 February 1911 – 10 December 1999) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 70 films between 1948 and 1991. He was born in Naples, and died in Rome. He was married, from 1937 until his death in 1999, to actress Anna Campo ...

as Cinese * Flavio Forin as Vedovo *

Giacomo Furia Giacomo Matteo Furia (2 January 1925 – 5 June 2015) was an Italian film, television and stage actor. He appeared in more than 130 films between 1948 and 1998. Life and career Born in Arienzo, near Caserta, Furia started his acting career ...

as Pasquale Saluto *

Marisa Merlini Marisa Merlini (6 August 1923 – 27 July 2008) was an Italian character actress active in Italy's post-World War II cinema. Merlini appeared in over fifty films during her career, which spanned from World War II to 2005. In Luigi Comencini's 1953 ...

as Patronessa *

Luigi Pavese Luigi Pavese (25 October 1897 – 13 December 1969) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Born in Asti, Pavese started his career in 1916 working as a silent film actor at 19 years of age. He then began his theatrical debut in 192 ...

as Capo ufficio *

Cesare Polacco Cesare Polacco (14 May 1900 – 2 March 1986) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Life and career Born in Venice, Polacco started his career in 1920 in the stage company of Emilio Zago, with whom he played most of the Goldoni's repertoire ...

as Vice custode *

Alfredo Ragusa Alfredo (, ) is a cognate of the Anglo-Saxon name Alfred and a common Italian, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish language personal name. People with the given name include: *Alfredo (born 1946), Brazilian footballer born as Alfredo Mostarda Filho ...

as Bidello

References

Bibliography

* Bondanella, Peter. ''A History of Italian Cinema''. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2009.

External links

* 1949 films 1949 comedy films Italian comedy films 1940s Italian-language films Italian black-and-white films Films set in Rome Films directed by Mario Monicelli Films directed by Stefano Vanzina Films scored by Carlo Rustichelli Films with screenplays by Age & Scarpelli 1940s Italian films {{1940s-Italy-comedy-film-stub