Signore & Signori
Encyclopedia
The Birds, the Bees and the Italians is a 1966 Italian film directed by Pietro Germi
. Its original Italian
title is Signore & Signori, which means 'Ladies and Gentlemen'.
The film is a sex comedy
that presents three storylines, all set in the Italian town of Treviso
. In the first story, a husband pretends to be impotent as a cover for having an affair. In the second, a bank clerk abandons his wife for his mistress, but the rest of the town's husbands become jealous and unite to conspire against them. In the third, men of the town all try to seduce a promiscuous teenager, but her father eventually reveals that she is underage.
The film shared the Grand Prix
with A Man and a Woman
at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival
.
Pietro Germi
Pietro Germi was an Italian actor, screenwriter, and director. Germi was born in Genoa, Liguria, to a lower-middle class family. He was a messenger and briefly attended nautical school before deciding on a career in acting.He studied acting and directing at Rome's Centro Sperimentale di...
. Its original Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
title is Signore & Signori, which means 'Ladies and Gentlemen'.
The film is a sex comedy
Sex comedy
Sex comedy is a term for comedy movies with sexual content usually referring to those made in the United Kingdom in the mid 1970s. They may range from comic pornographic films like the Confessions series to relatively innocent comedies that include jokes about sex and other sexual related humour,...
that presents three storylines, all set in the Italian town of Treviso
Treviso
Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...
. In the first story, a husband pretends to be impotent as a cover for having an affair. In the second, a bank clerk abandons his wife for his mistress, but the rest of the town's husbands become jealous and unite to conspire against them. In the third, men of the town all try to seduce a promiscuous teenager, but her father eventually reveals that she is underage.
The film shared the Grand Prix
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
with A Man and a Woman
A Man and a Woman
A Man and a Woman is a 1966 French film, written by Claude Lelouch and Pierre Uytterhoeven, and directed by Lelouch. It is notable for its lush photography , which features frequent segues between full color, black-and-white, and sepia-toned shots, and for its memorable musical score by Francis Lai...
at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival
1966 Cannes Film Festival
The 19th Cannes Film Festival was held on May 5-20, 1966. To honour the festival's 20th anniversary, a special prize was given.-Jury:*Sophia Loren *Marcel Achard *Vinicius de Moraes *Tetsuro Furukaki...
.
Cast
- Virna LisiVirna LisiVirna Lisi is a Cannes and César award-winning Italian film actress. She was born in Ancona, Marche, as Virna Lisa Pieralisi.-Early career:...
- Milena Zulian - Gastone MoschinGastone MoschinGastone Moschin is an Italian actor.Born in San Giovanni Lupatoto , he began his career in the 1950s as theatre actor, first with the Stable Theater in Genoa and then with the Piccolo Teatro in Milan. In the same period Moschin also began to play in feature films, such as La rivale and L'audace...
- Osvaldo Bisigato - Nora Ricci - Gilda Bisigato
- Alberto LionelloAlberto LionelloAlberto Lionello, full name Alberto Lionello is an Italian film actor. Was an actor, voice actor and television presenter Italian he has appeared in over 38 films since 1956.-Selected filmography:...
- Toni Gasparini - Olga Villi - Ippolita Gasparini
- Franco FabriziFranco FabriziFranco Fabrizi was an Italian actor.Son of a barber and a cinema cashier, he was a soap opera photo actor, for example, the fotoromanzo Arizona Kid, in the newspaper Avventuroso Film...
- Lino Benedetti - Beba LoncarBeba LoncarDesanka "Beba" Lončar is a Serbian-Italian film actress. She appeared in 52 films between 1960 and 1982. She was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, now Serbia...
- Noemi Castellan - Gigi BallistaGigi BallistaGigi Ballista was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 60 films between 1961 and 1980.-Selected filmography:* The Birds, the Bees and the Italians * L'immorale * The Seventh Floor...
- Giacinto Castellan - Carlo Bagno - Bepi Cristofoletto
- Patrizia Valturri - Alda Cristofoletto
- Virgilio Gazzolo - Newspaper editor
- Quinto Parmeggiani - Giovanni Soligo
- Gia Sandri - Betty Soligo
- Moira OrfeiMoira OrfeiMoira Orfei, , a popular Italian actress and television personality. Moira is considered the queen of the Italian circus.-Biography:...
- Giorgia Casellato - Virgilio Scapin - Don Schiavon