Her Favourite Husband

Her Favourite Husband
Directed byMario Soldati
Written byNoel Langley
Mario Monicelli
Steno
Mario Soldati
Based onplay by Peppino De Filippo
Produced byColin Lesslie
Carlo Ponti
John Sutro
StarringJean Kent
Robert Beatty
Gordon Harker
Margaret Rutherford
Rona Anderson
CinematographyMario Bava
Edited byDouglas Robertson
Music byNino Rota
Production
company
Distributed byRenown Pictures
Lux Film
Release date
  • September 1950 (1950-09)
Running time
79 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom
Italy
LanguageEnglish

Her Favourite Husband (also known as The Taming of Dorothy and Quel bandito sono io) is a 1950 British-Italian comedy film directed by Mario Soldati and starring Jean Kent, Robert Beatty and Margaret Rutherford.[1][2] The screenplay was by Noel Langley, based on an adaptation by Stefano Vanzina (as Steno), Mario Monicelli and Soldati of the 1947 play Quel bandito sono io! by Peppino De Filippo.[3] The film's art direction was by Piero Gherardi.[2]

Plot

Mild mannered Italian bank clerk Antonio, dominated by his English wife Dorothy, is the double of Leo L'Americano, a local gangster. The gangster kidnaps Antonio and takes his place as husband in the family, to give him cover for a big bank robbery, which he plans to pin on Antonio. Farcical confusions ensue.

Cast

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Gangster comedy which suffers from a profusion of English actors posing unsuccessfully as comic Italians, and from direction based on the principle that noise and muddle on the screen amounts to comedy. The whole effect is that of a charade which has got completely out of hand."[4]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "mediocre", writing: "Film mistakes noise and muddle for comedy."[5]

Leslie Halliwell said: "Rather tiresome Italian-set comedy with funny moments."[6]

TV Guide wrote, "corny dialog bogs this film down much of the time."[7]

Allmovie described it as "a genial romp distinguished by a sizeable supporting cast of familiar British players."[3]

References

  1. ^ "Her Favourite Husband". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Her Favourite Husband". BFI. Archived from the original on 14 January 2009.
  3. ^ a b "Quel Bandito Sono Io (1949) - Trailers, Reviews, Synopsis, Showtimes and Cast - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  4. ^ "Her Favourite Husband". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 17 (193): 172. 1 January 1950 – via ProQuest.
  5. ^ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 321. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.
  6. ^ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 459. ISBN 0586088946.
  7. ^ "The Taming Of Dorothy". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.


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