''In Olden Days'' ( it, Altri tempi, link=no, also known as ''Times Gone By'' and ''Infidelity'') is a 1952 Italian anthology film.

Plot

The cart of old books

A good-natured peddler of old books shows his customers some works from the past and is pranked by the rowdy son of a newsagent.

Excelsior dance

Filmed reconstruction of the Excelsior Ball, an allegorical late-century dance by the composer Romualdo Marenco performed for the first time at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan on 11 January 1881.

Less than a day

Two lovers, for contingent reasons, manage to see each other in a hotel room once a year, for a few hours, but due to some quarrels and jealousies they are unable to consume their relationship.

The Sardinian drummer

During the first war of independence fought against the Austrians, a very young drummer, delivering an important message to the Italian command, is hit and loses a leg (episode from the book "Cuore").

Matter of interest

Two peasants scramble for possession of manure dung.

The idyll

Tender summer idyll between two children from upper-class families. Guido, because of a kiss given to the sweet Greek girl Filli, wonders if the kiss could have generated a child and also fears for his maid, who had a baby without being married. With the end of the summer comes the painful separation.

The vice

A trader discovers his wife's cheating with his business partner. Upon returning home, at first he pretends nothing has happened, then with an excuse he sends the maid away and after denying his wife her forgiveness, threatening to take her children away from her, induces her to take her life.

Potpourri of songs

Story of a happy courtship and marriage, enlivened by the birth of a child and concluded with the departure of her husband for the war, from which she may not return. The songs to which the title refers are Lo specio me ga finger, Oh Trieste, oh blessed Trieste, Forbidden Music, Un peu d'amour, Le valse bleu, Baciami baciami, Santa Lucia and Tripoli bel suol d'amore.

The Trial of Phryne

Naples. A commoner is tried for trying to poison her husband and mother-in-law together. Thanks to her irrepressible beauty, the defense attorney appointed ex officio succeeds with an inspired and vehement harangue to overturn the situation, dragging the public and jurors to the side of the accused. Obtained from a short story by Edoardo Scarfoglio, and referring to an ancient story of the ethereal Phryne, he remained famous above all because Vittorio De Sica, in the role of the defender of the prosperous graces of a commoner (played by Gina Lollobrigida), coined the term "increased physics" which will in fact mark an era and will be widely used throughout the 1950s and most of the 1960s. The exact reference, in the sentence pronounced in the film by De Sica during the speech, is: "increased physics" as opposed to the phrase "psychic handicapped". Vittorio De Sica in this episode is at his first appearance alongside Gina Lollobrigida; both actors, the following year, will seize great popularity as the marshal and the bersagliera in the film Bread, love and fantasy directed by Luigi Comencini. It should only be noted that the scene of the "trial in court" for Italian cinema is an unmissable event, starting with the forerunners. Defendant, get up! by Mario Mattoli (1939) with Erminio Macario up to San Giovanni taken off by Amleto Palermi (1940) with Totò, and in this film he finds a fundamental scene for aficionados. Later scenes of trials will make the fortune of Nando Mericoni "American in Rome" (Alberto Sordi) in the duology of Stefano Vanzina Un giorno in magistrale (1953) and Un americano a Roma (1954), up to Christian De Sica who in 1984 will pay an explicit homage to this scene played by his father, as Praetor of the film Mi fa causa (1984).

Cast

Il carrettino dei libri vecchi

Aldo Fabrizi Aldo Fabrizi (; born Aldo Fabbrizi; 1 November 1905 – 2 April 1990) was an Italian actor, director, screenwriter and comedian, best known for the role of the heroic priest in Roberto Rossellini's ''Rome, Open City'' and as partner of Totò in ...

: the street vendor of ancient books; * Pina Renzi: the newsagent *

Enzo Staiola Enzo Staiola (born 15 November 1939) is an Italian actor best known for playing, at the age of nine, the role of Bruno Ricci in Vittorio De Sica's neorealist 1948 film ''Bicycle Thieves''. He appeared in several other films including, in 1954, ...

: his son * Luigi Cimara: gentleman on the convertible * Marisa Merlini: lady on the convertible *

Galeazzo Benti Galeazzo Benti (6 August 1923 – 21 April 1993) was an Italian actor. He appeared in more than 70 films between 1942 and 1991. Life and career Born Galeazzo Bentivoglio in Florence, Italy, a descendant of the Bentivoglio family, which ru ...

: her lover * Mario Riva: the fussy customer

Ballo Excelsior

Alba Arnova Alba Arnova (15 March 1930 – 11 March 2018) was an Italian-Argentine ballerina and film actress. Life and career Born in Buenos Aires as Alba Fossati, daughter of two Italian emigrants, Arnova studied piano at the Conservatory and enrolled ...

: the Progress * Carlo Mazzone-Clementi: the Obscurantism * Anna Maria Bugliari: Italy * Mirdza Capanna: the Light * Antonio Acqua: the Science * Dino Raffaelli: the Art * Filippo Morucci: Alessandro Volta

Meno di un giorno

: Matilde *

Andrea Checchi Andrea Checchi (21 October 1916 – 29 March 1974) was a prolific Italian film actor. Biography Born in Florence, Checchi appeared in over 150 films in his lengthy career, which spanned from 1934 to his death in 1974. The son of a painter, ...

: Camillo * Gondrano Trucchi: the station master * Bruno Corelli: the waiter * Gabriele Tinti: the young man on the train * Silvio Bagolini: the guide

Il Tamburino Sardo

* Enzo Cerusico: il tamburino * Vittorio Vaser: il capitano * Attilio Tosato: il sergente *

Guido Celano Guido Celano (19 April 1904 – 7 March 1988) was an Italian actor, voice actor and film director. He appeared in 120 films between 1931 and 1988. He also directed two Spaghetti Westerns: '' Cold Killer'' and '' Gun Shy Piluk''. He was born ...

: il tenente *

Ugo Sasso Ugo Sasso, born Domenico Pasquale Giuseppe Sasso (23 March 1910 - 21 July 1981), was an Italian film and television actor. Life and career Born in Turin, in the early 1930s Sasso moved to Rome to attend the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografi ...

: a soldier * Yvonne Cocco: a nun * Pietro Tordi: un infermiere

Questioni d'interesse

Arnoldo Foà Arnoldo Foà (24 January 1916 – 11 January 2014) was an Italian actor, voice actor, theatre director, singer and writer. He appeared in more than 130 films between 1938 and 2014. Biography Foà was born in Ferrara, Italy, to a Jewish fam ...

: il contadino *

Folco Lulli Folco Lulli (3 July 1912 – 23 May 1970) was an Italian partisan and film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1946 and 1970. He was the brother of actor Piero Lulli. Selected filmography * ''How I Lost the War'' (1947) * ' ...

: l'altro contadino * Mario Mazza: il carabiniere

L'idillio

* Maurizio Di Nardo: Guido * Geraldina Parriniello: Filli *

Paolo Stoppa Paolo Stoppa Knight Grand Cross (6 June 1906 – 1 May 1988) was an Italian actor. Biography Born in Rome, he began as a stage actor in 1927 in the theater in Rome and began acting in films in 1932. As a stage actor, his most celebrated ...

: Guido's father *

Rina Morelli Rina Morelli (6 December 1908 – 17 July 1976) was an Italian film and stage actress. She appeared in 34 films between 1939 and 1976. She was born in Naples, Italy and died in Rome, Italy. Her husband, Paolo Stoppa, was an Italian stage and ...

: Guido's mother *

Sergio Tofano Sergio Tòfano (20 August 1886 – 28 October 1973) was an Italian actor, theatre director, director, playwright, scene designer and illustrator. Tofano was born in Rome. In 1909, he made his first appearance on stage with Ermete Novelli, t ...

: Guido's grandfather * Jone Morino: Maddalena

La morsa

Amedeo Nazzari Amedeo Nazzari (10 December 1907 in Cagliari – 5 November 1979 in Rome) was an Italian actor. Nazzari was one of the leading figures of Italian classic cinema, often considered a local variant of the Australian–American star Errol Flynn. Al ...

: Andrea Fabbri *

Elisa Cegani Elisa Cegani (11 June 1911 – 23 February 1996) was an Italian actress. She appeared in 60 films between 1935 and 1983. Partial filmography * ''Aldebaran'' (1935) - Nora Bandi * ''Cavalry'' (1936) - Speranza di Frassineto * ''The Countess ...

: Giulia, his wife *

Roldano Lupi Roldano Lupi (8 February 1909 – 13 August 1989) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 60 films between 1942 and 1967. He was born in Milan, Italy and died in Rome, Italy. Selected filmography * '' Jealousy'' (1942) * ''Yes, Madam'' ...

: Antonio Serra, her lover * Goliarda Sapienza: Anna, la domestica

Pot-pourri di canzoni

* Barbara Florian: the bride *

Elio Pandolfi Elio Pandolfi (17 June 1926 – 11 October 2021) was an Italian stage, film and television actor, radio personality, and voice actor. Life and career Born in Rome, Pandolfi got a degree in accounting, and then he enrolled at the Silvio d’Am ...

: lo sposo * Amalia Pellegrini: the grandmother * Oscar Andriani: the father *

Elena Altieri Elena Altieri (born Elena Capucci; 27 July 1916 – 1 May 1997) was an Italian film and stage actress. She appeared in 27 films between 1937 and 1955. She was born in Stresa, the daughter of an Italian father and an English mother. She was mainl ...

: la moglie del maggiore * Gian Aldo Bettoni: il maggiore

Il processo di Frine

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 ...

: Maria Antonia Desiderio *

Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Sciuscià'' and ''Bicycle Thieves'' (honorary) ...

: l'avvocato difensore *

Arturo Bragaglia Arturo Bragaglia (7 January 1893 – 21 January 1962) was an Italian actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1938 to 1961. Selected filmography References External links * 1893 births 1962 deaths Italian male f ...

: il pubblico ministero * Giovanni Grasso jr.: il presidente del tribunale *

Turi Pandolfini Turi Pandolfini (1 November 1883 – 6 March 1962) was an Italian stage and film character actor. He appeared in 46 films between 1917 and 1961. Life and career Born in Catania, Sicily as Salvatore Pandolfini, the nephew of the actor Ange ...

: primo cancelliere *

Armando Annuale Armando may refer to: * Armando (given name) * Armando (artist) (1929–2018), the name used by Dutch artist Herman Dirk van Dodeweerd * Armando (producer) (1970–1996), Chicago house producer * ''Armando'' (album), studio album by rapper Pit ...

: secondo cancelliere * Vittorio Caprioli: il farmacista * Dante Maggio: un testimone *

Umberto Sacripante Umberto Sacripante (2 October 1904 – 14 January 1975) was an Italian film and stage actor. Life and career Born Umberto Sacripanti in Rome, Sacripante debuted on stage in 1921, and in 1926 he became first actor in the theatrical company Teat ...

Liana Del Balzo Liana Del Balzo (4 March 1899 – 26 March 1982) was an Italian film actress. She appeared in 90 films between 1935 and 1979. She was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and died in Rome, Italy. Even making her film debut quite late, in her fort ...

* Alberto Talegalli * Alfredo Rizzo * Alberto Sorrentino

References

External links

* {{Alessandro Blasetti 1952 films Films based on works by Edmondo De Amicis Films based on works by Luigi Pirandello 1950s Italian-language films Films directed by Alessandro Blasetti Italian anthology films Films scored by Alessandro Cicognini Italian black-and-white films Works based on Heart (novel)