Carosello napoletano (1954)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Ettore Giannini

Writers:

Remigio Del Grosso (writer)
Ettore Giannini (writer)

Release Date:

26 May 1954 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Plot:

Napoli, anni cinquanta. Un cantastorie, che abita con la numerosa famiglia in una misera catapecchia...

Plot Keywords:

Musicarello | Beautiful Woman

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Léonide Massine	...	Antonio 'Pulcinella' Petito
Achille Millo	...	Pulcinella's son
Agostino Salvietti	...	Prompter
Clelia Matania	...	Donna Concetta
Paolo Stoppa	...	Salvatore Esposito
Maria Fiore	...	Donna Brigida
Tina Pica	...	Capera
Maria-Pia Casilio	...	Nannina
Giacomo Rondinella	...	Luigino
Sophia Loren	...	Sisina
Dolores Palumbo	...	Sisina's mother
Loris Gizzi	...	Erik Gustaffson
Alberto Bonucci	...	Lyricist #1
Vittorio Caprioli	...	Lyricist #2
Carlo Mazzarella	...	Baron

Also Known As:

Neapolitan Carousel (USA)
Neapolitan Fantasy (UK)

Runtime:

129 min | 108 min (cut)

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Italy:T | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Lux Film

twice carousels have appeared in titles but only minimally in the movies

Whoa! I've seen some wacky movies, but this one sure came out of left field. Maybe it's because I've never seen a musical from Italy; when I think of Italian cinema, I think of Federico Fellini and Roberto Benigni. I reckon that nowadays, Ettore Giannini's "Carosello napoletano" - "Neapolitan Carousel" in English - is most notable for an early appearance by Sophia Loren (she plays Sisina). Otherwise, the whole thing runs like a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. It was apparently the first major Italian musical of the postwar era.

The plot, as far as I could tell, centers on a family wandering the streets of Naples, singing songs about various events in the city's history. But it's always hard to tell what's real and what isn't. From what I could tell, only one scene even featured a carousel (unless the title had a deeper meaning); kind of like how Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Carousel" only features the title object in one scene. Oh well, I guess that the movie's worth seeing. Usually, I watch musicals only to heckle them. In this case, I didn't know that this was a musical, and I don't consider it appropriate to heckle Sophia Loren.

Anyway, it's an OK movie, but trying to follow the plot is sort of a challenge. Also starring Paolo Stoppa, Clelia Matania, Maria Fiore, Nadia Gray and Leonide Massine.