The Widower

Belligerent spouses from different sides of the social divide battle it out in this little-seen gem from director Dino Risi, a key figure in commedia all’italiana.  (Risi’s Oh! Sabella also screens in this series). A black comedy satirizing social class, social mores and Italy’s postwar “economic miracle, "The Widower features Alberto Sordi as Alberto, a sleazy, self-important, small-time Roman factory owner. He’s risen up from humble origins, but now has major financial woes. Franca Valeri plays his scornful wife Elvira, a wealthy Milanese businesswoman and socialite; she keeps Alberto around because it amuses her to humiliate him. When Elvira is killed in a train wreck — or so it appears —Alberto is overjoyed: his money problems are over! When Elvira turns up alive, Alberto concocts a diabolical scheme to make himself a widower once and for all. "The funniest movie I’ve seen all summer. The official reason for its inclusion [in 'Signore & Signore'] is the quick-witted Valeri, but the star is Sordi, the comic genius Fellini featured in The White Sheik and I Vitelloni" (Steve Vineberg, Boston Phoenix). B&W, 35mm, in Italian with English subtitles. 100 mins.