47 morto che parla

47 morto che parla
Directed byCarlo Ludovico Bragaglia
Written byEttore Petrolini, Agenore Incrocci, Furio Scarpelli
Produced byIsidoro Broggi
StarringTotò and Silvana Pampanini
CinematographyMario Albertelli
Edited byGiuliana Attenni
Music byEzio Carabella
Distributed byF.C. Produzioni
Release date
  • 1950 (1950)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryItaly
LanguageItalian

47 morto che parla (47 Dead Man Talk in English) is a 1950 Italian comedy film directed by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia. The film stars Totò and Silvana Pampanini.

Plot

The story of 47 Dead Man Talk is set in a small town near Naples in the early 1900s. Baron Antonio Peletti is a stingy and cruel man who thinks only of spending the bare minimum on his son and his future daughter-in-law, despite living in a luxurious house. His servant is forced to go hungry because of the miser. In fact, every time Antonio has to spend even a penny to buy something, he complains about unnecessary waste, exclaiming: “And I pay, and I pay!!”

When the Baron threatens his son by refusing to give him any money for his wedding and throws him out of the house, the son—who has accidentally discovered where the gold is hidden—steals the gold coins from the box Antonio kept under his bed and leaves it empty.

At the same time, the mayor wants to build a primary school for the children of the village, but the cruel Antonio blocks the funding because he does not want to spend even a penny. The pharmacist therefore gives Antonio a sleeping pill and deceives him into believing that he has accidentally drunk poison.

Baron Antonio wakes up convinced that he is in Hell, while in reality he was taken to a volcano nearby by the villagers here, the Baron meets a soul—an ambiguous woman—who tells him that he can avoid Hell if he shows her where the gold is hidden. He will be given only one hour to return to the world of the living as an invisible spirit with her.

However, when Antonio returns to his estate, he finds the villagers gathered to dance and celebrate his supposed death. He hands the box to the woman accompanying him, but the mayor then reveals that everything was staged and that Antonio is neither a soul nor invisible, but very much alive.

Baron Antonio suffers a heart attack and is taken to another room, but later wakes up and realizes that he had only fainted. The woman then tells him that the mayor has the box of gold at his house and offers to help him recover it.

Antonio disguises himself as a ghost and enters the mayor’s house through a window, terrifying the inhabitants while the woman waits for him in a carriage. He retrieves the box and throws it to her, but she escapes. Antonio chases her and finds the woman with her lover in a balloon, ready to fly away. Due to a malfunction, the balloon begins to descend toward the sea, and to lighten it, Antonio—overcome with despair—is forced to let go and falls overboard with the heavy box. He is believed to have sunk somewhere near Sardinia.

At the end of the story, the son is married and has donated the gold he stole to the municipality. Celebrations are held for the opening of the new school, and the mayor erects a statue in honor of the Baron. Surprisingly, Antonio returns from Sardinia riding a donkey.

Baron Antonio finally understands his mistakes, discovers that his son had stolen the gold and that the box had been filled with stones instead, and gives his blessing to the new school as well as to his son’s marriage.

Cast

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