''Bread, Love and Jealousy'' ( it, Pane, amore e gelosia), known as ''Frisky'' in the US, is a 1954 Italian
romantic comedy
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...
film directed by
Luigi Comencini
Luigi Comencini (; 8 June 1916 – 6 April 2007) ''The Guardian'' was an Italian
. It is the second part of the Italian trilogy, preceded by ''
Bread, Love and Dreams
''Bread, Love and Dreams'' ( it, Pane, amore e fantasia) is a 1953 Italian romantic comedy film directed by Luigi Comencini. At the 4th Berlin International Film Festival it won the Silver Bear award.
Plot
The film is set in Sagliena, an imaginar ...
Vittorio De Sica
Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the Italian neorealism, neorealist movement.
Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Shoeshine (film), Sciuscià ...
) is in love with the midwife Annarella (
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 19 ...
), knowing that she has a son. Both of them are in love with each other, until the father of the kid, who also serves in the military, appears and, with the help of the priest Don Emidio (
Virgilio Riento
Virgilio Riento (29 November 1889 – 7 September 1959) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 108 films between 1936 and 1959.
Selected filmography
* ''Sette giorni all'altro mondo'' (1936) - Man on train
* '' Il signor Max'' (1937) - ...
), is reunited with his son.
Having to spend the next twenty months far from the village, Pietro (
Roberto Risso
Roberto Risso (22 November 1925 – 16 November 2010) was a Swiss-born Italian film actor.
Life and career
Born Pietro Roberto Strub in Geneva, Risso joined the cinema industry when he was still a university student of architecture, playing a ...
) asks the marshal to take care of Maria (
Gina Lollobrigida
Luigia "Gina" Lollobrigida (born 4 July 1927) is an Italian actress, photojournalist, and politician. She was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and early 1960s, a period in which she was an international sex symbol. As o ...
). Despite not being happy to spend time with the captain, because of her poverty and her need to collect the dowry, she goes to serve at the marshal’s house, since his maid, Caramella (
Tina Pica
Tina Pica (31 March 1884 – 15 August 1968) was an Italian supporting actress who played character roles on stage. Her film debut came in 1935 with '' The Three-Cornered Hat''.
In the 1950s, she became a celebrity thanks to her role as Carame ...
), is ill.
The villagers start spreading gossips about the marshal and Maria, which will reach to Pietro too. One day, during a lunch at the house of Maria's cousin, the marshal dances with her and is seen by both Pietro and Annarella. Seeing them dancing intimately, Maria and Pietro break up. As the relationship is over, Maria leaves the house and joins a dancing group. Her mother asks the marshal to help her, saying that she is under-aged. When the marshal goes for an enquiry, the owner of the dance company convinces the mother of Maria with money, while the marshal discovers that she is not actually under age. Maria tries to seduce the marshal but without success.
Finally Pietro and Maria will be reunited and will leave the village. The marshal comes wave them goodbye at the station. While going back, he meets a middle aged bachelor lady who's going to the village as the new midwife.
Overview and response
''Pane, amore e gelosia'' is usually considered one of the most famous examples of '' Pink neorealism''. Tina Pica won the
Nastro d'Argento
The Nastro d'Argento, also known by its translated name Silver Ribbon, is an Italian film award awarded each year since 1946 by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists (Italian: ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italian ...
as Best Supporting Actress for this film.
Cast
*
Vittorio De Sica
Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the Italian neorealism, neorealist movement.
Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Shoeshine (film), Sciuscià ...
as Antonio Carotenuto
*
Gina Lollobrigida
Luigia "Gina" Lollobrigida (born 4 July 1927) is an Italian actress, photojournalist, and politician. She was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and early 1960s, a period in which she was an international sex symbol. As o ...
as Maria De Ritis
*
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 19 ...
as Annarella Mirziano
*
Maria-Pia Casilio
Maria-Pia Casilio (5 May 1935 – 10 April 2012) was an Italian film actress, best known for major roles in ''Umberto D.'' and '' Un americano a Roma''.
Born in San Pio delle Camere, L'Aquila, Casilio was quite active between 1952 and 1960, ...
as Paoletta
*
Virgilio Riento
Virgilio Riento (29 November 1889 – 7 September 1959) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 108 films between 1936 and 1959.
Selected filmography
* ''Sette giorni all'altro mondo'' (1936) - Man on train
* '' Il signor Max'' (1937) - ...
as Don Emidio
*
Tina Pica
Tina Pica (31 March 1884 – 15 August 1968) was an Italian supporting actress who played character roles on stage. Her film debut came in 1935 with '' The Three-Cornered Hat''.
In the 1950s, she became a celebrity thanks to her role as Carame ...
as Caramella
*
Tecla Scarano
Tecla Scarano (20 August 1894 – 22 December 1978) was an Italian actress and singer. She appeared in more than 30 films between 1937 and 1966.
Life and career
Born in Naples, the daughter of tenor Giovanni Moretti and operetta singer Anna ...
as Teresinella
*
Saro Urzì
Rosario "Saro" Urzì (24 February 1913 – 1 November 1979) was an Italian actor. He is best known for his roles in the films '' In the Name of the Law'' (1949), '' The Railroad Man'' (1956), '' Seduced and Abandoned'' (1964), which earned him ...
as Don Nicola, il capocomico
*
Roberto Risso
Roberto Risso (22 November 1925 – 16 November 2010) was a Swiss-born Italian film actor.
Life and career
Born Pietro Roberto Strub in Geneva, Risso joined the cinema industry when he was still a university student of architecture, playing a ...
as Pietro Stelluti
*
Memmo Carotenuto
Memmo Carotenuto (23 August 1908 – 23 December 1980) was an Italian actor. He appeared in 125 films between 1941 and 1980.
Selected filmography
*'' The Wedding Trip'' (1969)
* ''Assassination in Rome'' (1965)
* '' Male Companion'' (1964 ...
as Sirio Baiocchi
* Vittoria Crispo as Maria Antonia De Ritis
Soundtrack
*"Aida" (Composed by
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...