La Cena delle Beffe/The Jester's Supper (Film 1942-ENG SUB)

The Jester's Supper or The Supper of the Pranks (Italian:La cena delle beffe) is a 1942 Italian historical film directed by Alessandro Blasetti and starring Amedeo Nazzari, Osvaldo Valenti, Clara Calamai, Valentina Cortese and Luisa Ferida. Audio in Italian with English subtitles (Click on CC).Show more

The film is based on a play of the same title by Sem Benelli, which had later been turned into an opera by Umberto Giordano. Like the play, the film is set in the 15th century Florence of Lorenzo the Magnificent and portrays a rivalry between Gianneto Malespini and Neri Chiaramantesi, that leads to a series of increasingly violent jokes.

It was shot at Cinecittà in Rome partly using sets which had been constructed for Blasetti's earlier The Iron Crown which was set in the same era. A popular catchphrase associated with Nazzari originated in the film: "a plague on anyone who refuses to drink with me!" The film was extremely popular and boosted the career of Clara Calamai in particular. In one scene she has her dress ripped off by Nazzari, briefly exposing her breasts in one of the first topless scenes in Italian cinema. It was one of several films in which Osvaldo Valenti and Luisa Ferida (both executed in 1945 by the partisans) appeared together.

Cast&Characters:
Amedeo Nazzari as Neri Chiaramantesi
Osvaldo Valenti as Giannetto Malespini
Clara Calamai as Ginevra
Alfredo Varelli as Gabriello Chiaramantesi
Valentina Cortese as Lisabetta
Memo Benassi as Il Tornaquinci
Piero Carnabuci as Fazio
Elisa Cegani as Laldòmine
Luisa Ferida as Fiammetta
Alberto Capozzi as Luca
Lauro Gazzolo as Il Trinca
Nietta Zocchi as Cinzia