L’immorale is a film that over the years has fallen into a sort of oblivion, hardly mentioned in critical write-ups, hardly seen and, consequently, hardly studied…
The film’s perspective is to a certain extent different from the immediately preceding works: it is marked by a less outlandish tone, a shared observation of the changed social and family scenario, through the revival of key comedy themes, but with an almost respectful distance, an acceptance of the character and the events, which soon veer towards the dramatic apologue. L’immorale depicts the typical neuroses of the postboom 1960s, but it also has a unique blend of comedy, farce, erotic divertissement along with drama and suffering… In addition to this, L’immorale must be placed in a specific scenario of film history and culture in our country, which describes cultural backwardness, social changes, changes in relationships and desires, in a strongly moralistic and partly archaic country through (male and female) portraits… What acts as a lens and filter of backwardness and variations is, as often happens in [Pietro] Germi, the family, or more specifically the romantic relationship. In this sense, L’immorale is not a random title (even if the working title of the film was The Saint), precisely because Germi’s work is part of an extensive tradition of comedies (especially from the 1950s) that are based on masculine stereotypes, exploring the murky, self-absorbed or simply mediocre sides of Italianness, in particular through the figure of Alberto Sordi…
Tognazzi – though known for his varied acting styles – adopts a restrained approach, shedding the distinctive features that marked his comedic success (a certain type of gesturing, for example). In L’immorale, he conveys existential struggle through repeated gestures like biting his nails and constantly wrinkling his forehead. His usual physical and vocal exuberance, typically a hallmark of his style, is subdued and internalised here, adding depth to a character marked by suffering and inner turmoil.

Gabriele Rigola, Il climax della commedia, in Il cinema di Pietro Germi, edited by Luca Malavasi and Emiliano Morreale, Edizioni di Bianco e Nero/Edizioni Sabinæ, Rome 2016