To compete with Alberto Lattuada and Federico Fellini’s independent production, Luci del varietà (Variety Lights), producer Carlo Ponti began developing another film about avanspettacolo (revue) companies. The result was one of the best comedies of the time. It starts as a melodrama and ends bitterly, full of sharp observations about disappearing forms of entertainment and about a provincial Italy, still rural but ideologically divided (as demonstrated by an irresistible episode) between Catholics and Communists. Aldo Fabrizi, the head of a down-at-heel variety troupe, is the cornerstone of the story, but as in so many of Fabrizi’s films, the secondary characters also stand out, especially the women: the delightful Delia Scala, Tamara Lees, who breaks free from her typical ‘bad girl’ role in contemporary melodramas, and Gina Lollobrigida in one of her first leading roles, capable of both being a naïve character and performing wild variety numbers.

Monicelli said: “Thanks to Aldo Fabrizi in Vita da cani we were able to explore the variety show world that really interested us. Fabrizi collaborated on the script because he had a lot of personal anecdotes and memories. In Vita da cani he partially imitates himself and is partially inspired by other more or less well-known actors who didn’t get lucky. Amidei was also familiar with that world and worked on the script. When we were working on it, I didn’t know that Lattuada and Fellini were shooting Variety Lights nor did they know about our film.”

Emiliano Morreale