The Italian American Museum and the Italian Cultural Institute present a screening of “Totò, Peppino, and the Hussy,” a classic Italian film celebrating its 70th year and starring Totò, Italy’s legendary comedic actor. The film will be shown with English subtitles.
Claudio Pagliara, the director of the Italian Cultural Institute in New York, will introduce the film with a talk about the profound influence of Totò. The screening coincides with the Museum’s current exhibition on the life of Totò, which features his literary works and artifacts such as costumes and personal belongings.
The film follows the brothers Antonio (Totò) and Peppino (Peppino De Filippo) Caponi, boorish landowners living in southern Italy. Antonio is lavish and steals his stingy brother’s money. Gianni (Teddy Reno), their sister Lucia (Vittoria Crispo)’s son, is studying medicine in Naples, when he falls in love with Marisa (Dorian Gray), a revue dancer, and follows her to Milan.
The news is broken to the family with an anonymous letter, and the three brothers travel to Milan to stop the relationship, which they consider dangerous. Antonio and Peppino try to bribe Marisa away from Gianni but he woos her back by moving her to tears with the classic Italian song “Malafemmina”, and Lucia realizes that she is a good girl. In the end, she leaves the revue world, moves to their village and marries Gianni.
Totò has been called “Italy’s Charlie Chaplin.”
Admission of $20 includes access to the Totò exhibition.