The Priest's Wife (1970) La moglie del prete (original title)

Director:

Dino Risi

Writers:

Ruggero Maccari (screenplay) and
Bernardino Zapponi (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

22 December 1970 (Italy)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

They Shake Things Up...In Spring's Comedy Hit!

Plot:

Discovering her boyfriend is married, a young lady attempts to take her life, pausing only to phone a Help Line...

Plot Keywords:

Affair

Cast

Sophia Loren	...	Valeria Billi
Marcello Mastroianni	...	Don Mario
Venantino Venantini	...	Maurizio
Jacques Stany	...	Jimmy Guitar
Pippo Starnazza	...	Valeria's Father
Augusto Mastrantoni	...	Monsignor Caldana
Giuseppe Maffioli	...	Davide Libretti
Miranda Campa	...	Valeria's Mother
Gino Cavalieri	...	Don Filippo
Gino Lazzari	...	Caldana's Secretary
Dana Ghia	...	Lucia
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Vittoria Crispo	...	(uncredited)
Nerina Montagnani	...	(uncredited)
Paola Natale	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Dino Risi

Writing credits
Ruggero Maccari		(screenplay) and
Bernardino Zapponi		(screenplay)
Ruggero Maccari		(story) and
Dino Risi		(story) and
Bernardino Zapponi		(story)

Produced by
Pio Angeletti	....	executive producer
Adriano De Micheli	....	executive producer
Carlo Ponti	....	producer

Original Music by
Armando Trovajoli

Cinematography by
Alfio Contini

Film Editing by
Alberto Gallitti

Art Direction by
Gianni Polidori

Set Decoration by
Lorenzo Baraldi

Costume Design by
Gianni Polidori

Makeup Department
Giuseppe Annunziata	....	makeup artist
Giuseppe Banchelli	....	makeup artist
Ada Palombi	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Mario D'Alessio	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Renato Rizzuto	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Claudio Risi	....	sound

Stunts
Donatella Gambini	....	stunt double: Sophia Loren (driving sequence)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jean Barthet	....	stylist
Gabriele Mayer	....	assistant costume designer

Other crew
Elio Di Pietro	....	production assistant
Francesca Roberti	....	script supervisor
Tonino Sarno	....	production assistant
Hunt Downs	....	unit publicist (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Compagnia Cinematografica Champion
• Productions et Éditions Cinématographique Français
• Les Films Concordia
• PECF

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1971) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1972) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Warner Bros. (1971) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2010) (USA) (DVD) (DVD-R)

Other Companies

• Ditta Rocchetti  wigs (as Ditta Rocchetti - Rome)
• International Recordings  sound post-production (as International Recording - Rome)
• Mayer  Sophia Loren's costumes (as Mayer of Rome)

Also Known As:

"La moglie del prete" - Italy (original title)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:S | Italy:T | Sweden:Btl | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:PG | Argentina:Atp | West Germany:16 (f) (original rating) | West Germany:6 (f) (cut version)

Filming Locations:

Padua, Veneto, Italy

Company:

Compagnia Cinematografica Champion

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The First Beautiful Thing (2010)

Bittersweet comedy

Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni shine in the roles of the star- crossed lovers. Valeria is rebounding from a four-year affair with a man she now finds out is married. She expresses her displeasure at the man in one of the funniest scenes in the film - early on - a madcap car chase through Rome.

Aside: cars in Rome during the 1970s were a lot smaller than ours are today - even including Mini-Coopers. And this is the 8th of 11 films she and Mastrioanni made together.

Distraught to the point of suicide, she calls a crisis help line, on impulse, and is answered by a man who does his best to talk her out of it, but doesn't quite succeed. She's taken to a hospital, calls the help line again, insisting that the man she talked to come to her. When he arrives, she notices that he's a priest.

That disappoints her: her first man was married to his wife, now this one is married to the church.

Needless to say, their relationship grows, despite every effort by Don Mario to fend her off.

The rest of the story, combining humor and pathos, revolves around Valeria's attempts to get Don Mario to quit the priesthood and marry her, and his attempts to get the church authorities to let him go.

Loren is, as usual, stunningly beautiful, and considering that her character in the movie is as poor as anyone else in Italy, wears some gorgeous outfits.

One of the great throw-away lines in the movie comes when Don Maro is visiting the hospital, and one of the doctors asks him to use his influence with the government.

"The Church has no influence with the government", Don Mario says.

"If they don't, who does"?

The screening we saw was dubbed in English. I would have liked to hear the real voices - but we take what we can.

Overall, I recommend this one.