''The Pool Hustlers'' ( it, Io, Chiara e lo Scuro, "I, Chiara and lo Scuro") is a 1982 Italian

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film directed by

Maurizio Ponzi Maurizio Ponzi (born 8 May 1939) is an Italian film director, screenwriter and cinema critic. Born in Rome, he wrote cinema reviews in several Italian magazines during the early 1960s. He worked as assistant director in Pier Paolo Pasolini's e ...

. It was screened in the ''

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

'' section at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival. It was co-written by Ponzi, male lead

Francesco Nuti Francesco Nuti (born 17 May 1955) is an Italian actor, film director and screenwriter. Biography Born in Prato, Nuti began his professional career as an actor in the late 1970s, when he formed the cabaret group ''Giancattivi'' together with ...

and established screenwriters Franco Ferrini and

Enrico Oldoini Enrico Oldoini (born 4 May 1946) is an Italian director and screenwriter. Born in La Spezia, in 1966 Enrico Oldoini started attending the Silvio D'Amico National Academy of Dramatic Art in Rome, without graduating. From 1972, he then worked as a ...

. The symbolic names of the characters mentioned in the Italian title, "Chiara" and "lo Scuro", mean "Bright" or "Clear", and "the Dark One" or "the Darkness", respectively.

Cast

as Francesco Piccoli a.k.a. "il Toscano" ("the Tuscan") *

Giuliana De Sio Giuliana De Sio (born 2 April 1956) is an Italian actress, the younger sister of pop-folk singer Teresa De Sio. She won two David di Donatello for Best Actress and different Silver Ribbons for Best Actress. Biography and career Giuliana De Si ...

as Chiara *

Marcello Lotti Marcello is a common masculine Italian given name. It is a variant of Marcellus. The Spanish and Portuguese version of the name is Marcelo, differing in having only one "l", while the Greek form is Markellos. Etymology The name originally means ...

(as Marcello Lotti) - "lo Scuro" ("the Dark One") *

Antonio Petrocelli Antonio Petrocelli (born 18 September 1953) is an Italian actor. Partial filmography Film * '' The Pool Hustlers'' (1982) * '' The Eyes, the Mouth'' (1982) * '' Secrets Secrets'' (1985) * '' Il tenente dei carabinieri'' (1986) * ''The Strangene ...

as Mancino *

Novello Novelli Novello Novelli (2 March 1930 – 10 January 2018) was an Italian character actor. Life and career Born in Poggibonsi, province of Siena, as Novellantonio Novelli, a former footballer and surveyor, Novelli initially was the manager of the cabare ...

(as Novellantonio Novelli) - Merlo *

Renato Cecchetto Renato Cecchetto (28 October 1951 – 23 January 2022) was an Italian actor who specialized in dubbing. Life and career In the 1970s, Cecchetto attended the Silvio d'Amico National Academy of Dramatic Arts and began his career working with f ...

as Giovanni *

Claudio Casale Claudio is an Italian and Spanish first name. In Portuguese it is accented Cláudio. In Catalan and Occitan it is Claudi, while in Romanian it is Claudiu. Origin and history Claudius was the name of an eminent Roman gens, the most importa ...

* Carlo Neri *

Claudio Spadaro Claudio is an Italian and Spanish first name. In Portuguese it is accented Cláudio. In Catalan and Occitan it is Claudi, while in Romanian it is Claudiu. Origin and history Claudius was the name of an eminent Roman gens, the most importa ...

Stefano Cuneo Stefano is the Italian form of the masculine given name Στέφανος (Stefanos, Stephen). The name is of Greek origin, Στέφανος, meaning a person who made a significant achievement and has been crowned. In Orthodox Christianity the ac ...

Pierangelo Pozzato Pierangelo is a masculine Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: * Pierangelo Bertoli (1942–2002), Italian singer-songwriter and poet * Pierangelo Belli (born 1944), Italian footballer * Pierangelo Congiu (born 1951), Italian s ...

(as Pietro Angelo Pozzato)

References

External links

* 1982 comedy-drama films 1982 films Cue sports films Films directed by Maurizio Ponzi Films scored by Carlo Maria Cordio Italian comedy-drama films 1980s Italian-language films Films set in Rome 1980s Italian films {{1980s-comedy-drama-film-stub