Toto and the King of Rome (1951)
"Totò e i re di Roma" (original title)

Ercole Pappalardo (Totò), married, five sons, lives with only dream to be upgraded from his current position in the post department. Everithing goes wrong, he accidentally spits on the ... See full summary »

Directors:

Mario Monicelli, Steno

Writers:

Ennio De Concini (story), Mario Monicelli,

Stars:

Totò, Aroldo Tieri, Alberto Sordi

Cast

Credited cast:
Totò	...	Ercole Pappalardo
Aroldo Tieri	...	Ferruccio
Alberto Sordi	...	Il maestro elementare
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Celeste Almieri
Ernesto Almirante	...	Nedo
Armando Annuale	...	Orchestrale
Giulio Battiferri	...	Guardiano
Giulio Calì	...	Sonatore di Tromba
Anna Carena	...	Armida Pappalardo
Pietro Carloni	...	Capoufficio Capasso
Mario Castellani	...	Corrado
Paolo Ferrara	...	Maestro Esaminatore
Marisa Finiani	...	Squillo al Sistina
Eugenio Galadini
Amedeo Girardi	...	Usciere dell'Albergo

Storyline

Ercole Pappalardo (Totò), married, five sons, lives with only dream to be upgraded from his current position in the post department. Everithing goes wrong, he accidentally spits on the minister's face, he insults him trough a parrot (!), and finally they discover he has no titles to fit his current position. After all this tragicomic events he takes a definitive decision: he will die to communicate from the afterlife the lotto numbers to his wife!

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Plot Keywords:

minister | parrot | rome italy | orchestra | office | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Also Known As:

Toto and the King of Rome

Filming Locations:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golden Film, Humanitas Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

A nice little bittersweet comedy

Totò e i re di Roma is not a flawless movie: certain scenes in the first part feel rather useless; not all the humour is equally amusing; and yet, overall, it works surprisingly well. The wonderful Italian actor Totò stars as Ettore Pappalardo, a poor worker with a huge family to maintain; when it is discovered that he hasn't even passed the first grade, he is forced to study to face the final exam. Things don't go as planned, so he decides to recur to an extreme solution: he will shoot himself to give, from the afterlife, the right numbers of the "lotto" to his wife...

This is a comedy, but there are also some bitter, sad undertones: some developments are inspired by a short tale by Cechov, and there is even a scene that seems to come straight from Pirandello. It's marvellous to see how Totò is able to switch from slapstick to serious, even tragic moments. In the supporting cast, the most notable presence is a young Alberto Sordi, who gives an hilarious performance as an unbearably obnoxious professor.

The ironically surreal ending with the bureaucratic afterlife is amusing, and it is also a biting satire.

6.7/10