''The Two Colonels'' (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

: ''I due colonnelli'') is a 1963

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 Walter Davis Pidgeon (September 23, 1897 – September 25, 1984) was a Canadian-American actor. A major leading man during the Golden Age of Hollywood, known for his "portrayals of men who prove both sturdy and wise," Pidgeon earned two Academy ...

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

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 ...

''.

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 ...

: Colonel Timothy Henderson

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many war ...

Nino Taranto Nino Taranto (28 August 1907 – 23 February 1986) was an Italian actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1924 and 1971. Life and career Born in Naples, Taranto started his career as a child actor in 1918 starring in some local sta ...

: Sgt. Quaglia * Giorgio Bixio: Soldier Giobatta Parodi *

Toni Ucci Antonio "Toni" Ucci (13 January 1922 – 16 or 19 February 2014)E' morto Toni Ucci
16 February 2014 ...

: Mazzetta *

Nino Terzo Nino Terzo (22 May 1923 – 8 May 2005) was an Italian actor. Life and career Born in Palermo as Antonino Terzo, he worked intensively in the avanspettacolo and revue theater, entering the stage companies of Totò, Peppino De Filippo, Franco ...

: Soldier La Padula *

Scilla Gabel Scilla Gabel (born Gianfranca Gabellini; 4 January 1938) is an Italian film, television, and stage actress. She appeared in 50 films and multiple television programs between 1954 and 1988. Career Born in Rimini as one of five children, Gabel en ...

: Iride *

Gérard Herter Gérard Herter, also known as Gerhard Haerter, Gerard Haerther, Gerald Herter, Gerard Herter, and Gerhard Herter (born 12 April 1920 in Stuttgart, died 6 February 2007 in Munich) was a German actor of the 1950s and 1960s who played many villains ...

: German General von Tirpitz * Rowland Bartrop (as Roland von Bartrop): Major Kruger *

Andrea Scotti Andrea Scotti (27 August 1931 – 21 December 2003) was an Italian film and television actor. Background Born in Naples, Scotti attended at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, graduating in 1956. During his career he was mainl ...

: 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