Scandal in Sorrento

The carabinieri commander Carotenuto is transferred from a mountain town to Sorrento. He is near retirement and expecting a comfortable posting. But he falls out with the woman who owns the house he lodges in, a contest starts between him and Sofia, the young woman who sells fish, and the town talks about all of it. There is also a young sergeant newly arrived. Dino Risi directs. Vittorio De Sica plays Carotenuto again and Sophia Loren plays Sofia. It is the third part of the series that began with Bread, Love and Dreams. Gina Lollobrigida had played the young woman in the first two; here the role passed to Sophia Loren and the character changed with her. Loren's mambo scene is the best known passage and counts among the moments that fixed her international standing. The formula is the same: town gossip, misunderstandings, difference of class and a happy ending. The narrative takes no risk. Sorrento and its surroundings were shot in colour, and the film also constructs the tourist image of Italy of the period. De Sica has by now turned the character into a thoroughly familiar type; the playing is relaxed and repetitive. Who it is for: viewers who like Italian comedy of the fifties and Sophia Loren. Who it is not for: the script is weak, the context is missing for anyone who has not seen the first film, and the humour stays of its time.