The marquis Galeazzo di Torre Alta is murdered by a mysterious killer who calls himself Diabolicus. His heirs are his three brothers and a sister, but all of them, with the exception of Monsignor Antonino di Torre Alta, are killed by Diabolicus. The police are unable to solve the case, but when Antonino gives his inheritance to Pasquale Bonocore, illegitimate son of his father and Pasquale is in prison and therefore can’t be the killer, all the clues are in the hand of the police. —IMDb
Steno (true name Stefano Vanzina) was born in Rome on 19 January 1917. While still at university he enrolled at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and began contributing to the satirical journal “Marc’Aurelio”. After graduating in law in 1939, he devoted himself to scriptwriting and by 1948 had written some thirty scripts, starting with films for actor Erminio Macario. The first was “Imputato alzatevi!” (1939) by Mario Mattoli. He made his directing debut in 1949 in collaboration with Mario Monicelli on “Fame and the Devil (Al diavolo la celebrità)”. They went on to direct another seven films together, including the enormously successful “Cops and Robbers (Guardie e ladri)” (1951) with Totò and Aldo Fabrizi.
“Toto in Color (Totò a colori)” (1952) marked Steno’s first step in a successful career as a director on his own. Some of the most memorable films from this period were: “Un americano a Roma” (1954); “Piccola posta” (1955), featuring a splendid double act from Sordi and… read more
Un vero e proprio Giallo Comico. Un genere cinematografico bellissimo, ma ahimè poco sfruttato. Difficilissimo da scrivere. Un altro bellissimo è Il Commissario Lo Gatto, con Lino Banfi, regia di Dino Risi.
