SORDI, Alberto

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Nationality: Italian. Born: Rome, 15 June 1920. Career: 1932—won contest for imitating Oliver Hardy; subsequent work in dubbing U.S. films into Italian (besides Hardy's voice, he dubbed Robert Mitchum); also in music hall in Ermete Zacconi's troupe; 1938—film debut in La principessa Tarahanova; 1966—directed the film Fumo di Londra; 1988—in TV mini-series I Promessi sposi (The Betrothed). Awards: Best Actor, Berlin Festival, for Detenuto in attesa di giudizio, 1971; Italy's Nastro Argento Award, 1953–54, 1955–56, 1959, 1976–77; also won David Di Donatello Award 9 times since 1959. Address: Via Pruso 45, Rome 00184, Italy.

Films as Actor:

1938

La principessa Tarahanova (Princess Tarahanova) (Ozep and Soldati)

1940

La notte delle beffe (The Night of Tricks) (Campogalliani); Cuori nella tormenta (Tormented Hearts) (Campogalliani)

1941

Le signorine della villa accanto (The Women Next Door) (Rosmino)

1942

I tre aquilotti (The Three Pilots) (Mattòli) (as Filippo); La Signorina (Kish); Giarabub (Alessandrini); Casanova farebbe cosi (Casanova Would Do It That Way!) (Bragaglia); Santa Elena piccolo isola (Simoni)

1944

Tre ragazze cercano marito (Three Girls Looking for Husbands) (Coletti) (as Giulio); Circo equestre Za-Bum (The Za-Bum Circus) (Mattòli)

1945

Chi l'ha visto? (Who's Seen Him?) (Allessandrini); L'innocente Casimiro (The Innocent Casimiro) (Campogalliani)

1946

Le miserie del signor Travet (His Young Wife) (Soldati) (as Barbarotti)

1947

Il delitto di Giovanni Episcopo (Flesh Will Surrender) (Lattuada) (as Doberti); Il passatore (A Bullet for Stefano; The Ferryman) (Coletti) (as the boyfriend)

1948

Il vento mi ha cantato una canzone (The Wind Sang Me a Song) (Mastrocinque); Che Tempi! (What Times!) (Bianchi) (as Mario Aguirre); Sotto il sole di Roma (Under the Sun of Rome) (Castellani)

1951

Mamma mia, che impressione (Savarese) (+ co-sc); Cameriera bella presenza offresi (Pastini)

1952

Lo sceicco bianco (The White Sheik) (Fellini) (title role); Totò e i re di Roma (Steno and Monicello); E arrivato l'accordatore (The Tuner Has Arrived) (Coletti); Giovinezza (Pastina)

1953

I vitelloni (The Young and the Passionate; Vitelloni) (Fellini) (as Alberto); Ci troviamo in galleria (Bolognini) (as Alberto); L'incantevole nemica (Gora); Canzoni, canzoni, canzoni (Paolella); Due notti con Cleopatra (Two Nights with Cleopatra) (Mattòli) (as Cesarino)

1954

Il seduttore (Rossi) (+ co-sc); Amori di mezzo secolo (Chiari); Tempi nostri (Anatomy of Love; Our Time) (Blasetti); Gran varietà (Paolella) (as Premoli); Tripoli, bel suol d'amore (Cerio) (as Alberto); Via Padova 46 (Lo Scocciatore) (Bianchi); Un giorno in pretura (A Day in Court) (Steno) (as Meniconi, + co-sc); Una parigina a Roma (Kobler); L'allegro squadrone (Moffa); Le Rouge et le noir (Autant-Lara); Accadde al commissariato (Simonelli) (as Alberto Tadini); Il matrimonio (Petrucci); Un americano a Roma (Steno) (as Nando Moriconi, + co-sc)

1955

L'arte di arrangiarsi (Zampa); Il segno di Venere (The Sign of Venus) (Risi) (as Romolo Proietti); La bella di Roma (Comencini); Bravissimo (D'Amico); Piccolo posta (Steno) (as Rodolfo Vanzino); Un eroe dei nostri tempi (Monicelli); Accadde al penitenziario (Bianchi); Buonanotte . . . avvocato! (Bianchi) (as Alberto Santi, + co-sc)

1956

Lo scapolo (Pietrangeli); I pappagalli (Paolinelli); Mio figlio Nerone (Nero's Mistress; Nero's Weekend) (Steno) (as Nero); Da qui all 'eredità; Guardia, guardia scelta, brigadiere e maresciallo (Bolognini); Era du venerdi 17 (The Virtuous Bigamist) (Soldati) (as Mario); Mi permette babbo! (Bonnard)

1957

Souvenir d'Italie (It Happened in Rome) (Pietrangeli) (as Sergio); Arrivano i dollari! (Costa); A Farewell to Arms (Charles Vidor) (as Father Galli); Il conte Max (Bianchi)

1958

Il medico e lo stregone (Monicelli); Il marito (Loy and Puccini); Fortunella (De Filippo); Ladro lui, ladra lei (Zampa); Domenica e sempre domenica (Mastrocinque) (+ co-sc); Le Septième Ciel (Bernard); Venezia, la luna, e tu (Risi); Nella città l'inferno (. . . and the Wild Wild Women; Hell in the City) (Castellani) (as Adonis); Racconti d'estate (Love on the Riviera; Summer Tables; Femmes d?un été) (Franciolini) (as Aristarco Bertolini); Oh! Que Mambo! (Berry)

1959

Il moralista (The Moralist) (Bianchi) (as Agostino); I magliari (The Swindlers) (Rosi) (as Totonno); La grande guerra (The Great War) (Monicelli) (as Orseste Jacovacci); Brevi amori a Palma di Majorca (Bianchi); Il vedovo (Risi); Il giovane leone; Vacanze d'inverno (Mastrocinque); Costa azzurra (Sala); Policarpo, ufficiale di scrittura (Soldati)

1960

Tutti a casa (Everybody Go Home!) (Comencini) (as Alberto Innocenzi); Gastone (Bonnard); Il vigile (Zampa); Crimen (. . . And Suddenly It's Murder!; Killing in Monte Carlo) (Camerini) (as Alberto Franzetti)

1961

I due nemici (The Best of Enemies) (Hamilton) (as Captain Blasi); Il giudizio universale (The Last Judgment) (de Sica); Una vita difficile (Risi) (as Silvio Magnozzi)

1962

Mafioso (Lattuada) (as Antonio Badalamenti); Il commissario (Comencini) (as Dante Lombardozzi)

1963

Il diavolo (To Bed or Not to Bed; The Devil) (Polidoro) (as Amadeo Ferretti); Il boom (de Sica) (as Giovanni Alberti); Il maestro di Vigevano (Petri) (as Monbelli); Tentazione proibite (Civirani)

1964

La mia signora (Bolognini, Comencini, and Brass) (five roles)

1965

Il disco volante (The Flying Saucer) (Brass) (four roles); Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (Annakin) (as Count Emilio Ponticelli); Made in Italy (A L'Italienne) (Loy) (as errant husband); "Latin Lover" ep. of I tre volti (Three Faces of a Woman) (Indovina) (as Armando Tucci, + co-sc); "Guglirlmo il dentone" ep. of I complessi (D'Amico) (+ co-sc); Thrilling (Scola, Polidoro, and Lizzani)

1966

I nostri mariti (Our Husbands) (Risi, d'Amico, and Zampa); "Queen Marta" ("Giovanni") ep. of Le fate (The Queens; Sex Quartet) (Pietrangeli) (as Giovanni)

1967

"Senso civico" ("Civic Sense") ep. of Le streghe (The Witches) (Bolognini) (as truckdriver)

1968

Il medico della mutua (The Family Doctor) (Zampa) (as Dr. Guido Tersilli, + co-sc); Riusciranno i nostri eroi a ritrovare l'amico misteriosamente scomparso in Africa? (Scola) (as Fausto di Salvio)

1970

"La camera" (as Antonio) and "Il leone" (as Giacinto Colonna) eps. of Le coppie (The Couples) (+ d of first ep.; de Sica); Contestazione generale (Zampa) (as Don Giuseppe)

1971

Detenuto in attesa di giudizio (Detained While Waiting for Justice, Why?) (Loy) (as Giuseppi Di Noi)

1972

La più bella serata della mia vita (The Most Wonderful Evening of My Life) (Scola) (as Alfredo Rossi); Lo scopone scientifico (The Scientific Cardplayer) (Comencini) (as Peppino); Roma (Fellini's Roma) (Fellini)

1973

Anastasia mio fratello (Steno) (as Don Salvatore Anastasia, + co-sc)

1975

To Love, Perhaps to Die; Tra moglie e Mario

1977

Un borghese piccolo piccolo (An Average Man) (Monicelli) (as Giovanni Vivaldi); 'L'ascensore' ep. of Quelle strane occasioni (Comencini) (as Monsignor); "First Aid," "Like a Queen," and "Funeral Elegy" eps. of I nuovi mostri (Viva Italia!; The New Monsters) (Monicelli, Risi, and Scola)

1978

Le Temoin (The Witness) (Mocky) (as Antonio)

1979

L'Ingorgo (Traffic Jam) (Comencini); Il Malato Imaginario (The Imaginary Invalid) (Tonino Cervi) (as Arganti, + co-sc)

1982

Il Marchese del Grillo (Monicelli) (as Onofrio Del Grillo/Gasperino, + co-sc)

1984

Bertoldo, Bertoldino e Cacasenno (Monicelli) (as Friar Cipolla)

1985

Sono un fenomeno paranormale (I'm a Paranormal Phenomenon) (Corbucci) (+ co-sc)

1986

Troppo forte (Great!) (Verdone) (as lawyer, + co-sc)

1989

Una botta di vita (A Blast of Life) (Oldoini) (as Battistini, + co-sc)

1990

El Avaro (The Miser) (Cervi) (+ sc); In nome del popolo sovrano (In the Name of the Sovereign People) (Magni) (as Marchese Arquati)

1992

Vacanze di Natale '91 (Christmas Vacation '91) (Oldoini) (as Sabino, + co-sc)

1995

Romanzo di un giovane povero (Scola) (as Mr. Bartoloni)

Films as Director:

1966

Fumo di Londra (+ ro as Dante Fontane, co-sc); Scusi, lei favorevole o contrario?; Un italiano in America (+ ro as the father, sc)

1969

Amore mio, aiutami (+ ro as Giovanni Macchiavelli, co-sc)

1973

Polvere di stelle (Stardust) (+ ro as Mimmo Adami, sc)

1974

Finche c'è guerra c'è speranza (While There's War, There's Hope) (+ ro as Pietro Ciocca, co-sc)

1976

Il commune senso del pudore (A Common Sense of Modesty) (+ ro, co-sc)

1978

"Le Vacanze intelligenti" ep. of Dove vai in vacanza? (+ ro as Remo, co-sc)

1980

Io e Caterina (Catherine and I) (+ ro as Enrico)

1982

Io so che tu sai che io so (I Know that You Know that I Know) (as Fabio Bonetti); In viaggio con papa (Journey with Papa) (+ ro as Armando Ferretti, co-sc)

1983

Un tassinaro (The Taxi Driver) (+ ro as Pietro, co-sc)

1984

Tutti dentro (Everybody in Jail) (+ ro as Judge Annibale Salvemini)

1987

Un tassinaro a New York (A Taxi Driver in New York) (+ ro as Pietro, co-sc)

1992

Assolto per aver commesso il fatto (Acquitted for Having Committed the Deed) (+ ro as Emilio Garrone)

1994

Nestore l'ultima corsa (Nestor's Last Trip) (+ ro as Gaetano)

1998

Incontri proibiti (+ ro as Armando, sc)

Publications

By SORDI: books—

Ammazza che fusto!, Milan, 1995.

By SORDI: articles—

Interview, in Ecran (Paris), November 1977.

"Alberto Sordi: 'Sur la scène, ce que je sais faire dans la vie,"' interview with A. Tournès, in Jeune Cinéma (Paris), April/May 1978.

Interview, in Interview (New York), July 1986.

"I mille volti di Alberto Sordi," interview with I. Jachini, in Rivista del Cinematografo (Rome), June 1993.

On SORDI: books—

Fava, Claudio G., Alberto Sordi, Rome, 1979.

Governi, Giancarlo, Alberto Sordi: un italiano come noi, Milan, 1979. Porro, Maurizio, Alberto Sordi, Milan, 1979.

On SORDI: articles—

Mazzetti, L., "People of Talent: Alberto Sordi," in Sight and Sound (London), Summer 1956.

Cineforum (Bergano), May 1980.

CinemAction (Conde-sur-Noireau, France), March 1987.

"Un ricordo di Alberto Sordi per Zamap," in Cinema Sud (Avellino, Italy), December/January/February 1991/1992.

Grimes, W., "Comical Everyman of Italian Cinema," in New York Times, 11 March 1993.

Comuzio, E., "Chi ha paura di sordi regista?" in Cineforum (Bergamo), January/February 1996.

* * *

Alberto Sordi is probably the most beloved personality of the Italian cinema. He commands a public so varied and a reputation so large that it is surprising he is little known outside his own country. His participation in international productions is also unfortunately rare.

Sordi entered films in 1938, but his comic sensibilities were not used to full advantage until Federico Fellini cast him as the false hero of photo-romances in Lo sceicco bianco and as a weak-willed provincialist in I vitelloni. From then on, Sordi was the king of satirical comedy, specializing in portrayals of inept, foolish, and pompous petite bourgeoisie frightened by progress and change. The films he starred in were far from exceptional, but Sordi's screen persona was powerful enough to transcend the limitations of his directors and production companies. These socially conscious comedies serve as an excellent barometer of the Italian cultural phenomena during the 1950s. His immense popularity generated the demand for at least six films a year. Un americano a Roma has become a repertory favorite while Un eroe dei nostri tempi serves as a final distillation of his image: cowardly, conformist, and very, very funny.

Sordi's screen image developed more and more tragic overtones during the 1960s and 1970s, culminating in his masterful performance in Un borghese piccolo piccolo. He plays a man so blindly dedicated to his common son's vain attempts at social climbing that he becomes a criminal maniac. Since the late 1960s, Sordi has directed and scripted as well as starred in many critically neglected films which have been relatively successful at the box office. One of Sordi's favorite subjects in his own films is the generation gap, a theme he handles with concern and intelligence.

—Elaine Mancini