Marriage Italian Style (1964)
"Matrimonio all'italiana" (original title)

Domenico, a successfull businessman, with an eye for the girls, begins an affair with Filumena when she is 17 years old. She becomes a prostitute, but also becomes the mistress of Domenico.... See full summary »

Director:

Vittorio De Sica

Writers:

Eduardo De Filippo (play), Renato Castellani (screenplay),

Stars:

Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Aldo Puglisi

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sophia Loren	...	Filumena Marturano
Marcello Mastroianni	...	Domenico Soriano
Aldo Puglisi	...	Alfredo
Tecla Scarano	...	Rosalia
Marilù Tolo	...	Diana (as Marilu' Tolo)
Gianni Ridolfi	...	Umberto
Generoso Cortini	...	Michele
Vito Moricone	...	Riccardo
Rita Piccione	...	Teresina, seamstress
Lino Mattera
Alfio Vita	...	Una pasticcere
Alberto Castaldi	...	(as Alberto Gastaldi)
Anna Santoro
Enza Maggi	...	Lucia, maid
Mara Marilli

Storyline

Domenico, a successfull businessman, with an eye for the girls, begins an affair with Filumena when she is 17 years old. She becomes a prostitute, but also becomes the mistress of Domenico. He eventually sets her up in an apartment, and she works for him in his various businesses. She secretly bears three children, who are raised by nannys. Domenico starts planning to marry a young employee. Filumena tricks him into marriage by pretending to be dying. Domenico annuls the marriage. Filumena then tells him of the three children. She says that one of the children belongs to Domenico, but will not say which one is his. You start to believe that all of the children could be his, and Domenico then marries Filumena again, this time willingly.

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Plot Keywords:

marriage | brothel | mistress | apartment | bakery | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

20 December 1964 (USA)

Also Known As:

Marriage Italian Style

Filming Locations:

Naples, Campania, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Compagnia Cinematografica Champion, Les Films Concordia

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Did You Know?

Quotes

Domenico Soriano: [subtitled version] The more the world changes, the more it stays the same. Houses, palaces, skyscrapers. And in the middle... an old story like ours.

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Connections

Referenced in Bewitched: Business, Italian Style (1967)

User Reviews

great to see the past (1964) before all the PC stuff we have now

This film is great you get to see Naples in 1964 when it was 100% Italian.

However outdoor shooting is limited--it is mostly shot on low budget sets which make things a little oppressive and limited.

Loren works as a hooker and has a 22 year relation with Marcello--- you have to suspend disbelief here. Sophia looks too classy not at all like a hardened hooker--still it is cute amusing story.

The music is perfect you will feel good after watching this film.

My solution to todays PC formula world is to rent something made before 1965.

Sunflower is another good film of the same type but the cinematography is much better.