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''Toto in Color'' (Italian: ''Totò a colori'') is a 1952 Italian comedy film, the first Italian
color film Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorp ...
shot with the Ferraniacolor system. It was directed by Steno and starred the comic actor
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 ...
. In 2008, the film was included on the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage’s 100 Italian films to be saved, a list of 100 films that "have changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978."


Plot

Antonio Scannagatti is a penniless musician who lives with his sister's family in the small town of Caianello. He dreams of a call from either of the famed
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
ese music publishers Tiscordi or Zozzogno (puns of the real Ricordi and Sonzogno) to launch him to musical stardom. Scannagatti is convinced he is a musical genius, calling himself "the Swan of Caianello". The mayor of Caianello is organizing a celebration for the
Italian-American Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...
gangster Joe Pellecchia, originally from the town, and asks Scannagatti to direct the town’s musical band in place of maestro Tiburzio, who has suffered a sudden
paralysis Paralysis (: paralyses; also known as plegia) is a loss of Motor skill, motor function in one or more Skeletal muscle, muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory d ...
of the arms. Feeling outraged by a proposal he deems unworthy of his perceived talent, Scannagatti then enthusiastically accepts when the mayor’s nephew Poldo falsely promises him a recommendation from the publisher Tiscordi, passing off his American girlfriend Poppy as Tiscordi’s secretary. The day of celebration turns out to be a failure: Pellecchia is frustrated in his attempts to give a speech from the balcony of the town hall as Scannagatti inadvertently prevents him by making the band play his works continuously, until the Italian-American leaves enraged. A day later Scannagatti attempts to collect his reward – the coveted recommendation – and joins Poldo and Poppy, who have left Caianello and are guests at a bizarre house party held by a rich heiress in
Capri Capri ( , ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. A popular resort destination since the time of the Roman Republic, its natural beauty ...
. There, the couple tricks him again by making him believe he has received an appointment with Tiscordi. Scannagatti therefore takes a
sleeping car The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car (rail), passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the main American innovator and owner of sl ...
train to Milan. After a night trip spent arguing with his bunk mate, the politician
the Honourable ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style ...
Cosimo Trombetta, he finally arrives in Milan and meets Tiscordi in person due to a misunderstanding: he has been mistaken for a nurse able to give painless back injections to the editor, who has already fired numerous nurses. The misunderstanding leads to an altercation between the two. Further complications arise when Scannagatti is intercepted by his Sicilian brother-in-law – whose money he has stolen for the trip to Milan – who threatens to kill him; to appease him, the maestro pretends to have obtained a contract and takes him to a musical performance, but of a '' teatro dei pupi''. Scannagatti is chased by his murderous brother-in-law but manages to deceive him by pretending to be a
Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel, ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a poor man named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...
puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre which dates back to the 5th century BC in anci ...
and dancing to the tune of '' Parade of the Wooden Soldiers'', but at the end of the show his brother-in-law recognizes him and chases him once again with a knife. By chance Tiscordi reads one of the scores left in his office by Scannagatti and is delighted by it, offering him a publishing contract and the fame he has always desired: in the end, the whole town of Caianello – his brother-in-law included – pays homage to their "Swan".


Cast


Production

''Totò in Color'' was essentially an anthology of Totò's most famous comedy sketches and
mime A mime artist, or simply mime (from Greek language, Greek , , "imitator, actor"), is a person who uses ''mime'' (also called ''pantomime'' outside of Britain), the acting out of a story through body motions without the use of speech, as a the ...
performances, such as the dancing Pinocchio puppet who collapses as soon as the music ends and the simulated fireworks during the ending scene. According to Steno, directing the film was basically like leaving the movie camera directly in Totò's hands, whose timing had been perfected by many decades of performing the sketches in front of the public. The movie was shot with the Ferraniacolor system, which required extremely powerful lighting; this was especially painful for Totò – already suffering from long-term eye problems – and is credited for accelerating his loss of vision. "The Honourable Gentleman in the sleeping car" (Italian: ''"L'Onorevole in vagone letto"'') has been called Totò's most famous sketch. It originated in 1947 and after years of performance it expanded until assuming its final iteration in ''Totò in Color''. It was inspired by a real encounter between Totò and
Giulio Andreotti Giulio Andreotti ( ; ; 14 January 1919 – 6 May 2013) was an Italian politician and wikt:statesman, statesman who served as the 41st prime minister of Italy in seven governments (1972–1973, 1976–1979, and 1989–1992), and was leader of th ...
who by chance found themselves sharing the same sleeping car. Film director
Walter Veltroni Walter Veltroni (; born 3 July 1955) is an Italian writer, film director, journalist and politician. He served as the first leader of the Democratic Party within the Italian centre-left opposition until his resignation on 17 February 2009. H ...
considered it "perhaps the most sensational comedy sketch in the history of Italian cinema".


Reception

''Totò in Color'' is widely regarded as Totò's masterpiece.''The Little Black Book: Movies''. Cassell Illustrated, London. Film critic
Morando Morandini Morando Morandini (21 July 1924 – 17 October 2015) was an Italian film critic, author, journalist and occasional actor. Born in Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy ...
gave the film four stars out of five. The film has been chosen as one of the 100 Italian films to be saved.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Toto in Color 1952 films 1950s Italian-language films Italian comedy films Films set in Campania Films set in Milan Films produced by Dino De Laurentiis 1952 comedy films 1950s Italian films