Gli uomini, che mascalzoni! is a comedy film directed by Mario Camerini in 1932. Camerini (1895 – 1981, in the left photo) was without any doubt one of the greatest directors of the Italian comedy films in 1930s. He was active in 1922 – 1972, in which years he directed some 50 films. In 1940 – 1943 he was married with Assia Noris (1912 – 1998, in the photo below), who was one of the great Italian divas during the 1930s.
During the fascist regime Camerini also directed one propaganda film Il grande appello (The Great Appeal, 1936), and after the war romantic comedies, melodramas and adventure films. Still, history remembers him most of all for one of his early comedies, Gli uomini, che mascalzoni!
Gli uomini, che mascalzoni! was one of the so-called “white telephones” comedy films. These films were very popular during the 1930s, and they represented upper-class idle life and their complicated love stories. They were usually located in fancy and modern interiors, and most of all, they were called “white telephones”, because especially in the first films there was almost in each film a scene, or several scenes, in which usually a beautiful upper-class lady was talking to a white telephone. Let’s not forget that during the 1930s telephone was luxury that only few could afford, and when they could, the telephone was usually black. For this reason, a white telephone was something extra luxurious. In addition, thanks to the modern and lavish interiors in which the films were located, they were also called “cinema déco”.
Camerini’s film, however, is revolutionary in many ways. First of all, it does not depict the frivolous upper class, but instead the world of lower middle class. The film actually narrates a comic love story of a saleswoman, Mariuccia, and a chauffeur, Bruno, a love story full of misunderstandings and mishaps. A fancy interior only appears in the perfume shop, where Mariuccia works at the beginning, and in Bruno’s emplyer’s studio. Instead, Camerini made the revolutionary solution to film on real locations in the city of Milan, and for this reason the film is now considered a sort of precious documentary of Milan in the 1930s. Furthermore, the film offers an excellent point of view of the life of the youth in the Italy of the 1930s. Their working and the way to spend free time are both well presented, and gender differences are equally well marked.
Instead, what we don’t see in the film, is the fascist regime. Actually, the film could have been filmed under any liberal government, which is not even a surprise. The Italian cinema started to develop in the 1930s, also with the help of state subsidies. However, the regime soon understood that political propaganda films were not popular, and for this reason it was pointless to produce them. This does not mean that the fascist regime did not produce any propaganda films at all. It did, but by far the great majority of the films that saw the daylight in the 1930s were light comedies such as Gli uomini, che mascalzoni! with the sole meaning to entertain the public.
The cast of the film is equally remarkable. Female lead actor Lya Franca (1912 – 1988) made a short but important career in cinema in the early 1930s being the first Italian actress having spoken in a film. The film was Alessandro Blasetti’s (1900 – 1987) Resurrectio (Resurrection, 1931), the very first Italian sound film. The male lead actor instead, is Vittorio De Sica (1901 – 1974), who later made his international career most of all as a film director and one of the fathers of the Italian neorealist cinema.
Gli uomini, che mascalzoni! was a great success both in Italy and abroad. The song “Parlami d’amore Mariù” (Talk me about love, Mariù) became an international hit. The lyrics of the song were written by Ennio Neri (1891 – 1985), and the music was composed by Cesare Andrea Bixio (1896 – 1978). The song was precisely created for the voice of the male lead actor Vittorio De Sica.
The film is visible on Dailymotion. Even though the subtitles are in Spanish and the sound is quite poor, you can have an idea about this cute film. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8s78m8
The song, “Parlami d’amore Mariù” is on Youtube, performed by Vittorio De Sica. https://youtu.be/WTK7wJomzmU?si=Owe5npWI47KTo5TE
Marja Härmänmaa
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Italian Fascism (1919 – 1945) – Marja Härmänmaa (marjaharmanmaa.com)
