Original subtitles

The lights are finally back !

This was a dark wedding.

Now that lights are back, it's time to laugh.

Maestro, call in the fools.

- The fools ? - Yes, I said. It's time to laugh.

- We didn't bring the fools. - What ? A wedding without the fools ?

Saruzzo and Rosalino know some ridiculous songs.

Fine. This time the fools will be the newlyweds themselves.

Get on the stage and make us laugh.

But...

Actually, we're a little busy at the moment...

Make us laugh ! Don't you all want to laugh ?

- Yes, and we want to laugh now. - Immediately !

Put the flash on.

- I can't see anything. - Of course not, your eye's closed.

Why should I shoot you ? Why ? Why...

''..do you leave me alone on Sundays ?''

Enough !

Call Rita Pavone... no, the Minister.

I liked their roughness,

their strength, that violence

that I could define as ancient, ancestral.

We didn't go to the movies,

but as soon as Franco Franchi e Ciccio Ingrassia were on TV,

me and Pier Paolo Pasolini were there, laughing like crazy.

Check your watches.

It's 5 and 3 minutes, 26 seconds and 6 milliseconds.

Mine says it's 1 0 past 5.

- Mine says 5 to 5. - One second past 5.

- A quarter to 5. - It's two minutes to 5.

- It's 25 past 4. - 24 past 5.

It's twelve sharp. My watch stopped.

Franco and Ciccio are unique. They were really funny.

First there's Tot, then them. The others aren't funny at all.

But Franco and Ciccio made us laugh. Tot's the best, though. Right ?

Franco ! Franco !

Orlando strikes his sword.

Rinaldo wards off.

The only thing I allowed myself to suggest to Franco,

in a way, I almost forbade Franco to do that gesture to me...

Because I couldn't stand it.

Despite the knocks, you look so polished.

Spiff and shiny, I'd say, my polish is Grey.

Primitive love.

A journey around love amongst the primitive peoples

in company of Franco Franchi,

Jayne Mansfield. . .

and Ciccio Ingrassia.

Franco and Ciccio were brilliant...

with their moves.

Indeed, they were stupendous just by their stage presence.

Good evening.

- Finally. - You're very punctual.

Such an exquisite house.

Tall one, I missed you all day.

- When can we come back again ? - You just got here.

It's true ! We just got here.

We only just got here !

''Just sit on it'' was an idea by Castellano and Pipolo.

Because we knew they played on these puns

so we wanted something effective.

Franco jumped on Ciccio's arms and they both fell.

- You want your driver's license. - Right.

Then, do what I say.

You have to step on it !

You told me to step on it ! Do you also want a punch in the eye ?

OK, just shut up.

- Just sit on it. - Here I am.

A tomato sandwich.

Tomato sandwich.

Anchovy.

Pistachio.

- Ham. - Tomato !

Peperonata.

- Just tomato. - Here you go.

Is she offended ?

We all had to be more receptive.

And as spectators we were, because when you saw them, or Tot,

you couldn't but laugh.

Then, in the article, you'd say: ''Another one of those bad films...''

Ciccio, are you sure the dead man lives here ?

The main door was ajar and there were wreaths.

- Brother, is the dead on this floor ? - Yes.

Thanks. Fiat voluntas Dei.

Fiat and Alpha Romeo.

They still remain the historical figures of my career.

I'm sure they'll be revaluated.

HOW WE GOT THE ITALIAN MOVIE BUSINESS INTO TROUBLE

The true story of Franco and Ciccio.

We're in Castelvetrano, province of Trapani.

Erudites amongst us know this the birthplace

of the philosopher Giovanni Gentile,

promoter of a famous scholastic reform

and founder of the Treccani Encyclopedia.

But at the Capitol Theatre, that you see behind me,

debuted, long ago, in 1 954,

Franco Franchi and Ciccio Ingrassia.

Another date that Castelvetrano bestows to history.

The history of Italian show business.

So, as our learnt Napoli just told us,

Franco and Ciccio debut in Castelvetrano half a century ago.

But who were they ?

Where did they come from ? What were they doing before 1 954 ?

To answer these questions, we must go back in time,

to the poor, smelly alleys of Palermo in the '20s,

where our heroes were born, within 6 years of each other.

Napoli, over to you.

There are many mistakes in encyclopedias.

In fact, Ciccio Ingrassia wasn't born in Carini,

but here, on Via San Gregorio, near the Capo neighborhood,

in the historical centre of Palermo, in this modest house.

When young, after the war...

Gregorio.

Gregorio, tell the date. . .

Didn't I mention it ?

When I was young, in my beginning, hunger was...

Hunger was a dear friend, we got along well.

We were intimate friends. I know it well, believe me.

Francesco Ingrassia, called Ciccio,

was born in Palermo, on October 5, 1 922.

The year recorded by many film dictionaries,

that is, 1 923, is not correct.

He comes from a humble family.

Ciccio's the youngest of 5 children.

His father, Pietro, is a mason.

His mother, Nunzia, is kept busy everyday

so they at least have the minimum.

Ciccio wasn't fit for school,

so his father apprentices him as a shoe upper cutter.

But a consuming passion has already entered his blood.

He had this morbid passion,

and he sometimes refused to work as a shoe upper cutter,

because he loved the theatre.

Meanwhile, war has struck. Ciccio, with a dear friend,

takes his first steps with some shabby vaudeville companies.

The dear friend is Enzo Andronico,

who'd be forever associated with the world of Franco and Ciccio.

The arrival of the Anglo-American troops, in 1 943,

gives back to the Sicilians their hope and will to live.

Palermo rejoices in its refound freedom,

and in those years everyone feels a bit American.

Ladies and gentlemen, here's to you ''Freddo Astairra.''

''Freddo Astairre.''

This is what remains of the old Trianon.

It was inaugurated soon after World War II.

A young Ciccio Ingrassia performed here,

as part of a trio, the Sgambetta Trio,

with two other artists, Ciampolo and Enzo Andronico.

It's only right to remember that these old memories

are part of a restoration project of Palermo's historical centre.

We had a master of ceremonies.

We were in Bisacquino.

He had to introduce my famous Sgambetta Trio.

He enters the stage and says:

''I have the pleasure to introduce a trio in a comical duet.''

''Just so that I can eat

and to extort a tip from the diner...''

Instead of glory, the trio Sgambetta achieves. . .

constant hunger and humiliations that Ciccio will never forget.

''But while I'm singing ''My love, my love''...

I see in front of me a plate of tripes

And here's my stomach that laments and gripes.''

They didn't even have the money to pay the hotel,

and my cousin tells me that sometimes, during the night,

they got out from the window, escaping without paying,

because they couldn't.

That moment of applause at the end of the show...

was payment enough for all the sacrifices.

Traveling by cattle wagon,

jumping from one wagon to another...

there was the struggle between us and the ticket collectors.

We'd hide in the toilets...

Why ? To do theatre.

You'd think we were paid to perform. But no.

So, why were you doing that ?

Who should we ask why I wanted to do theatre ?

Just repeat it to me.

- Fanfullone. - Alright.

Tony, quickly.

I have the honor to present you the Maestro Fanfullone.

From Gonni...

Kramer.

- After, I'll introduce two... - Tony. . .

- I'll introduce... - What did you say ?

Gonni...

Kramer, Fanful... From Sicily.

- I said, from Sicily. - ''The Sicilian Gorni Kramer. ''

- The Sicilian Gonni Kramer. - No, ''Gorni'' !

Yeah, Gonni.

Gorni !

Gonni or Gorni ?

- Co... - With a ''G''.

- Like Genova. - I said it with ''G.''

Ciccio...

You said I performed without a stage.

Why aren't you clear about this ? I was performing on the streets.

On the sidewalk.

It's true. And you, instead, studied at the Sorbonne.

Ciccio never performed on the streets, but Franco did.

And in a context like today's, where real nobility

is defined by poverty, both Franco and I are very noble.

He always worked with a chair.

He'd bring it along, he'd climb on it

and that was his stage.

On the streets of Palermo, which is becoming very ugly,

Ciccio follows, amused and fascinated,

the performances of a very young comic.

All of Palermo is laughing with him.

His real name is Francesco Benenato, nicknamed Ciccio Ferra�.

He's just about to become Franco Franchi.

He would come to see me perform on the streets

and he'd laugh, strangely enough, because Ciccio's not one to laugh.

He rarely laughs.

Here, on September 1 8, 1 928,

Franco Benenato was born, stage named Franco Franchi.

We are in Vicolo delle Api.

In fact, we are able to give you a more precise biographical scoop.

His sisters, Ina and Fana, claim that Franco Benenato

was born here, in Via Caldomai.

Sure, he was born there, not in the Vucciria.

Shut up, the Vucciria is just nearby.

- Benenato, ''well born.'' - Well, I came out the wrong way.

- Exactly ! - Then I had to fix things.

I was born on a street called ''Alley of the Bees.''

Then things got better and we moved

to the street ''Land of the Flies.''

What was missing...

- ..was just a ''Mosquito Piazza''. - Corner of ''Cockroach Street.''

There in the Vucciria, the popular neighborhood of Palermo,

Franco Franchi spends his childhood and adolescence,

surviving along with his family in complete misery.

His father, Biagio, is a mason.

His mother, Agata, works in a tobacco factory.

It's a big family, but no one knows how many children there were.

To be frank, I don't know exactly how many children they were.

I've met six, but my aunts will be able to tell you more.

How many children were you ?

- My sister will answer. - No, you go.

- OK, I'll do that... - You do all the talking.

From what I remember, we were 1 4.

No, we were 1 8 children.

I was sleeping alongside my 1 8 siblings.

It's an old story.

The youngest, at 3 months old, kept us awake with his crying.

This is how he cried.

It would start like that.

There were many children.

There were 9 of us, the ones who lived, at least.

Some others didn't survive because of malnutrition.

My mother worked at the tobacco factory.

She's been working there for about 45 years.

One of her neighbors had as many children.

The tobacco factory store,

for the festivities, would give a package of pasta, or beans...

so they agreed to prepare together a huge pot of pasta and beans.

I was worried that they would be hungrier than we were.

I've always was been cheeky...

so, as my grandma had a store selling salt and that kind of stuff,

I took two kilos of salt

and I poured it into the pot of pasta and beans.

I hoped that they would find it too salty,

and, since I thought we were hungrier,

we could've eaten it all, and just drink some more water.

Regretfully, I realized that the other family

ate it up without a complaint about the saltiness.

They didn't chew, they sucked it in, so they didn't taste the salt.

At home, he'd be in front of the mirror,

doing all his gestures, talking to himself, mocking himself.

I was in front of the other mirror of the wardrobe,

trying to imitate him.

He'd inflate his cheeks, I'd do it, he'd lift his eyebrows...

Hold your breath. Hold still.

Franco isn't yet 20 when he leaves the family home

to follow the Neapolitan comic Salvatore Polara,

the king of the ''posteggia. ''

What was the ''posteggia'' ?

It was a show performed on the streets.

There was the Strong Man.

The Fakir.

The Dancing Singer.

The Little Orchestra.

Tony Bruno, the Comic.

This great skit was one of their first successes in the theatre.

Let's hear how Franco tells the incomparable Marzullo

his meeting with Ciccio.

As I loved the artistic world,

I'd go to the artists' bar, in Palermo,

and in that bar I met Ciccio.

- He was already doing theatre. - Yes.

Actually, as we started talking,

he said that,

should there be an opportunity to work together,

he'd be pleased because he liked me.

Ciccio !

- How are you ? - My fellow villager.

- How long have you not seen him ? - Since he was a newborn.

He's the same ! Identical.

Same face. Same eyes. Same nose.

Same ears. Same height !

- I bet they still call you Ciccio. - You guessed it !

He hasn't changed at all.

We were born up north.

Yes, north of Palermo !

Here, in 1 954,

the company of Pasquale Pinto arrives from Naples.

Their comic, Nino Formicola, got sick

and Pinto urgently asks for Ciccio Ingrassia's help.

Ingrassia was working as an upper cutter to earn some money.

He accepts but insists on having Franco Franchi by his side.

Thus, for the first time, Franchi and Ingrassia put together

the number that would become their forte: ''Ungrateful Heart.''

In the '50s, the duo takes off.

They play beyond Sicily, in many Italian theatres,

like the famous Salone Margherita in Naples.

They now have perfect synergy

and create skits that they'll later perform in TV and in the movies.

- I can't see from... - Go to the other room, then.

- What's there ? - The eye specialist.

- Why should I go there ? - You say you can't see for the pain.

- Right, for the pain. - Then don't look at it.

- Who ? - The pain !

No, pain is making me crazy !

Trust me, don't look at it. Because, as they say,

''What the eye doesn't see, the tooth doesn't grieve over.''

- No, ''the heart'', not the ''tooth.'' - Have you got a carious heart ?

- No, ''the heart doesn't grieve.'' - But the tooth doesn't see.

- Yes, the tooth but the eye, too. - But looks also count.

A recount would count all the counts that count.

But the recount count.

- Is it Ariosto ? - Yes, a roast with potatoes.

At one point, we'd all move to Via Volturno,

to the Volturno Theatre,

where Franco and Ciccio had a huge success.

They should've played for one week and they stayed two months.

We'd seen their performance the night before,

I saw them the next day at the bar of the Volturno

and I ask Ciccio,

When you enter the stage, you say you're from the ''FBE''.

You spell it incorrectly, it's FBI.

''Yes, because it's ''I'', not ''E'' in English.''

At the next show,

I was there waiting, and as he enters, he says,

''I'm an agent from the FB...''

He didn't know whether to say ''I'' or ''E''.

And Franchi went, ''What are you saying ?''

Buzzanca is referring to a show, ''Two in Joy, Five in Harmony'',

that also contained the skit of the legionnaires,

later developed for the film ''I due della legione'', by Fulci.

They were the ''two in joy'', while the ''five in harmony''

were the band Cali, of which Rosaria Cali was part of.

I met my husband in Milan.

We were both from Palermo, but we met in Milan.

So we met and things began, then went on...

until my husband fell in love with me.

Ciccio and Sara get married in 1 960.

A year later, Giampiero, their only son, is born.

Franco married in 1 953, to Irene Gallina, from Palermo.

They would have two children, Letizia and Massimo.

- I think we should choose. - Which one do you want ?

If you don't mind, I'd pick Pia.

You idiot, of course I don't mind, they're identical.

- Then, yours is Mia. - No, if she's ''Mia'', she's mine.

- Right, yours is Mia. - I'll stab you and shoot you.

- If she's Mia, she's mine. - That's what I'm saying !

Yours is Mia !

- You get me, don't you ? - Me, marry you ?

What kind of talk is this ?

- Try to get it, yours is Mia. - No, she's mine !

In the summer of '59, they meet Domenico Modugno.

This will be a turning point for the duo.

Legend says Modugno himself discovered them by chance in Palermo

but the truth is unlike that.

I met them in the vaudeville, in Catania, where I was studying.

Modugno had won the Sanremo Festival,

and usually, the winners of that festival,

were then booked in vaudeville companies.

The first act was pure vaudeville,

the second act was reserved for the singers.

These vaudeville companies were generally mediocre.

They were the supporting acts before the singers would start.

But Franco and Ciccio had enormous success,

and with all due respect to Modugno,

at the end of the show, the audience was cheering Franco and Ciccio.

So much so that Modugno

guessed their talent and booked them.

So it's the promoter of that show

who introduced Franchi and Ingrassia to Modugno.

He is Gino Buzzanca, from Palermo, uncle to the actor Lando,

and himself a character actor in many of the duo's films.

Those two rascals, those rogues...

- Calm down. - Those good-for-nothings here !

In my house ! Do you understand ?

My first memory of Franco and Ciccio

is a film by Mattoli, ''Appuntamento a Ischia''.

They had a bit part there,

but as Castellano and I are writers for comedy,

that was enough for us to realize their potential.

What's happening ?

They got a break for their debut movie in 1 960.

Modugno, the lead in ''Appuntamento a Ischia'',

asked the duo to come to the set to talk about a theatre show.

Franco, attracted by the shoot, got himself noticed by Mattoli.

- Let's run ! - Where do you wanna go ?

- Let's leave. - They won't catch us. Trust me.

Gianviti, together with Metz,

was one of the film's screenwriters

and he wanted to see what we did, he didn't know us.

''What do you do ?'' he asked.

And Franchi,

with his temperament, did a lot of things.

When Franchi was doing vaudeville,

he had an act

where the character is crying over a dead relative.

With his face, Franchi was funny even when crying.

Me, a smuggler, Officer ?

I'm just a wretched man. Ask him.

I can guarantee that. We are two wretched men.

We were just passing by going to work.

We are two honest and poor workers.

- Honest ? - Yes, honest. I guarantee.

I've got a family.

I do everything to bring back an egg to my family.

You bring back a lot of eggs with 300 kg of cigarettes.

I have a numerous family.

1 96 1 is a golden year for the duo.

They make ''L'onorata societa'', their first film as the stars.

And above all, ''Rinaldo in Campo'', a musical by Garinei and Giovannini

that would reveal the duo's talent to the audience and the critics.

But just before shooting ''Appuntamento a Ischia'',

Modugno signed them on for a 5 year binding contract

that left the duo very discontented.

Some months later, whilst rehearsing ''Rinaldo in Campo'',

Modugno breaks his leg and the show is postponed.

He then participates, with his leg in a cast,

in ''L'onorata societa'', by his friend Pazzaglia

to whom he proposes his two proteges.

Are you from Sicily ?

- How did you guess ? - By the way you looked at this lady.

- Salvatore Trezza, from Acireale. - We have nude statues in Sicily,

- ..but none this striking. - There are others around here,

I can't decide which one's the best.

And they're decent ladies.

I wrote this story.

Of course I was forced to write a Sicilian story,

with stereotypes but I tried, as I always do,

to exploit the situation to express certain things I wanted to say,

to make a Rene Clair style cinema.

Salvatore.

Salvatore ? You're not answering ?

Then you've realized you gave me considerable pain.

Yes, considerable pain.

What was missing ?

Were you in need of something ?

He doesn't answer. Because he lacked for nothing.

While Mattoli was more popular,

Pazzaglia wanted to be popular but also intellectual.

Pazzaglia did films for his own liking,

not to please the audience.

Laughs and cheering for Modugno, who filled ''Rinaldo in Campo''

with all sort of ingredients:. the unity of Italy and cancan,

dancers and patriotism, Delia Scala and Anita Garibaldi.

Every night he collects cheers and royalties, together with Scala,

Paolo Panelli, Franchi and Ingrassia and Sicilian puppets.

That evening they generated enormous enthusiasm.

And I also can say that at the end, I applauded,

because usually, whether I like the show or not, I applaud.

A young director asked me: ''Why are you applauding this stuff ?''

''It's horrid''

''The history of Italy...''

''mixed with songs, etcetera. And then those two buffoons,''

''they're really disgraceful, grotesque.''

''It's squalid theatre.''

I was taken aback but I was greatly amused some years later,

when this director, in one of his movies,

proposed a beautifully dramatic role to Ciccio Ingrassia.

After the triumph of ''Rinaldo in Campo'',

the relationship between the duo and Modugno crumbles.

Producers realize the duo is a new gold mine.

Thus, between 1 962 and 1 963,

they churn out 1 2 films.

Of course, under those conditions, they felt trapped

by the Modugno contract and they wanted to break it.

But Mr. Volare became really pissed off.

Modugno was jealous of them, he was very possessive.

He always wanted them nearby.

He wanted to be the demiurge.

It was my husband who rebelled.

He said, ''My dear Modugno,''

''you've already gotten your villa, we'd like to have one, too.''

He got offended.

His wife called me and told me,

''Remember, my husband put yours up there...''

I asked, ''Up where ?''

''He put him in that movie, ''Appuntamento a Ischia''''

''and if he wants to he can bring them down.''

And I said, ''We all live under the same sky.''

That's all I said, and we were done with Modugno's wife.

It would be a great mistake to continue our story

without mentioning the duo's encounter with the great De Sica,

who directs them in ''Il giudizio universale. ''

The doorman job goes to the person who picks the longest one.

We'll draw lots, so you can't say I favor one of you. Absolutely not.

Come on, let's not waste more time.

Hurry up, the dance starts in an hour.

You pull.

Let's leave it.

Mr. Puma, you're the youngest of our critics.

As a young critic, what do you think

of the relationship between Lucio Fulci and the duo ?

For me Lucio Fulci is one of the best craftsmen in our cinema.

And then, I think...

Puma, thank you.

But who are you ?

We are two legionnaires.

- A glass of brandy. - We only have bottles.

A bottle, then. Black Tails.

The brandy that never fails.

I had this script, ''I due della legione.''

I had bought it with the last money I had.

I wanted a comic duo, but in Italy there weren't any.

There were Peppino and Tot but they were out of reach.

We went to see a show and here were two fantastic comics.

Our story started in Sicily, precisely at Gibilrossa,

the land of the Gattopardo.

So our relationship began.

However, listen carefully.

We had to shoot the first scene in a park in Naples.

It was night.

I read the script reworked by Corbucci and Grimaldi

and I saw that Franco was the aggressive character

and Ciccio the ''mamo'', that is the stupid comic.

I said, ''We are wrong.''

Franco is the ''mamo'' and Ciccio is the aggressive one.

- Go away ! - You're not giving us that note ?

Yes, but one for punishment.

Hurrah !

Fulci was the director

that valued the most their comical art.

From 1 962 to 1 967, he directed them in 1 3 movies.

Each one of these, although made in four weeks,

is very accurate both technically and in content,

that we rarely find in the duo's other films.

Breathe.

What are you making me do ?

- You wanted to visit the safe. - Actually, I'm auscultating it.

Make it cough.

- I'm looking for the weak spot. - For suppositories ?

Of nitro.

Quick, don't cobble.

- What are you doing ? - I gobble.

No, you nag.

Come on, take the notebook.

''I due evasi di Sing Sing'', of 1 964...

The interruption prevents our young critic to tell us that in 1 964

Franco and Ciccio bring to the screen a friend of theirs,

Pasquale Zagaria.

The first movie was ''I due evasi di Sing Sing'', by Fulci.

I had to say one line to Franco while he was crying,

because he was afraid to get killed by the huge guy in the ring.

Frank the Beast's mouthpiece.

When this is over, I'd like to have it.

He liked me, he respected me.

You were his cousin, please give it to me.

Thank you.

This film had success, and when it arrived in Canosa di Puglia

they made banners:

''Our fellow citizen Lino Banfi''

''in ''I due evasi di Sing Sing'', with Franchi and Ingrassia.''

Dear ambassador of the U.S. of America off limits,

- dictator Ciccio is at your feet. - OK. Let's get to the point.

Sorry if I'm late, I had a session in the cabinet.

As you know, in my country there's a very tense situation.

- Dare we say very tense ? - Precisely.

The Security Council intervenes once a month.

Would you like a cigar, Mr. Ambassador ?

- Would you like this dance ? - No, thanks.

Lucio Fulci isn't quite disposed to the fashions of the time.

This former member of the Federation of Young Communists

anticipates films like ''Bananas'', or Woody Allen's ideological anarchy

instead of following the trend of that era, ''Yankee, go home.''

In ''I due para...'', he sort of attacks one of the myths of the time:

the third-worldism, castrism...

The end of ''I due pericoli pubblici''

is his version of ''Dr. Strangelove''.

Ciccio and Franco unleash a bombing,

thinking they're calling the bar.

In short, Fulci's a bit too anarchic

for the very committed mid 1 960s.

Have the bar send us something, the Minister will pay.

Ciccio, we're lucky.

It's written ''BAR'' on this phone. ''B'', ''A'' and ''R''.

I'm gonna call.

It's the red phone. We're at war.

- Hello ? Bar ? - Yes, sir.

Send two Bombs to the Ministry.

- Hello ? - BAR, here.

Please confirm two bombs for the Ministry.

Confirmed, and make it quick.

- Wouldn't one be enough ? - Two, I said.

We spare no expenses. Let's be generous.

- Hydrogen ? - I'd prefer cream.

''Now shooting''

During the '60s, Franco and Ciccio work at a hectic pace.

Cinema, radio, TV, all at the same time,

and theatre, too, with Modugno,

in De Filippo's musical comedy ''Tommaso D'Amalfi''.

In 1 964, I say that because tax people know it,

I made 1 7 films.

It's impossible to come up with 1 7 screenplays.

So we were going on the set without knowing what to do.

The screenplays would just go: ''They enter and execute gags...''

until the following scene came.

Of course, with regards to their films, this factor...

was a negative element.

Because if they all had thought

through the script and the gags,

maybe they would have made better films.

We all have an alibi.

Our alibi was the hurry.

These movies were targeting a particular circuit,

a particular audience.

Certainly not the high bourgeoisie.

They were made for the working classes.

It was useless to come out with ideas

that were particularly ''intelligent'',

or particularly refined.

Excuse me, is there going to be a power outage ?

- Do you have ''campagne'' ? - No, we just have a garden.

- They've got a garden, too. - He means champagne.

- Right away, sir. - Half a liter. With ice.

The duo is snubbed by the so-called serious cinema.

But they earn the producers a lot of money.

I'd gone to the premiere of ''D'amore si muore'' by Patroni Griffi.

With Giorgio de Lullo, Romolo Valli, Rossella Falk.

After the show, we went to eat at the restaurant ''Il Grottino''.

It was sort of a coterie of great artists.

I was just a humble guest amongst all those giants.

When Franco and Ciccio entered you could feel the disparity.

That is, the B-list, the rich ones, and then the A-list...

At one point, Franco goes, ''Pippo Baudo !''

''What are you doing with those great artists ? Come join us.''

Romolo Valli told me, ''Please, Baudo, do something.''

I replied, ''What am I supposed to do ?''

''Tell me, what do those gentlemen earn ?

''What we get in one single day ? What are you doing with them ?''

''Please, Baudo, it's embarrassing, we just had a premiere.''

''There's nothing I can do.''

Well, I went to them and said,

''Don't embarrass me. Let's try to get along.''

''We're buying.''

They ordered the biggest bottle of champagne

that could be found in the neighborhood.

Some of the hit films of that year are by Giorgio Simonelli.

Ciccio calling Franco... Ciccio calling the idiot !

- I beg your pardon ? - Are you now deaf ?

Who ? Yes, well...

I'm a presbyopic deaf,

I only hear voices far away...

- ..It's a matter of magnetic waves. - What would you like ?

- Black or white ? - A bit of iced rose would be great.

I never joke about chess.

Simonelli had been an editor. He wasn't good at shooting,

but he was always right at the moviola.

One thought he'd never be able to edit his shoots,

but at the end, he was always right.

Is he sick ?

He was. He's feeling better, now.

- He looks dead to me. - What if say he's alive ?

He is.

In the 1 960s, Franco Franchi and Ciccio Ingrassia's films

are big commercial successes.

But the critics slate them.

Here's a typical example about the movie

''002 agenti segretissimi.''

Il Giornale di Brescia writes,

''''002'' is first of all''

''Ciccio Ingrassia's Intelligence Quotient.''

''Because when it comes to Franchi's Intelligence Quotient''

''it doesn't go beyond 0000.''

- You hit something ? - A bit. You heard it ?

Never mind.

The Italian critics were always wrong, always late.

Things were always first appreciated abroad.

For the Italian critics, the farce was a garbage genre,

despite being a very noble genre, of ancient origin.

It comes from Plauto, just fancy.

They were two Plautinian characters.

Ciccio, look at them.

They're dressed like before.

Fashion in fashion.

- Look at their angelic faces. - Angels of sin.

Don't insult. It's not their fault if they're siamese.

It isn't because they're from Siam that they should be floozy.

It was a snobby and narrow-minded critic.

Today it's the other way round.

Today everything is great.

So, if you dare say that Benigni isn't a genius,

you commit lese majesty, as though you've insulted the Pope.

But the duo couldn't care less,

as their movies are huge successes.

And TV plays an important role in their success.

The only winning combination in Rome

wins 1 20 million lira.

The ticket is from the series D,

the numbers are 0... 0...

3... 2...

and 4.

Here's the description of the winner.

So, 3, 4, we said.

His description...

About 30 years old.

Lively eyes.

Fair complexion.

Three-button jacket.

Height, 1 ,7 5 m.

1 965 is another turning point in their career.

They meet the great master of all times, Buster Keaton,

in a film by Luigi Scattini, a former dubbing director,

''Due marines e un generale.''

But in this film the interplay between the duo's wit

and that of Buster Keaton is not always well balanced,

even though it can also be funny.

Why is it like that ?

The producers made a mistake hiring Scattini to direct.

He was a very good director, but not for the comical genre.

This film was a missed opportunity.

Seen today, it seems pathetic.

The critics were scandalized

by the encounter between the duo and Keaton.

OK, it's paradoxical.

Keaton is a genius and having them work together

was somewhat scandalous.

But better him working with them, than with... Vittorio Gassman.

It was apt for him to meet them,

not the authors of Italian comedy.

General.

You're the nicest enemy that we have ever met.

Thank you.

Strangely enough, Lucisano's idea to bring Keaton in Italy

goes ignored, there's nothing left, not even a bit of TV news.

It also happened 1 5 years before. Keaton passed through Italy

and only got 1 7 seconds in the Incom Newsreel.

Here is Buster Keaton, just arrived in Genova with his wife.

Look, not even a contraband smile.

He goes to Milan for a TV show. So long, Buster, make us laugh.

These days we really need it.

In 1 966, Mario Monicelli wants the duo

for a role in ''Armata Brancaleone. ''

He meets them in a restaurant.

Nothing comes out of it, but what happened there is curious.

They arrived at the restaurant

with two others, there were four of them.

You quickly understood those two were lawyers.

Why ? Because the duo had fought.

So they came to negotiate with two lawyers.

So there was Franchi's lawyer

who was whispering to Franchi,

then he would whisper

to Ciccio's lawyer

and then, each of the lawyers

talked to me or to the executive producer.

It was an absurd ceremony, at first we thought it was a joke.

But no, they weren't even looking at each other.

The problems with Ciccio,

then exaggerated by the press,

were actually due

to the fact that they had two totally different personalities.

So, in my opinion, the clash came

because Ciccio wanted to do something different

but my father, who loved this job,

wanted to accept anything and everything.

Ciccio was always saying:

''Franco, let's think carefully about this.''

And Franco said, ''Ciccio...'' adding something useless to specify,

''You're breaking...''

He used to repeat it 30 times a day.

- Who's the straight man ? - He is.

No, it's him.

- It's him. - No, it's you.

Don't force me to declare war.

It's always been you. You know it.

That just reminded me of something.

They never talked to each other on the set.

One was over here and the other one would be over there.

When the camera rolled, they were great friends.

Then, each one on his own way.

Peace, love, brotherhood. Caring for each other.

- Turning the other cheek. - Being also Greek.

No, turn the cheek.

- What does this mean ? - If I slap you,

- what do you do ? - I smack you back.

Yes, peace, but I'll smack your face.

Between fights and reconciliations,

in 1 967 the duo is hired by Pasolini in ''Cosa sono le nuvole ?''

for the episodic film ''Capriccio all'italiana''.

They have the honor to work with their lifelong idol, the great Tot.

In front of Tot, Franchi and Ingrassia were very humble.

Because they were working with a legendary actor.

Iago and Rodrigo were conspiring in the shadows

against the innocent happiness of Othello and Desdemona, when...

Othello !

Othello, my lord.

Here he comes !

The Doge has sent me.

The Turks are sailing towards Cyprus It's war !

Othello, my lord, the Doge orders me

to take command of the fleet and to leave tomorrow for Cyprus

- ..to defend her from the Turks. - OK, let's do this war.

Let's get to sleep, we have to get up early tomorrow.

Pasolini probably didn't like them that much, but he understood

what they really were, they were a piece of history.

They were a living miracle, the past performing in the present.

I'd lie if I said that he was a great singer.

But he was a great artist, and he could sing.

He had a perfect musical timing.

He was convinced that he was a great singer.

You can't imagine how he reacted when he'd see a piano...

you wanted to kill him.

He was singing three songs, ''Chitarra rossa'', ''Guastafeste''

and ''Innammurato 'e te.'' He loved this song.

Every time he'd see me, he'd start to sing it...

He really loved this song.

And he'd say, ''Fuck, Nino...''

''What a wonderful voice.''

And then he'd try to imitate...

He'd often sing ''Innammurato 'e te'' by Merola.

And I'd say, ''But you are a better actor.''

In all of their films there are many character actors

well known by the duo's fans.

They're Sicilian actors, from the duo's hard beginnings.

But there also are ''foreigners'', like Umberto d'Orsi, from Trieste.

They were all friends, in and out of the set.

They'd always come to our house.

There were Banfi, Andronico, Nino Terzo, Leone,

all the actors they had wanted in their films,

not only to help them but also because they were peculiar.

Franchi and Ingrassia had a sort of a base in Rome.

It wasn't an office in one of the Parioli buildings.

It was a bar on Piazza Indipendenza.

It doesn't exist anymore, there's a computer store, now.

This bar was where

projects and scripts were discussed.

Real meetings were held amidst coffees, drinks and sandwiches.

The owner would get angry.

He only had two tables, they'd sit in seven...

and ordered one coffee,

so the owner often fought with Ciccio.

Apart from Enzo Andronico, already mentioned,

let's remember Nino Terzo and Ignazio Leone.

Here they are in ''Ma chi ti ha dato la patente ?''

- Write. - We're not in kindergarten.

Miss, my system has been proven for years.

- Eating ? - I don't know how to write.

- That's why you eat ? - Should I drink ?

Then what ?

Study your lesson mnemonically.

- Monica who ? - Mnem... mon...

- By heart, Bartolomeo. - Stop at the stop sign...

Stop at the stop sign...

- No ! - We shouldn't stop ?

Now let go the clutch pedal very, very slowly.

- Slowly, I said ! - I didn't move !

You're making me nervous.

Are we playing puppets ?

You're driving me crazy !

In the '70s, the public's taste for comedy has changed.

It's the era of sex comedies, with schoolgirls, female doctors. . .

Franco and Ciccio are obsolete. Their popularity decreases.

One of the few directors with whom they're at ease is Mariano Laurenti.

Come on, have a sip. You'll feel like a lion.

Stop making that long face.

Be happy, don't think about anything.

Look at me. Come on.

Smile.

Come on, smile.

No, don't smile. It's not your thing.

It's not that they became unpopular as a duo,

their success decreased because they were made to do a genre

that was by then pass, and nobody came up with new ideas.

Another important event in their career,

was... Let's forget it.

- Our dinner ! - If we don't meet again, good luck !

In '72, comes the rupture that leads to the first of their separations.

Yet, they perform in ''Pinocchio'' by Comencini

and above all they go back to the Palermitan tradition

with ''Il cortile degli Aragonesi, '' performed in Palermo.

We are on a set of a film,

at the much debated RAI gates in Rome.

A first in his film career, Franco Franchi acts alone.

His partner, Ingrassia, is absent. Why ?

Why am I acting alone ? Once in a while, you have to try.

Ciccio isn't here because he's not in a condition

to work with me.

Not because he's not well, he just needs some rest.

In this newsreel, he skirts the issue about Ciccio's absence.

He'd reveal his version of the truth 3 years later, in 1 976,

on a TV show hosted by Mike Bongiorno.

We didn't explain the reasons

of why we split up.

But I think that it happened

because, for a long time,

each of us felt constrained,

without the freedom to do

the things each had wanted to do.

I'm not going to say

who initiated it all,

I don't want to start a discussion about this.

Ciccio had started it, when he began feeling dissatisfied as an actor,

also because of the divergences with Franco.

You may question the defendant.

Macirca, was this the man driving the car that night ?

Yes, sir.

What are you saying ?

It's not true, Your Honor. I don't know this man.

Dad came home and said,

''They're offering me a film.''

''Just me. A small part, but it's a drama.''

At first, I remember we were taken aback by this news.

Up till then, Dad had always acted in comedies alongside Franco.

But he said, ''I want to do it. It's something new.''

''I want to test myself in a dramatic role.''

He was brilliant, a great professional.

He was also extremely subtle, he gave a stupendous performance.

Everyone can kick me.

Everyone can spit in my face.

And I have to keep my mouth shut.

Shut.

They put me in the middle in the prison's yard.

They threatened me.

They said, ''Giacalone,''

''if you talk, we'll make your children pay.''

While Franco Franchi devotes himself to music,

Ciccio, after ''La violenza:. quinto potere''

is called by Federico Fellini

to act as Uncle Teo, the mad uncle in ''Amarcord. ''

Teo, get down. Enough of this !

He's killing me.

Don't be like that. Get down, don't you see your brother's angry ?

I want a woman !

I wasn't conscious of what I was doing. I realized it later.

I always tended to go towards the comical side.

And I was told, ''No, you have to do this and that.''

It took me time to get into the character.

- Is Don Pazzaglia still alive ? - He's been dead for 1 0 years.

- It's been a long time. - He was alive last year.

That was Don Amedeo.

- Did Don Amedeo die, too ? - No, he's alive.

That's what I was saying.

I saw him last year with a vase of flowers, walking, walking...

Who knows where he was going.

Enough ! I refuse to eat with thieves like you.

- What did you say ? - I won't eat with thieves like you.

- You'd be the thief. - You, thief. Banana thief.

- Stamp thief. - Yes, thieves.

Thieves ! They're laughing.

They steal and then laugh on the back of the people of God.

Cry, no one can escape expiation.

They'll have what they deserve.

Franco continues to act, too,

but, contrary to Ciccio, he doesn't meet great authors.

But in '73, he makes a film by Nando Cicero

that will become a cult movie.

My theory, as I wrote at the time in the Quaderni Piacentini,

is that, whenever there is a parody

of a false work of art

the parody is better than the presumed work of art.

Thus, ''Ultimo tango a Zagarolo''

is better that ''Last Tango in Paris''.

He wanted to undertake this project,

but he feared that the public wouldn't accept it.

The public wasn't used to see him be a nearly normal character,

and there he didn't do

his usual sneers and gestures.

Though pleased with the revaluation of ''Ultimo tango a Zagarolo''

Franco feels guilty to his audience

for having done a film he considered ribald.

What's the matter with you ?

One has a nap in peace and there he comes.

What the fuck ? You even push me to be vulgar, you asshole.

I discussed and argued,

''Why do you want me to make a movie forbidden to minors under 1 8 ?''

The film ended up being forbidden to minors under 1 4.

It was damaging to me.

And in fact I said,

''This film is worth two. The first and the last.''

Stand still.

No. Are you eating it ?

You never make me eat !

I refused to see it.

And at this time I can't watch it anymore.

First of all because it's a myth

and I don't want the myth to crumble.

Also, I could find out it's better than ''Last Tango in Paris.''

Franco and Ciccio reconcile in 1 97 4

and make the movie ''Farfallon'' a parody directed by Pazzaglia.

Ciccio starts Ingra Cinematografica, producing two films,

''Paolo il freddo'' and ''L'esorciccio'' directed by Ingrassia himself.

- Do you know who we are ? - Two cuckolds !

She recognized us.

In the film ''L'esorciccio'',

there's a bit of the hand...

I hope the Maestro won't be offended...

but there's a bit of Fellini's hand.

''Do this and it'll come out nicely.''

Ingra Cinematografica will soon die fault of a dishonest administrator.

For Ciccio it's a hard blow.

His bitterness is portrayed in a '7 7 film, ''La macchina cinema. ''

I produced two movies, with my own money.

The first one is ''Paolo il freddo''.

I don't know how much it cost me

because I happened to have a dishonest administrator,

whose name is Silvestro de Rossi.

Silvestro de Rossi, a thief.

Talk, you'll feel better.

This has nothing to do with it.

It's totally inappropriate.

You've taken over...

- Let me speak. - Didn't you like this evening ?

Yes, but you can't speak. Because this is something else.

''It seemed a bit strange to me''

''It seemed a bit strange to him''

''That he'd leave me alone''

In the mid '70s the duo goes through break-ups and reconciliations.

They even become the topic of TV commercials

or the excuse to attract a public already hankering for reality TV.

Here's a big surprise for you.

Maybe we'll manage to reunite, it's about time,

Ciccio Ingrassia and Franco Franchi.

I told you this was a ''let's love each other'' show.

In 1 980, Franco traces the course of his career

in the TV serial ''Un uomo da ridere'' by his friend Lucio Fulci.

Paquito. Present the ''quadrilla''.

The flag bearers.

The picador.

- What did he say ? - It's Catalan.

During the '80s, the duo'll mainly work on TV.

Private networks jeopardize the RAI, and in '83 Berlusconi calls the duo

to work at Fininvest,

starting a long

and profitable collaboration.

But with these shows the duo really touches bottom.

Even their work with RAI is kitschy.

Of course there are some exceptions.

In '81, they participate

on their next to last film,

''Crema, cioccolata e paprica''.

The film is shot in Palermo

and stars Renzo Montagnani, Barbara Bouchet,

Silvia Dionisio and a young unknown,

with an inexpressive face but a very telling surname.

He is Giuseppe Greco, son to Michele ''the Pope'',

the head of Cosa Nostra.

But why was ''the Pope'' interested in cinema ?

I think it was a sort of gift

that Michele Greco wanted to give his son

who wanted to work in the cinema.

He wanted to be an artist.

The Professor named me as his assistant...

- today. - Alright, then.

I need to be treated.

I'm weak.

- It hurts. - Where ?

May I ?

Uncle...

At that time, the duo wasn't getting along very well.

But they got back together to make this film.

One wonders about the role that could have been played

by the personal interests of someone like Michele Greco

who, to make his son happy, could have acted as a peacemaker

and reunite them for a while.

It was a fairly simple reconciliation.

We were at a restaurant with Franchi, Ingrassia

and some of their Sicilian friends

who acted as go-betweens.

Ciccio Ingrassia entered the restaurant,

they looked at each other not knowing what to do...

Franchi got up, he lifted Ciccio up,

as Ciccio was already feeling ill...

Amelia.

We didn't mention ''Crema, cioccolata e paprica''

for aesthetical or anecdotic reasons,

but because it will be in the limelight 8 years later, in '89,

but this time for judicial reasons.

Franco Franchi and the singer Mario Merola have been summoned

by the judge Giovanni Falcone for criminal association with the Mafia.

They were named several times by the repentant Antonino Calderone.

They are accused of regularly frequenting some big Mafia families.

Substantially, what emerged were these relationships,

especially with Michele Greco's family.

Franchi participated in some of their convivial occasions

and he took part in a film,

which I don't think deserved to win any prizes,

and perhaps not even spectators...

The idea of the film came from Michele Greco's son.

These elements lead us to see if,

as we later ascertained, the relationship was limited to this

or if there was a different kind of relationship.

Falcone talked to me about this

and told me there was nothing on Franco Franchi.

In fact, Calderone never said that Franchi was involved in Cosa Nostra.

He only says that Franchi performed at some parties held by the bosses,

who could then boast that they knew some show stars.

I've been also asked to sing at many weddings,

but I can't go around asking for police records.

And even if I knew who they were,

I'd be afraid to refuse, so I go and sing anyway.

Who's going to protect me ? We don't have a strong State...

Even when Falcone himself tells him that the case has been closed,

Franco never recovers his characteristic vitality.

Only on one occasion did I see my father

grieve and suffer so much.

It was when they said

that he could be a member of the Mafia.

Also because my father was considered

an actor for children

so, being involved in this situation made him suffer a lot.

Once, I'd pick him up and put him between my legs,

now, I'm sorry, but...

It's easy to think that the stress from these judicial problems

led to the illness that plagued Franchi from the early '90s.

The signs of his illness are evident

in his TV appearances of that time.

''Avanspettacolo'' was done in Naples.

It was a delayed live TV program to keep the rhythm of the skits,

with the presence of an audience.

Franco got sick and came back only for the last installment,

he absolutely wanted to be there.

We were very tense, we didn't know if he'd be there.

But he came. I don't remember exactly what he said,

but he said something bitter, even if funny,

something about Saint Peter.

I think that was his last appearance on TV.

We couldn't end this show

without my presence.

And I say it because it meant a lot to me.

After all that's been said

people are a bit confused.

So I had to come here

and give this testimony

to all the people who always loved us.

People who always followed us and supported us.

This people is you.

A great artist.

A great artist, period.

- What will you remember of him ? - Everything.

All the great battles that we fought and won together.

United, divided, reunited... now divided forever.

- What will happen now ? - Never divided, only now.

Yet, I can say

that even now we are not divided,

because he'll always be part of me.

From then on, my dad lost the will...

for this job.

Because...

It's rather easy to understand something like this.

A friend or a brother dies, your companion dies,

they were like spouses, for better or worse.

Yet, Ciccio continues to participate

in mediocre films.

In '98, we also contact him for our ''Tot che visse due volte. ''

But he doesn't work. He's ill and tired of cinema.

And nothing comes about.

Ciccio Ingrassia dies on April 28, 2003,

nearly 1 1 years after Franco's death.

As our Gregorio Napoli would say, it's the close of a great chapter

in the history of Italian show business.

They were two stupendous clowns, two superb artists.

I could even stop here.

At this point of our film, we first had thought

to ask some renowned people to give the final word on Franco and Ciccio.

We had even disturbed someone very high up.

Then we said, no.

Let's remember them simply.

Maybe with their last film, an auteur film

and at the same time a homage to our beautiful Sicily.

Let's conclude our ''Come inguaiammo il cinema italiano''

with a young, enthusiastic critic who represents the future,

a future where the audience will continue to laugh

with the films of Franco Franchi and Ciccio Ingrassia.

The encounter of Franchi and Ingrassia with the auteur cinema

goes on in 1 984,

when they interpret a famous tale by Pirandello...

no, I made a mistake...

The encounter...

Their encounter with the auteur cinema goes on in 1 984.

They have the opportunity to be directed by the Taviani brothers

who...

I'm sorry, it's not coming out. Maybe it's better to cut it.

- Should we stop ? - Shall we continue tomorrow ?

Their encounter with the auteur cinema goes on in 1 984.

They are directed by the Taviani brothers in a film called ''Caos''.

Their episode is called ''La giara'' and once more,

Franchi and Ingrassia have the opportunity

to perform a role which is stupendous, unrestrained,

beautiful, tremendous, extraordinary, unique,

wonderful, outstanding, incredible...

Subtitles by: Laser S. Film s.r.l. - Rome