''The Shameless Sex'' ( it, Wanda la peccatrice, also known as ''Wanda the Sinner'') is a 1952 Italian melodrama film directed by

Duilio Coletti Duilio Coletti (28 December 1906 – 22 May 1999) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed 29 films between 1934 and 1977. Career Born in Penne, Abruzzo, he took a degree in medicine and surgery and practiced the professio ...

Plot

Stefano, a naval officer for some time not operating on ships following a removal and therefore seconded to a Ministry, is warned that his wife Elena secretly transmits military designs and projects that he guarded to foreign powers. The wife is warned by an accomplice and prepares to leave: she greets her son in tears and begins to pack the bags. But the officer runs back: the woman locks herself inside the room and shoots herself two shots, killing herself. In order not to suffer painful repercussions, the truth about the fate of the mother is not revealed to the little child and the father, forced to remain silent in order not to reveal his intimate secrets, cannot reveal the true causes of the suicide; he is accused of uxoricide but, through the oratory ability of his lawyer, he is acquitted at the following trial for lack of evidence. But this acquittal, instead of benefiting him, disfavors him: his relatives turn against him, preventing him from seeing his son, and the Ministry of the Navy requires him to resign. He closed all possibilities of work in Italy, he went to South Africa, but there the war broke out and was closed in a concentration camp. Tired, emaciated and with worn clothes, he returns to Italy penniless and with an illness in progress. His son, now grown, was previously stirred up by his grandmother and sees him as responsible for his mother's death. One evening he meets a prostitute, Wanda, who lends him money: the officer, now on the verge of desperation, tries his luck at the game and fate hangs on his side: he wins a large sum and, having landed in the business field, carries out the right investments becoming very rich, enough to convince Wanda to live with him. The woman's decision, however, annoys Marco about her, her previous lover, who repeatedly tries to convince her that that relationship cannot have a future. The officer and Wanda thus still spend some time in this situation, until the illness and death of Nadina, an old friend of Wanda's, combined with the reappearance of her son about to embark on the paternal career for which we need the approval. of the parent's signature - does not unlock everything. The father tearfully greets his novice sailor son aboard the ship, now reconciled, while Wanda, in order not to get in the way of her career, is forced to leave that cohabitation.

Cast

* Yvonne Sanson: Wanda *

Frank Villard Frank Villard (24 March 1917 – 19 September 1980) was a French film actor.Goble p.121 He was born François Drouineau in Saint-Jean-d'Angély. Selected filmography * ''The Last of the Six'' (1941) - Un homme (uncredited) * ''Cartacalha, reine ...

: Stefano Lari *

Françoise Rosay Françoise Rosay (; born Françoise Bandy de Nalèche; 19 April 1891 – 28 March 1974) was a French opera singer, diseuse,''Design'', Volume 9 1965 p. 24 and actress who enjoyed a film career of over sixty years and who became a legendary figur ...

: Anna Steiner *

Gino Leurini Gino Leurini (20 November 1934 – 12 August 2014) was an Italian film, stage and television actor. Life and career Born in Rome, Leurini made his film debut in 1947, in the Luigi Capuano's drama film ''Legge di sangue''. One year later, he ...

: Enrico Lari *

Camillo Pilotto Camillo Pilotto (6 February 1888 Birth name: Camillo Raul Vittorio Pilotto. – 27 May 1963) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 101 films between 1916 and 1963. He was born and died in Rome, Italy. Selected filmography * '' The Song ...

: Lawyer Morelli *

Giulietta Masina Giulia Anna "Giulietta" Masina (22 February 1921 – 23 March 1994) was an Italian film actress best known for her performances as Gelsomina in '' La Strada'' (1954) and Cabiria in '' Nights of Cabiria'' (1957), for which she won the Cannes Film ...

: Nadina *

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 ...

: Marco * Enrica Dyrell: Elena's sister * Zora Piazza: Elena Meiner * Malù Della Noce: Maria Luisa *

Michele Malaspina Michele Malaspina (16 August 1908 – 13 January 1979) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Life and career Born in Bolzaneto, Genoa, the son of two shopkeepers, since childhood Malaspina has a passion for theater and was an actor in a co ...

: Police commissioner *

Enzo Fiermonte Enzo Fiermonte (17 July 1908 – 22 March 1993), sometimes credited as William Bird, was an Italian actor and boxer. Early life Vincenzo "Enzo" Fiermonte was born on 17 July 1908 in Casamassima, a rural village near Bari, in southern Italy to Do ...

: Consigliere di Elena *

Ada Colangeli Ada Colangeli (5 March 1913 – 29 February 1992) was an Italian character actress. Life and career Born in Rome, Colangeli began acting in the early 1940s, and she was mainly cast in roles of women from a low social class. Active for about tw ...

: Doorwoman

References

External links

* 1952 films Italian black-and-white films Italian drama films 1950s Italian-language films Films set in Italy Films directed by Duilio Coletti 1952 drama films Films scored by Alessandro Cicognini Melodrama films 1950s Italian films {{1950s-drama-film-stub