Release CalendarDVD & Blu-ray ReleasesTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsIn TheatersComing SoonMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysAPA Heritage MonthSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)

La patata bollente

  • 19791979
  • 1h 39m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
627
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • IMDbPro
La patata bollente (1979)
  • Comedy
A factory worker known for his tough attitude and for fighting for workers' rights starts losing credibility when friends and co-workers see him helping a young gay man.A factory worker known for his tough attitude and for fighting for workers' rights starts losing credibility when friends and co-workers see him helping a young gay man.A factory worker known for his tough attitude and for fighting for workers' rights starts losing credibility when friends and co-workers see him helping a young gay man.
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
627
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Steno
  • Writers
    • Giorgio Arlorio
    • Steno
    • Enrico Vanzina
  • Stars
    • Renato Pozzetto
    • Edwige Fenech
    • Massimo Ranieri
Top credits
  • Director
    • Steno
  • Writers
    • Giorgio Arlorio
    • Steno
    • Enrico Vanzina
  • Stars
    • Renato Pozzetto
    • Edwige Fenech
    • Massimo Ranieri
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 1User review
    • 1Critic review
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Photos

    La patata bollente (1979)
    La patata bollente (1979)
    La patata bollente (1979)
    Add photo

    Top cast

    Edit
    Renato Pozzetto
    Renato Pozzetto
    • Bernardo Mambelli, detto 'Il Gandhi'as Bernardo Mambelli, detto 'Il Gandhi'
    Edwige Fenech
    Edwige Fenech
    • Mariaas Maria
    Massimo Ranieri
    Massimo Ranieri
    • Claudioas Claudio
    Mario Scarpetta
    • Walteras Walter
    Clara Colosimo
    Clara Colosimo
    • Elviraas Elvira
    Sergio Ciulli
    • Maraviglias Maravigli
    Adriana Russo
    • Amica di Mariaas Amica di Maria
    Luca Sportelli
    • Pietroas Pietro
    Loris Bazzocchi
    • Operaioas Operaio
    Dario Ghirardi
    Margherita Giacomelli
    Emilio Leoni
    Nazzareno Natale
    • Operaioas Operaio
    Umberto Raho
    Umberto Raho
    • Il dottoreas Il dottore
    Enzo Rossi
    Alberto Squillante
    Giorgio Vigna
    • Amante di Claudioas Amante di Claudio
    Ghirardo Leoni
    • Direttore della fabbricaas Direttore della fabbrica
    • Director
      • Steno
    • Writers
      • Giorgio Arlorio
      • Steno
      • Enrico Vanzina
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

    More like this

    Sono fotogenico
    6.1
    Sono fotogenico
    Il ragazzo di campagna
    6.8
    Il ragazzo di campagna
    Mani di fata
    5.7
    Mani di fata
    Zucchero, miele e peperoncino
    5.7
    Zucchero, miele e peperoncino
    Ricchi, ricchissimi... praticamente in mutande
    5.5
    Ricchi, ricchissimi... praticamente in mutande
    Vieni avanti cretino
    7.1
    Vieni avanti cretino
    At Last, at Last
    5.1
    At Last, at Last
    L'insegnante viene a casa
    5.1
    L'insegnante viene a casa
    Cream Horn
    6.0
    Cream Horn
    Io so che tu sai che io so
    6.7
    Io so che tu sai che io so
    L'allenatore nel pallone
    6.9
    L'allenatore nel pallone
    Horse Fever
    7.3
    Horse Fever

    Storyline

    Edit
    Bernardo Mambelli is a Milanese worker in a paint factory with a passion for boxing. He is nicknamed I l Gandi, and in addition to being a trade union activist, he is a convinced militant of the PCI. One night he saves the young Claudio from the aggression of some fascists. Since poor Claudio is wounded and in pain, Gandi takes him home without knowing that the boy is homosexual. As soon as he realizes his orientation, Gandi awkwardly seeks his friendship with Claudio from his girlfriend Maria and his party mates, but above all to Mrs. Elvira, the nosy and drunken concierge of the building. The concealment succeeds and Claudio, healed of his wounds, returns to his usual life, until the fascists take up the young boy again, setting the alternative bookstore where he works and lives on fire. Gandi then decides to host Claudio again, by now a place to stay, but without always hiding it from everyone so as not to compromise himself. In the evening they take advantage of the darkness to make the move, but everything is accidentally discovered by Maria, who confides in Walter, Gandi's colleague and best friend, to ask him for help.
    • factory
    • female nudity
    • sex
    • bathing
    • milan italy
    • 6 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Genre
      • Comedy
    • Parents guide
      • Add content advisory

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Soundtracks
      Tango Diverso
      Courtesy of C.G.D.

    User reviews1

    Review
    Top review
    6/10
    Bolshevism and homosexuality don't mix
    Renato Pozzetto plays Bernardo Mambelli, also known as Gandhi, an ex-boxer now working in some kind of paint factory. Edwige Fenech is his lunch lady love Maria, which is a bit of a surprise since she usually plays higher educated characters. Gandhi is also a devoted communist and often sticks up for his fellow worker, opening up the possibility of him becoming a union leader. One night he saves young Claudio (Massimo Ranieri) from a beating by a group of fascist bikers and takes him home to nurse his wounds. Claudio promptly phones his boyfriend to break up with him. Of course this leads to about 70 minutes of gay mistakes by the nosy landlady, the girlfriend and the co- workers.

    When Claudio goes back to his home/work, the so called 'Alternative Library', it is almost immediately burned down by those hateful bikers. So it's back to Gandi's Marxist shrine (nobody mentions where the other, even gayer librarians went). The bikers spray slanderous graffiti on the wall at the factory and that's the last we hear of them. However to the factory workers comrade Gandhi is still a hero, since his demands for better vents have gone through.

    In a totally out of the blue twist of fate, our heroic commie is offered a trip to (what was then called) Leningrad. Surprisingly, he takes neither Maria nor Claudio with him and the whole side trip is only implied by way of a couple of cheap postcards and souvenirs. It turns out to be just an excuse for the gay character to do what is expected of him at home: redecorate the entire place. This culminates in a battle of affection between Claudio and Maria and some more embarrassing moments for Renato Pozzetto. From here on the twists and turns start getting more absurd and confusing, but at least they move so fast you won't notice a couple of sub plots being left unresolved.

    This is one of those strange Renato Pozzetto comedies where he seems to be making some sort of statement, but exactly what remains unclear. For a comedy with such easily offensive subjects, it manages to remain on relatively safe ground, never being too nasty to homosexuals nor too pro-communist (though the secondary gay characters are the usual over the top limp-wristed fruitcakes). Unfortunately nothing very spectacular or memorable happens in the film, although Edwige reprises her awkward amateur strip tease from "Taxi Girl". Still, the love triangle between the three leads never catches fire, mainly because Renato remains rather uninterested in both Maria and Massimo.

    6 out of 10
    helpful•3
    5
    • Chip_douglas
    • Oct 30, 2005

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 16, 1979 (Italy)
    • Country of origin
      • Italy
    • Language
      • Italian
    • Also known as
      • Hot Potato
    • Filming locations
      • Rome, Lazio, Italy
    • Production company
      • Irrigazione Cinematografica
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 39 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    La patata bollente (1979)
    Top Gap
    By what name was La patata bollente (1979) officially released in Canada in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    The Best Movies and Shows to Watch in May
    See the full list
    View list
    List
    2022 TV Guide: The Best Shows Coming This Year
    See the full list

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.