''The Two Colonels'' ( Italian: ''I due colonnelli'') is a 1963 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 ...

directed by Steno and starring

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 Walter Pidgeon. The character of Totò took inspiration from a similar character he played in '' Totò Diabolicus''.

Plot

The story is of Italian and British troops facing off on the Greek-Albanian border in 1943. Both sides take, lose, and retake a border village countless times during the entire movie. The village is taken and retaken by both sides so many times that the locals do not even pay attention to the battles anymore and openly collaborate with whichever side is occupying the village at that time. Both sides use the same hotel as their HQ, and a friendship and mutual respect even develop between the two opposing commanding officers. This goes on until the Germans arrive and order the Italian commander Di Maggio to destroy the village, killing its inhabitants, an order the Italian commander refuses to carry out, bringing on a death sentence. His men refuse the German officer's order to fire and are also condemned to death. The British recapture the village just in time to save the Italians, and all rejoice at the news that Italy has just asked for an armistice.

Cast

: Colonel Antonio Di Maggio

Regio Esercito The Royal Italian Army () (RE) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfredo Fanti signed a decree c ...

* Walter Pidgeon: Colonel Timothy Henderson Royal Fusiliers * Nino Taranto: Sgt. Quaglia * Giorgio Bixio: Soldier Giobatta Parodi * Toni Ucci: Mazzetta * Nino Terzo: Soldier La Padula * Scilla Gabel: Iride * Gérard Herter: German General von Tirpitz * Rowland Bartrop (as Roland von Bartrop): Major Kruger * Andrea Scotti : Iride's husband

References

External links

* 1963 films Films directed by Stefano Vanzina Italian comedy films Italian World War II films Films set in Axis-occupied Greece Films set in Albania Films shot in Lazio 1963 comedy films Films with screenplays by Giovanni Grimaldi Films scored by Gianni Ferrio 1960s English-language films English-language Italian films 1960s Italian-language films 1960s multilingual films Italian multilingual films Macaroni Combat films 1960s Italian films {{1960s-Italy-comedy-film-stub