''Fumo di Londra'' (internationally released as ''Smoke Over London'' and ''Gray Flannels'') is a 1966 Italian

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

written, directed and starred by

Alberto Sordi Alberto Sordi (15 June 1920 – 24 February 2003) was an Italian actor, comedian, voice dubber, director, singer, composer and screenwriter. Sordi is considered one of the most important actors in the history of Italian cinema and one of the b ...

. For his performance Sordi won the

David di Donatello The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David (Donatello, bronze), 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 Cin ...

for Best Actor. This movie marked the directorial debut of

Plot

Dante Fontana is an antique dealer from

Perugia Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...

infatuated with the culture of the British upper classes. His wife and relatives mock him and snub him, seeing him as a silly daydreamer doing no serious work. Unfussed, Dante plans a vacation to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to learn more about the culture he so admires. However, once in London, he struggles to fit in, is awkward, often makes mistakes betraying his Italian origins, attracting the scorn of the British upper classes he would like to impress. After taking part in fox hunting, Dante is invited to the house of an English aristocrat who showed a supposedly ancient Etruscan statuette. Dante says the object is fake and breaks it, provoking the angry reaction of the English who open fire on him. Terrified, Dante hides with a group of hippies and joins them in a demonstration. Arrested, Dante is sent back to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

where he resumes his monotonous routine. Belvoir Castle was the location (as the country-house of the Duchess of Bradford).

Cast

as Dante Fontana * Fiona Lewis as Elizabeth * Amy Dalby as Duchess of Bradford * Alfredo Marchetti as

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Bolla *

Clara Bindi Clara Bindi (1 November 1927 – 24 February 2022) was an Italian actress. Biography Born in Naples on 1 November 1927, Bindi joined the Eduardo De Filippo theater company in the 1947-48 season and in 1948 made her film debut as Giulietta Del B ...

as The Wife * Michael Trubshawe as The Colonel * Jean St. Clair as Headmistress

References

External links

* 1966 films Italian comedy films 1960s Italian-language films English-language Italian films Films directed by Alberto Sordi Commedia all'italiana 1966 comedy films Films scored by Piero Piccioni Films set in London 1960s Italian films {{1960s-Italy-comedy-film-stub