Totò
Acting
Biography
Totò was born Antonio Clemente in a poor district of Naples, the illegitimate son of Anna Clemente from Sicily and Marquis Giuseppe De Curtis from Naples. Nicknamed “il principe della risata’ (the prince of laughter), he was an Italian comedian, film and theatre actor, writer, singer and songwriter, and widely considered one of the greatest Italian artists of the 20th century. While he first gained his popularity as a comic actor, his dramatic roles, poetry, and songs are all of cultural import; his style and a number of his recurring jokes and gestures have become universally known memes in Italy. As a comic actor, Totò is classified as an heir of the Commedia dell'Arte tradition, and has been compared to such figures as Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. At the age of 15, he was already acting as a comedian in small theatres, under the pseudonym "Clerment". His early repertoire mostly consisted in imitations of Gustavo De Marco's characters. He served in the army during World War I and then went back to acting to develop the trademarks of his style. In 1937, he appeared in his first movie "Fermo con le mani", and later starred in 96 more films, many of which are still frequently broadcast on Italian television. In his vast cinematographic career, Totò had the opportunity to act side by side with virtually all major Italian actors of the time. Totò's unmistakable figure, with his peculiarly irregular face (due to an accident in his teen years), and his unique trademark ability to disarticulate his body like a marionette, soon became very popular and his comic gags became part of the Italian culture. Totò died at the age of 69 in Rome after a series of heart attacks. Due to overwhelming popularity there were three funeral services: the first in Rome, and the second and third in Naples. Totò's birth home has been recently opened to the public as a museum.
Known For
No description available.
Cinépanorama
Five short stories loosely dealing with the roles of women in society. A superstar actress travels to a mountain resort, only to evoke jealousy from women and lust from men. A woman offers to take an injured man to the hospital. A widowed father and his son seek for a new wife/mother. A man seeks revenge for a woman's honor. A bored housewife tries to explain to her husband that he's not as romantic as he used to be.
The Witches
Best friends Peppe and Mario are thieves, but they're not very good at it. Still, Peppe thinks that he's finally devised a master heist that will make them rich. With the help of some fellow criminals, he plans to dig a tunnel from a rented apartment to the pawnshop next door, where they can rob the safe. But his plan is far from foolproof, and the fact that no one in the group has any experience digging tunnels proves to be the least of their problems.
Big Deal on Madonna Street
Two strange street musicians end up in jail and exchange sexy stories to while away time.
Totò sexy
Mobster Pepé Le Mokò dies during a shootout with the police. His gang decide that his successor will be a relative of his from Naples: Antonio Lumaconi (Totò Le Mokò), a street musician.
Totò le Mokò
A hilarious anthology of scenes from some of the most famous films starring the great Totò, the prince of Italian comedy.
Totò Story
No description available.
Tutto Totò - Totò Ye Ye
A British Intelligence Officer in Naples at the end of World War II: Norman Lewis's acknowledged masterpiece about a war-torn city and its unforgettable humanity.
Naples '44
An Italian documentary about Italian cinema.
We Are Cinema
Antonio, a former variety actor, keeps his daughter in an excellent boarding school by organizing small scams with his friend and colleague Felice. Commissioner Malvasia good-naturedly persecuted him. When their respective unsuspecting children fall in love, the two fathers make peace.
Totòtruffa '62
A petty thief pretends he is Mussolini's personal physician, wins the confidence of a family, and succeeds in stealing their gold cutlery.
Sua Eccellenza si fermò a mangiare
A combination of a satire on war and a comedy with war as the background. It tells of the ordinary people living on a Naples sidestreet, from 1940 to 1950 under the dominance of the Fascists, the Nazis and then the Allies occupation forces. Primary among the citizens is Gennaro Iovine (Eduard De Filippo)who has a penchant for innocently getting into trouble, and his friend Pasquale (Toto.) The latter is a rail-sweeper who becomes a professional stand-in...a corpse used to conceal contraband...serving jail time for those who don't care to spend the time to do the time...a substitute at a political rally when violence threatens the scheduled speaker
Side Street Story
Beniamino and his family have lived inside a school since the end of the war. After five years they have to move, but in Rome it's not easy to find an apartment.
Totò Looking for a House
No description available.
Tutto Totò - Il grande maestro
Antonio Scaparro (Toto) is obsessed for women. He invents his own way to hide from them - in the attic of his house.
Toto and the Women
A young man hatches a plan to sleep with another man's infertile wife. Based on the play by Machiavelli.
The Mandrake
The Posalaquaglia cousins are two small scammers and make a living of expedients: Dante receives as recognition for Tommaso a bill of one hundred thousand lire from the famous financier Bruscatelli, who ends up in prison immediately afterwards.
La cambiale
On New Year's Eve, a young woman and an out-of-work actor complicate a pickpocket's plans to ply his trade.
The Passionate Thief
September 1943: in the general confusion a thief dressed as a priest and a sergeant exchange clothes and roles.
The Two Marshals
The film consists of six short stories created by different directors, but all the stories share one thing: a warm irony to current events.