Toth Database - Cinema

The Men, What Rascals...

A 1932 film directed by Mario Camerini. Presented at the first edition of the Venice Film Festival, "this fragrant comic-sentimental comedy was a resounding success, not only in Italy. Vittorio De Sica, until then a light theatre actor, made famous the song Parlami d'amore Mariù, sung in a sequence of the film by De Sica himself, and represented an important innovation in Italian cinema at the time, for the revolutionary choice to shoot outdoors instead of in the reconstructed environments in the laying theaters. After this first collaboration, Camerini and De Sica worked together on a number of successful comedies, including Mr. Max (1937) and The Department Stores (1939). In 1953 the film had a remake, un faithful, The Men, which scoundrels!, starring Walter Chiari in the title role. 

Plot

In the operatic Milan of the thirties, the chauffeur Bruno becomes invading the dodge Mariuccia, order of a perfumery, daughter of a taxi driver. Since the girl and her colleagues do not seem to take him seriously seeing him on a bicycle, to impress her he goes to pick her up at work with the master's car, to which he told that he is out of use, and instead of taking her home he takes her for a ride to Arona, on Lake Maggiore. On the way back they stop in a tavern, where they dance together to the notes of Parlami d'amore Mariù: But when on the same street passes the wife of the master, returning from a trip with friends, and recognizes the car, Bruno pretends to have gone out only to try it after repairing it and is forced to bring it back immediately to Milan. Mariù is left to say that he will return immediately, but becomes involved in an accident on his return. The girl finds herself alone, far from home, with no money. Having won the female solidarity of the innkeeper's wife with the story of her misadventure, she is hosted for the night and returned to the city the next morning. Bruno, fired for destroying the car, goes to perfumery to apologize to Mariuccia, but is icyly welcomed by the girl, convinced that she has been teased, and is induced to buy an expensive perfume, as punishment for his behavior. The two lose sight of each other and meet again casually when Bruno's new master gives Mariuccia a ride by car. Bruno can't bear the humiliation of chauffeuring the girl and giving up the job so laboriously found, abandoning the car and passengers in the middle of the road. Mariuccia, discovered that Bruno is not a gentleman but a simple worker, is willing to think again and give him a new chance, but now it is he who no longer wants to know about her and accuses her of being interested only in rich men. Repentant of the way he treated her, Bruno looks for Mariuccia again and finds her at her new job, at a stand of the Sample Fair. The girl, feeling guilty because he is unemployed, exploits the interest felt in him by a mature engineer to get him a job during the Fair, without letting him know that it is thanks to him. Things finally seem to get right for the young couple, until their relationship is again put in crisis by a misunderstanding: one evening Mariuccia accompanies the engineer to the amusement park inside the Fair, to show him his gratitude. Bruno, who works a few stands further on, receives the tip from the saleswoman of a candy stand: "Mariuccia is with the engineer!". Without thinking twice, he asks the saleswoman to go with him to the same place. Bruno pretends to be familiar with the saleswoman, causing Mariuccia's displeasure. However, when the poor, blamed girl runs away in tears, Bruno abandons the candy stand saleswoman and chases Mariuccia into a taxi, where they finally clear things up and he proposes to her to marry him.  By chance, he wants the taxi driver to be Mariuccia's father, who has heard everything and is willing to bless the new union.

Shooting

The director Camerini, supported by the producer Cecchi, made the revolutionary decision to shoot the film outdoors, instead of in the usual laying theaters, which risked giving a sense of boga with their reconstructed environments. This is how Filippo Sacchi expressed himself in the Milanese newspaper Corriere della Sera about this first film shot outdoors in Milan: "This is the first time we have seen Milan on screen. Well, who could have assumed it was so photogenic? Camerini has been able to grasp with extreme finesse certain unmistakable moments of the face and movement of Milan and has managed to give us, effortlessly, the all-Lombard color, the operatic vitality» Especially for the scenes set at the Fiera campionaria, the Mereghetti Dictionary defines the film as "a testimony to a moment of change and restructuring of Italian capitalism".

Cast

Vittorio De Sica was strongly wanted for the leading role by Camerini, who for this reason had to fight Pittalunga, president of Cines, who did not want in his films that young actor with too big a nose.

Two of the actors later changed their names: Aldo Moschino became Giacomo Moschini, Pia Lotti Carola Lotti.

Soundtrack

Camerini decided to include in the film the song Parlami d'amore Mariù by Cesare Andrea Bixio despite the fact that the production company had expressed a contrary opinion. Eventually that song became even more famous than the film itself. The innkeeper's wife, with the account of her misadventure, is hosted for the night and taken back to the city the next morning. Bruno, fired for destroying the car, goes to perfumery to apologize to Mariuccia, but is icyly welcomed by the girl, convinced that she has been teased, and is induced to buy an expensive perfume, as punishment for his behavior. The two lose sight of each other and meet again casually when Bruno's new master gives Mariuccia a ride by car. Bruno can't bear the humiliation of chauffeuring the girl and giving up the job so laboriously found, abandoning the car and passengers in the middle of the road. Mariuccia, discovered that Bruno is not a gentleman but a simple worker, is willing to think again and give him a new chance, but now it is he who no longer wants to know about her and accuses her of being interested only in rich men. Repentant of the way he treated her, Bruno looks for Mariuccia again and finds her at her new job, at a stand of the Sample Fair. The girl, feeling guilty because he is unemployed, exploits the interest felt in him by a mature engineer to get him a job during the Fair, without letting him know that it is thanks to him. Things finally seem to get right for the young couple, until their relationship is again put in crisis by a misunderstanding: one evening Mariuccia accompanies the engineer to the amusement park inside the Fair, to show him his gratitude. Bruno, who works a few stands further on, receives the tip from the saleswoman of a candy stand: "Mariuccia is with the engineer!". Without thinking twice, he asks the saleswoman to go with him to the same place. Bruno pretends to be familiar with the saleswoman, causing Mariuccia's displeasure. However, when the poor, blamed girl runs away in tears, Bruno abandons the candy stand saleswoman and chases Mariuccia into a taxi, where they finally clear things up and he proposes to her to marry him.  By chance, he wants the taxi driver to be Mariuccia's father, who has heard everything and is willing to bless the new union.