Giovanni Grimaldi (14 November 1917 – 25 February 2001) was an Italian

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

. He was sometimes credited as Gianni Grimaldi.

Biography

Born in

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, Grimaldi entered the cinema industry in 1952 as a screenwriter of a large number of often highly successful films, frequently working together with

Bruno Corbucci Bruno Corbucci (23 October 1931 – 7 September 1996) was an Italian screenwriter and film director. He was the younger brother of Sergio Corbucci and wrote many of his films. He was born in Rome, where he also died. The vast majority of h ...

. Since 1964 he became a prolific director of comedy films, often working with

Lando Buzzanca Gerlando "Lando" Buzzanca (24 August 1935 – 18 December 2022) was an Italian stage, film, and television actor whose career spanned 65 years. Life and career Early years Born in Palermo the son of a cinema projectionist, at 16 years old Buzz ...

and with the couple

Franco and Ciccio Franco and Ciccio (, ) were a comic comedy duo formed by Italian actors Franco Franchi (1928–1992) and Ciccio Ingrassia (1922–2003), particularly popular in the 1960s and 1970s. Their collaboration began in 1954 in the theatre field, and ende ...

. Aside from films, Grimaldi was a journalist, a collaborator and even the director of several Italian humor magazines such as ''Trilussa'', ''

Candido Candido is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Candido Amantini (1914–1992), Italian Roman Catholic priest * Candido Camero, known simply as "Candido" (1921–2020), Cuban percussionist * Candido J ...

'' and '' Marc'Aurelio''. He was also a radio author, a playwright and a television director. He was the father of the director and screenwriter

Aldo Grimaldi Aldo Grimaldi (1942 – 5 August 1990) was an Italian director and screenwriter. Born in Catania, the son of the director and screenwriter Giovanni Grimaldi, he started his career as an assistant director in the films of his father. He made h ...

Selected filmography

Director and screenwriter

* ''

Questo pazzo, pazzo mondo della canzone ''Questo pazzo, pazzo mondo della canzone'' is a 1965 Italian '' musicarello'' film written and directed by Bruno Corbucci and Giovanni Grimaldi. Cast *Sandra Mondaini *Valeria Fabrizi *Aroldo Tieri *Alberto Bonucci * Margaret Lee * Vittorio Co ...

'' (1965) * '' In a Colt's Shadow'' (1965) * '' James Tont operazione U.N.O.'' (1965) * '' Johnny Colt'' (1966) * '' The Handsome, the Ugly, and the Stupid'' (1967) * (1968) * '' Don Chisciotte and Sancio Panza'' (1968) * '' Un caso di coscienza'' (1970) * '' Il magnate'' (1973) * ''

La governante ''La governante'' (English: ''The Governess'') is a 1974 Italian comedy drama film directed by Giovanni Grimaldi and starring Turi Ferro and Martine Brochard. It is based on a stage play by Vitaliano Brancati. The film got a great commercial su ...

'' (1974) * '' Il fidanzamento'' (1975)

Screenwriter

* '' I, Hamlet'' (1952) * '' Matrimonial Agency'' (1953) * '' It Happened at the Police Station'' (1954) * '' Buonanotte... avvocato!'' (1955) * ''

Allow Me, Daddy! ''Allow Me, Daddy!'' () is a 1956 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Bonnard. Plot Rodolfo, a young man with the ambitions of an opera singer in the bass register, does not work, gets up at midday and lives on the shoulders of his butchers in ...

'' (1956) * ''

Who Hesitates is Lost The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 150 ...

'' (1960) * ''

The Two Marshals ''The Two Marshals'' () is a 1961 Italian comedy film written and directed by Sergio Corbucci. The film was a hit at the Italian box office, with 2.765.531 spectators and a total gross of 536.513.000 lire.Matilde Amorosi, Alessandro Ferraù. ''T ...

'' (1961) * '' Totò, Peppino e... la dolce vita'' (1961) * ''

Gladiators 7 ''Gladiators 7'' is a 1962 film directed by Pedro Lazaga. The film has several elements from Akira Kurosawa's film '' The Seven Samurai''. Plot A Greek gladiator seeks revenge for the murder of his father and finds his lover captured by an evil ...

'' (1962) * '' The Slave'' (1962) * ''

Lo smemorato di Collegno ''Lo smemorato di Collegno'' (Italian for "The Collegno amnesiac") is a 1962 commedia all'italiana film directed by Sergio Corbucci. It is loosely based on the Bruneri-Canella case. Plot A man is hospitalized in a neurological clinic, due to a ...

'' (1962) * ''

The Two Colonels ''The Two Colonels'' ( Italian: ''I due colonnelli'') is a 1963 Italian comedy film directed by Steno and starring Totò and Walter Pidgeon. The character of Totò took inspiration from a similar character he played in '' Totò Diabolicus''. P ...

'' (1962) * ''

Toto's First Night ''Toto's First Night'' () is a 1962 Italian musical comedy film directed by Mario Amendola and starring Totò and Erminio Macario.Bìspuri p.264 Plot Ninì and Mimi are two friends, itinerant players, who can not make a penny. It is performed a ...

'' (1962) * '' Toto vs. Maciste'' (1962) * '' The Monk of Monza'' (1963) * ''

Toto vs. the Four ''Totò contro i quattro'', internationally released as ''Toto vs. the Four'', is a 1963 Italian comedy film directed by Steno. Despite its title, it was not a true fusion between Totò and the four, but the film consists in interwoven episodies ...

'' (1963) * ''

Totò Diabolicus ''Totò Diabolicus'' is a 1962 Italian black comedy film directed by Steno, in which Totò plays six different characters. It is a parody of the giallo genre, as well as of the noir comic book series ''Diabolik'', which debuted the same year. P ...

'' (1963) * ''

Toto and Cleopatra ''Toto and Cleopatra'' () is a 1963 Italian adventure-comedy film written and directed by Fernando Cerchio. Plot Mark Antony has a brother-lookalike, Totonno, a sinister slave trader. Totonno secretly replaces Mark Antony in the most delicate ...

'' (1963) * ''

Sexy Toto ''Sexy Toto'' (Italian: ''Totòsexy'') is a 1963 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Amendola and starring Totò Antonio Griffo Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno Porfirogenito Gagliardi De Curtis di Bisanzio (15 February 1898 – 15 April ...

'' (1963) * '' I due mafiosi'' (1964) * '' Tears on Your Face'' (1964) * '' What Ever Happened to Baby Toto?'' (1964) * ''

Toto of Arabia ''Toto of Arabia'' (, ) is a 1965 Italian-Spanish adventure-comedy film directed by . It is a parody of '' Lawrence of Arabia'' and of spy films. Plot Toto, a former Italian military service who works as a servant at the British Intelligence ...

'' (1965) * '' Latin Lovers'' (1965) * ''

Mi vedrai tornare ''Mi vedrai tornare'' (''You will see me back'') is a 1966 Italy, Italian musicarello, musical romantic comedy film directed by Ettore Maria Fizzarotti. The title is a reference to the Gianni Morandi's eponymous song. Plot Cast * Gianni Morandi ...

'' (1966) * '' 4 Dollars of Revenge'' (1966) * '' Nel sole'' (1967) * ''

Angeli senza paradiso ''Angeli senza paradiso'' ("''Angels without Paradise''") is a 1970 Italian '' musicarello'' romance film directed by Ettore Maria Fizzarotti. It is an unofficial remake of the 1933 film '' Gently My Songs Entreat'' by Willi Forst.Daniele Magni, ...

'' (1970) * '' Paths of War'' (1970) * '' When Women Were Called Virgins'' (1972) * '' The Inconsolable Widow Thanks All Those Who Consoled Her'' (1973)

Sources

External links

* 1917 births 2001 deaths Italian film directors 20th-century Italian screenwriters Italian male screenwriters Italian dramatists and playwrights Journalists from Catania Italian male journalists Italian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Italian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Italian male writers 20th-century Italian journalists Film people from Catania {{Italy-film-director-stub