Nicolai Gogol satirised the corrupt officialdom of Imperial Russia in his masterful play 'The Government Inspector'. It is only fitting that the screenplay for this loose adaptation should be that of Ettore Scola for whom the inequalities and injustices of Italian society proved such a rich source of inspiration.
The setting here is 1920's Italy which is in thrall to Mussolini's Fascismo and gives director Luiga Zampa ample opportunity to have a a dig at corrupt politicians as he had done so well in his previous film 'Il Vigile'. In that film a morally vacuous mayor is played by Vittorio de Sica and here Gino Cervi adopts a similar role. His character is feathering his own nest as are all of his fellow council members and they are thrown into an understandable panic when news reaches them of an inspection of the town's affairs by a leading Fascist official from Rome. An inquisitive stranger named Omero, claiming to be an 'insurance salesman', appears on the scene. Might it be he.............?
Omero is played by Nino Manfredi who is suitably ambiguous and the film's broad humour is balanced by his love for the mayor's daughter Elvira. She is played by the luscious Michelle Mercier who would soon go on to play Angélique, a role that would prove more of a curse than a blessing!
They are some extremely funny scenes in this, notably the vaudeville routine with gorgeous girls in uniform and the occasional swastika that anticipates 'Springtime for Hitler.' The film also contains a marvellous gallery of buffoons, hypocrites and assorted hangers-on.
It would not be a Zampa film of course without its graver undertones which are here supplied by the down-trodden peasantry who are obliged to live in caves on the outskirts of town. One of them asks Omero to give Il Duce a letter. Omero forgets all about it until he reads the heart-rending contents on the train taking him back to Rome. He has lost the love of shallow Elvira but has gained an insight into the true nature of Fascism.
In the original play the leading character turns to the audience and says: "What are you laughing at? You are laughing at yourselves!"
Satire is a potent weapon and despite the efforts of humourless, self-righteous fanatics to suppress it, once we have lost the ability to laugh at ourselves and others, we are doomed.
