''Il gatto'' (internationally released as ''The Cat'') is a 1977
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
giallo
In Italian cinema, ''Giallo'' (; plural ''gialli'', from ''giallo'', Italian for yellow) is a genre of mystery fiction and thrillers that often contains slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, sexploitation, and, ...
-
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 o ...
directed by
Luigi Comencini
Luigi Comencini (; 8 June 1916 – 6 April 2007) ''The Guardian'' was an Italian
David di Donatello
The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David'', a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the ''Accademia del Cinema Italiano'' (The Academy of Italian Cinema). There are 26 award cat ...
Ugo Tognazzi
Ugo Tognazzi (23 March 1922 – 27 October 1990) was an Italian actor, director, and screenwriter.
Early life
Tognazzi was born in Cremona, in northern Italy but spent his youth in various localities as his father was a travelling clerk fo ...
) and his sister Ofelia ( Mariangela Melato) are the greedy dual landlords of a run-down apartment building with few tenants left. The siblings are constantly fighting. Due to a real estate company offering one billion
lira
Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current currency of Turkey and also the local name of the currencies of Lebanon and of Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, including those of Italy, Malta and Israe ...
for the building on the condition that it has no tenants, Amedeo and Ofelia harass and spy on their tenants to goad them into leaving, or find justification to evict them. Amedeo is drawn to, but refuses the advances of, Wanda Yukovich ( Dalila Di Lazzaro), a young and attractive secretary who works for Legrand (
Jean Martin
Jean Martin (6 March 1922 – 2 February 2009Jean Martin ''The Guardian'', 12 February 2009
), a corrupt businessman. Amedeo and Ofelia find their pet cat dead, which was disliked by many tenants for its mischief. The siblings begin to investigate the death of the cat, hoping to evict the culprit; meanwhile, Police Commissioner Francisci (
Michel Galabru
Michel Louis Edmond Galabru (27 October 19224 January 2016) was a French actor.
Career
Galabru appeared in more than 250 films and worked with directors such as Bertrand Blier, Costa-Gavras, Luc Besson (for ''Subway''), and Jean-Luc Godard. ...
) becomes more and more exasperated by their antics.
Amedeo suspects The Princess (
Adriana Innocenti
Adriana Innocenti (16 October 1926 – 4 March 2016) was an Italian actress and voice actress.
Life and career
Born in Portico e San Benedetto, Forlì, Innocenti formed at the Silvio d’Amico Academy of Dramatic Arts in Rome and then made her ...
) due to gunshots being fired at the cat and her being experienced with firearms; after reporting this to the police, her apartment is raided and revealed to be an illegal brothel. After no gunshot wounds are found on the cat's body, Amedeo searches the apartment of a group of musicians while Ofelia unsuccessfully tries to seduce the priest Don Pezzolla ( Philippe Leroy). After discovering cocaine, Amedeo reports the musicians to the
Guardia di Finanza
The ''Guardia di Finanza'' (G. di F. or GdF) () (English: literal: ''Guard of Finance'', paraphrased: ''Financial Police'' or ''Financial Guard'') is an Italian law enforcement agency under the authority of the Minister of Economy and Finance. ...
, leading to their arrest for drug trafficking.
While investigating the apartment of Don Vito Garofalo, a mafia boss, Amedeo discovers bloodstains, and he and Ofelia follow two suspicious men who were in the apartment. After finding a corpse in the trunk of the two men's car, the siblings follow them to a beachfront home owned by a male politician who was in a relationship with Salvatore (
Aldo Reggiani
Aldo may refer to:
* Aldo (given name), male given name
** Aldo (footballer, born 1977)
** Aldo (footballer, born 1988)
* Aldo Group, a worldwide chain of shoe stores
* Aldosterone
Aldosterone is the main mineralocorticoid steroid hormone ...
), Don Garofalo's gay butler. There, the two men dump Salvatore's body, attempting to frame the murder as a crime of passion. Ofelia writes anonymous threatening letters to the remaining tenants that state that 'we know your secret', which is seen as an empty threat by most of the tenants, but Paul Herdigher, an American journalist, takes it seriously and commits suicide. Ofelia discovers that the cat was poisoned by Wanda, and confronts her at work, only for Legrand to attempt to bribe the siblings to drop the case. Instead of accepting the bribe, Ofelia gives her testimony in the trial of Legrand. Ofelia explains to the court that the cat was poisoned as Wanda fed her dinner to it as she had suspected someone had poisoned her food, as she had incriminating recordings of Don Garofalo and Legrand.
Don Garofalo sends an assassin to kill Wanda, who eludes him and attempts to flee the country, Amedeo follows her, and receives the incriminating tapes from her. After the tapes are played in court, Don Garofalo is immediately arrested. Don Pezzolla moves out of his apartment after Ofelia writes obscene letters to the Bishop about Don Pezzola, and he gets transferred elsewhere as a result. With all tenants out of the building, the siblings return to the real estate company's lawyer to receive their money, only for Wanda to return to live in her apartment, and the lawyer promptly rips up their checks.
Cast
*
Ugo Tognazzi
Ugo Tognazzi (23 March 1922 – 27 October 1990) was an Italian actor, director, and screenwriter.
Early life
Tognazzi was born in Cremona, in northern Italy but spent his youth in various localities as his father was a travelling clerk fo ...
Michel Galabru
Michel Louis Edmond Galabru (27 October 19224 January 2016) was a French actor.
Career
Galabru appeared in more than 250 films and worked with directors such as Bertrand Blier, Costa-Gavras, Luc Besson (for ''Subway''), and Jean-Luc Godard. ...
Jean Martin
Jean Martin (6 March 1922 – 2 February 2009Jean Martin ''The Guardian'', 12 February 2009
: Legrand
*
Aldo Reggiani
Aldo may refer to:
* Aldo (given name), male given name
** Aldo (footballer, born 1977)
** Aldo (footballer, born 1988)
* Aldo Group, a worldwide chain of shoe stores
* Aldosterone
Aldosterone is the main mineralocorticoid steroid hormone ...
Adriana Innocenti
Adriana Innocenti (16 October 1926 – 4 March 2016) was an Italian actress and voice actress.
Life and career
Born in Portico e San Benedetto, Forlì, Innocenti formed at the Silvio d’Amico Academy of Dramatic Arts in Rome and then made her ...
: The Princess
*
Bruno Gambarotta
Bruno may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname
* Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880)
* Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne, ...
: Lawyer
*
Luigi Comencini
Luigi Comencini (; 8 June 1916 – 6 April 2007) ''The Guardian'' was an Italian
: Old violinist
*
Mario Brega
is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...