Steno, the artistic name of Stefano Vanzina (19 January 1917 – 13 March 1988), was an Italian film director, screenwriter and cinematographer.

Early Life

Steno's father, Alberto Vanzina was a journalist from

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

working for ''

Corriere della Sera (; ) is an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan with an average circulation of 246,278 copies in May 2023. First published on 5 March 1876, is one of Italy's oldest newspapers and is Italy's most read newspaper. Its masthead has remain ...

''. He emigrated to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

in 1930, founding a newspaper in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. He met Steno's mother, Giulia Boggio on the ship on the journey over there. Steno was born in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, and spent his childhood in Arona. He studied at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, where he started to draw caricatures and write humorous articles, adopting the pseudonym "Steno", as an homage to the novels of Francesca Steno.

Work

Steno started working with Mario Mattioli in 1939, as set designer and writer. Steno's first film credit was with Mattioli for '' Defendant, Stand Up!'' (Italian: ''Imputato, alzatetvi''). His first credit as director came in 1949 alongside

Mario Monicelli Mario Alberto Ettore Monicelli (; 16 May 1915 – 29 November 2010) was an Italian film director and screenwriter, one of the masters of the ''commedia all'italiana'' ("Italian-style comedy"). He was nominated six times for an Academy Awards, Os ...

, with '' A Night of Fame'' (Italian: ''Al diavolo la celebrità''). From 1952 onwards Steno directed solo. He directed primarily comedy films, working with some of the great names in Italian cinema, such as

Totò Antonio Griffo Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno Porfirogenito Gagliardi De Curtis di Bisanzio (15 February 1898 – 15 April 1967), best known by his stage name Totò (), or simply as Antonio de Curtis, and nicknamed ''il principe della risat ...

and

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 ...

, in films including '' Toto and the King of Rome'' (Italian: ''Totò e I re di Roma'') ''

An American in Rome ''An American in Rome'' (originally ''Un americano a Roma'') is a 1954 Italian comedy film directed by Steno. The film consists in a satire of Americanization, and it was referred as "a milestone in the evolution of Italian self-identification". ...

'' (Italian: ''Un americano a Roma''). Two of his films, ''

Un giorno in pretura ''A Day in Court'' (Italian: ''Un giorno in pretura'') is a 1954 Italian comedy film directed by Steno and starring Peppino De Filippo, Silvana Pampanini, Sophia Loren, and Alberto Sordi. The film is an anthology, consisting of a day's cases b ...

'' (1954) and ''

Febbre da cavallo ''Febbre da cavallo'' (Horse Fever) is a 1976 Italian comedy film directed by Stefano Vanzina, Steno and starring Gigi Proietti. It was shown as part of a retrospective on Italian comedy at the 67th Venice International Film Festival. Plot Brun ...

'' (1976), were shown in a retrospective section on Italian comedy at the

67th Venice International Film Festival The 67th annual Venice International Film Festival, was held from 1 to 11 September 2010, at Venice Lido in Italy. American filmmaker Quentin Tarantino was the jury president for the main competition. The Golden Lion was awarded to ''Somewhere ...

Selected filmography

* '' Abandonment'' (1940) * '' Fourth Page'' (1942) * '' Sealed Lips'' (1942) * '' In High Places'' (1943) * '' Two Hearts Among the Beasts'' (1943) * '' Annabella's Adventure'' (1943) * ''

Black Eagle The black eagle (''Ictinaetus malaiensis'') is a bird of prey. Like all eagles, it is in the family Accipitridae, and is the only member of the genus ''Ictinaetus''. They soar over forests in the hilly regions of tropical and subtropical South a ...

'' (1946) * ''

The Courier of the King ''The Courier of the King'' () is a 1947 Italian historical film directed by Gennaro Righelli and starring Rossano Brazzi, Irasema Dilián and Valentina Cortese.Moliterno p.208 It is an adaptation of the 1830 novel ''The Red and the Black'' by St ...

'' (1947) * '' The Captain's Daughter'' (1947) * ''

Fear and Sand ''Fear and Sand'' () is a 1948 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Mattoli and starring Totò. The title makes reference to the 1941 Hollywood film '' Blood and Sand'' and its 1908 source novel by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, which ''Fear and Sand ...

'' (1948) * '' The Wolf of the Sila'' (1949) * '' Toto Looks for a House'' (1949) * '' A Night of Fame'' (1949) * ''

A Dog's Life '' Dog's Life'' is a 2003 video game for the Sony PlayStation 2. Dog's Life or A Dog's Life may refer to: Music *"A Dog's Life", a song by Nina Nastasia, from the album ''Dogs'' *"Dog's Life", a song by eels from the '' Welcome to Woop Woop'' so ...

'' (with

, 1950) * ''

The Knight Has Arrived! ''The Knight Has Arrived!'' (Italian: ''È arrivato il cavaliere!'') is a 1950 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Monicelli and Steno and starring Tino Scotti, Silvana Pampanini and Nyta Dover. The film's sets were designed by the art dir ...

'' (with Mario Monicelli, 1950) * ''

Her Favourite Husband ''Her Favourite Husband'' (also known as ''The Taming of Dorothy'' and ''Quel bandito sono io'') is a 1950 British-Italian comedy film directed by Mario Soldati and starring Jean Kent, Robert Beatty and Margaret Rutherford. The screenplay was ...

'' (1950) * ''

I'm in the Revue I Am or I'm may refer to: Language and literature * "I Am that I Am", a common English translation of the response God used in the Hebrew Bible when Moses asked for His name ** I am (biblical term), a Christian term used in the Bible * "I Am" ( ...

'' (1950) * '' The Elusive Twelve'' (1950) * '' The Ungrateful Heart'' (1951) * '' Cops and Robbers'' (with Mario Monicelli, 1951) * ''

Toto in Color ''Toto in Color'' (Italian: ''Totò a colori'') is a 1952 Italian comedy film, the first Italian color film shot with the Ferraniacolor system. It was directed by Steno and starred the comic actor Totò. In 2008, the film was included on the Ita ...

'' (1952) * '' The Unfaithfuls'' (1953) * '' Man, Beast and Virtue'' (1953) * ''

'' (1954) * '' A Day in Court'' (1954) * '' Sins of Casanova'' (1955) * '' Nero's Weekend'' (1956) * '' Toto in the Moon'' (1958) * '' The Overtaxed'' (1959) * '' Uncle Was a Vampire'' (1959) * '' Toto in Madrid'' (1959) * '' Letto a tre piazze'' (1960) * ''

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) * ''

Copacabana Palace The Copacabana Palace, A Belmond Hotel, is a historic luxury hotel in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, facing Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro#Copacabana Beach, Copacabana beach. Designed by French architect Joseph Gire, it opened on August 13, 1923. It is owne ...

'' (1962) * '' Totò Diabolicus'' (1963) * '' Toto vs. the Four'' (1963) * '' Letti sbagliati'' (1965) * ''

Caprice Italian Style ''Caprice Italian Style'' () is a 1968 Italian comedy film directed by six different directors, including Mario Monicelli and Pier Paolo Pasolini. The film starred both Totò and the comic duo Franco and Ciccio. Plot The film is composed of fiv ...

'' (1968) * ''

Execution Squad ''Execution Squad'' () is a 1972 crime film directed by Steno and starring Enrico Maria Salerno. Set during Italy's tumultuous ''anni di piombo'' ("Years of Lead"), the film obtained a great commercial success. Cast *Enrico Maria Salerno as Co ...

'' (1972) * '' Flatfoot'' (1973) * '' Policewoman'' (1974) * ''

'' (1976) * '' Double Murder'' (1977) * '' Amori miei'' (1978) * '' Hot Potato'' (1979) * '' Dr. Jekyll Likes Them Hot'' (1979) * '' Quando la coppia scoppia'' (1981) * '' Banana Joe'' (1982) * '' An Ideal Adventure'' (1982)

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1917 births 1988 deaths Film directors from Rome 20th-century Italian screenwriters Italian male screenwriters Italian cinematographers Writers from Rome Poliziotteschi directors Burials at the Cimitero Flaminio 20th-century Italian male writers Italian comedy film directors Italian parodists Parody film directors Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia alumni