Adua e le compagne (1960)

Director:

Antonio Pietrangeli

Writers:

Ruggero Maccari (screenplay)
Ruggero Maccari (story)
(more)

Release Date:

16 September 1960 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Plot:

When a brothel closes because of new laws, four of the prostitutes decide to go into business running a restaurant. They discover they cannot escape their past. |

Plot Keywords:

Rome Italy | Commedia All'italiana | Sex | Brothel | Italian

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Simone Signoret	...	Adua Giovannetti
Sandra Milo	...	Lolita
Emmanuelle Riva	...	Marilina (as Emmanuele Riva)
Gina Rovere	...	Caterina Zellero, detta Milly
Claudio Gora	...	Ercoli
Ivo Garrani	...	L'Avvocato - Adua's ex-customer
Gianrico Tedeschi	...	Stefano
Antonio Rais	...	Emilio
Duilio D'Amore	...	Brother Michele
Valeria Fabrizi	...	Fosca (as Valeria Fabrizzi)
Luciana Gilli	...	Dora - Piero's lover (as Gloria Gilli)
Enzo Maggio	...	Calypso - Stefano's colleague
Roberto Meloni		(as Roberto Melone)
Nando Angelini	...	(credit only)
Marcello Mastroianni	...	Piero Salvagni
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alfredo Adami	...	Customer Friend of Ercoli (uncredited)
Margherita Horowitz	...	Lady with Striped Suit in the Trattoria (uncredited)
Italia Marchesini	...	Giulia - The Servant in the Brothel (uncredited)
Fulvio Mingozzi	...	Piero's Friend in the Bar (uncredited)
Domenico Modugno	...	Himself (uncredited)
Paolo Pietrangeli	...	The Son of the Avvocato (uncredited)
Ettore Ribotta	...	Piero's Friend in the Bar (uncredited)
Michele Riccardini	...	The Yielding Customer in the Trattoria (uncredited)

Directed by
Antonio Pietrangeli

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ruggero Maccari		screenplay
Ruggero Maccari		story
Antonio Pietrangeli		screenplay
Antonio Pietrangeli		story
Tullio Pinelli		screenplay
Ettore Scola		screenplay
Ettore Scola		story

Produced by
Moris Ergas	....	producer

Original Music by
Piero Piccioni

Cinematography by
Armando Nannuzzi

Film Editing by
Eraldo Da Roma

Production Design by
Luigi Scaccianoce

Set Decoration by
Luigi Scaccianoce

Costume Design by
Danilo Donati

Makeup Department
Goffredo Rocchetti	....	makeup artist
Mara Rocchetti	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Manolo Bolognini	....	production manager
Antonio Negri	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gianni Arduini	....	assistant director
Anna Maria Ceni	....	assistant director (as Anna Maria Leone)
Armando Crispino	....	assistant director

Art Department
Mario Ravasio	....	assistant set decorator
Emilio Zago	....	assistant set decorator

Sound Department
Pietro Ortolani	....	sound engineer

Camera and Electrical Department
Alvaro Lanzoni	....	assistant camera
Giuseppe Ruzzolini	....	camera operator

Editorial Department
Marcella Benvenuti	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Piero Piccioni	....	conductor

Other crew
Lilla Brignone	....	voice dubbing: Simone Signoret
Maria Pia Di Meo	....	voice dubbing: Emmanuelle Riva
Carlo Giovagnorio	....	production secretary
Vanda Tuzzi	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Zebra Film

Distributors

• Cinédis (1960) (France) (theatrical)
• Medusa Home Entertainment (2004) (Italy) (DVD)
• Promenade (1965) (USA) (subtitled)

Also Known As:

"Adua and Her Friends" - USA (DVD box title)
"Love à la carte" - USA (informal English title)

Runtime:

106 min | UK:125 min | Argentina:128 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Argentina:16 | UK:12 (video rating) (2004) | UK:X (original rating) | West Germany:18

Company:

Zebra Film

Trivia:

This is the first time in her career that Sandra Milo is not dubbed.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Cinema forever - Capolavori salvati (2001)

Soundtrack:

Besame Mucho

An "unknown" film that deserves a wider audience.

Here is a wonderful example of Italian realism from 1960 that I'd never heard of until this week--and I'm 65 years old and a big fan of this genre. It was shown in San Francisco as the only "classic" film in a festival of recent Italian cinema. It deserves a wider audience. How can a film that stars Simone Signoret and Marcello Mastroianni remain so obscure? This story of four prostitutes forced to fend for themselves when a new law closes the bordellos of Rome reminds one of "Bicycle Thief" or "The Organizer," in its gritty social realism, but there are scenes of happiness and humor too. They pool their savings to open a trattoria, but find they cannot get a license. A prominent fixer with connections obtains the license for them, on condition that they conduct their old business upstairs and pay him an exorbitant monthly fee. The women are not anxious to turn tricks for a living any longer and find joy in running the restaurant. The women long to settle down--one has a child, another meets a man who loves her. Only one is tempted to return to her old life. Signoret, the major character here and as wonderful as ever, falls for Mastroianni, a glib car salesman, hustler and womanizer. While the trattoria is a success, it does not bring in the kind of money demanded by their "patron," which leads to conflict. The resolutions of their individual stories develop alongside that of their collective story. In this genre, happy endings are not a staple. Grim reality is, however. We can feel great sympathy for these women, but we know that such people are too often bound by destiny, given the realities of power--who has it and who hasn't--and the attitudes of society. All this drama is accompanied by a terrific jazz soundtrack, which is unfortunately not credited. The black-and-white cinematography is first rate. The closing scene in the rain ranks among the all-time unforgettable film endings.