Marriage Italian-Style

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Matrimonio all'italiana
Directed by Vittorio De Sica
Produced by Carlo Ponti
Written by Eduardo De Filippo
Renato Castellani
Tonino Guerra
Leo Benvenuti
Piero De Bernardi
Starring Sophia Loren
Marcello Mastroianni
Aldo Puglisi
Tecla Scarano
Music by Armando Trovajoli
Cinematography Roberto Gerardi
Editing by Adriana Novelli
Release dates 1964
Running time 102 minutes
Country Italy
Language Italian

Marriage Italian-Style (Italian: Matrimonio all'italiana) is a 1964 film by Vittorio De Sica that tells the World War II era story of a cynical, successful businessman named Domenico (Mastroianni), who, after meeting a naive country girl, Filomena (Loren), one night in a Neapolitan brothel, keeps frequenting her for years in an on-off relationship (as she continues working as a prostitute). He eventually takes her in his house as a semi-official mistress under the pretense that she take care of his ailing, senile mother. After having fallen for a younger, prettier girl and having planned to marry her, he finds himself cornered when Filomena feigns illness and "on her deathbed", asks to be married to him. Thinking she'll be dead in a matter of hours and that the 'marriage' won't even be registered, he agrees. After having been proclaimed his legal bride, the shrewd and resourceful Filomena drops the charade and reveals to have put up the show for the one child she bore from him (she gave birth to three sons but Domenico always maintained to have fathered none). Domenico tries to cajole her into telling him which one is his but she stalwartly refuses, telling him that sons can't be picked and chosen and that he has to be the father of all three. It stars Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni and Vito Moricone.[1]

One of the film's most memorable moments is when Domenico is on the phone with his new flame, shortly after having married the "moribund" Filomena. As he reassures his fiancée that death is near, a wild-eyed and vengeful Filomena emerges from the shadows behind him and exclaims in Neapolitan that she is in fact alive and well—the Madonna having taken pity on her.


Filomena Marturano had already been adapted as a film in 1950 in Argentina.



It was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film in 1966,[2] and for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 1965. It was also entered into the 4th Moscow International Film Festival.[3]

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