Renato Rascel
Renato Rascel (stage name of Renato Ranucci; 27 April 1912 – 2 January 1991), was an Italian film actor and singer. He appeared in 50 films between 1942 and 1972. He represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1960 with the song "Romantica" which was placed equal eighth out of thirteen entries. He was born to Cesare and Paola Ranucci in Turin. It was in Turin where his parents, who were opera singers, were performing a show at the time Renato could really say that he was born in the back stage of the theater and that's where he spent all of his life. His father tried to make it up to him by having him baptized at Saint Peter's in Rome and apparently it worked because growing up in that neighborhood he ended up singing for the "white voices choir" of Saint Peter with the leadership of composer-conductor Lorenzo Perosi. At the age of 14 Renato started to play drums in ballrooms around Rome. Soon after, he joined the Di Fiorenza Sisters as an actor, dancer and clown and in 1934 he was hired for his first big role by the Schwarts Brothers in the operetta "Al Cavallino bianco". In 1935, he joined Elena Gray for his first foreign tour in Africa. In 1941 he created his own theater company and he began to develop his distinctive kind of humor that in the following years will crown him as the inventor of the "non-sense" with phrases like "two friends that didn't know each other". He decided to make his small size work for him, being only 5'2" tall, one of his major assets becoming known as the "Tiny Italian" (il piccoletto nazionale) and in his show he accentuated his stature by wearing huge extravagant coats, his most famous one had a large pocket on the back. In this time he created some of his most famous characters such as "Napoleon" and "Il Corazziere" (a parody on his size since the Corazziere is a military division that employs only soldiers over 6 feet tall) that brought him to an extraordinary popularity in Italy. In 1942 he shot the first of a long series of films, Pazzo d'amore (Crazy For Love) developing and establishing his very peculiar kind of humor. Among the sixty plus films he worked in, one of the most relevant was Il Cappotto (The Overcoat) by Gogol, winner of the Golden Palm in Cannes. He also had a leading role in The Secret of Santa Vittoria with Anthony Quinn and Anna Magnani, Seven Hills of Rome with Mario Lanza, Questi fantasmi with Eduardo De Filippo and Figaro qua Figaro là with Totò. In 1977, he appeared in the Zeffirelli film Jesus of Nazareth as the blind man. His post second World War success is due mainly to his leading roles in the musicals by Pietro Garinei and Sandro Giovannini. The artistic trio is responsible for the existence of the "musical" in Italy with Attanasio cavallo vanesio in 1952 (featuring the American trio Peters Sisters, Alvaro piuttosto corsaro (1953), Tobia la candida spia (1955), Un paio d'ali (1957), Rascelinaria (1958), Enrico '61 (1961), and also performed for an entire year in London at the Piccadilly Theatre in 1962, along with Il giorno della tartaruga (1965) and Alleluja, brava gente (1970). ... Source: Article "Renato Rascel" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
The Secret of Santa Vittoria
as BabbalucheDuring World War II, Italian villagers hide their wine from the German army.
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Ferdinand I King of Naples
as MimìThe story of "King Lazzarone" Ferdinand I of Bourbon whose pastime was to neglect the government...
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Policarpo, ufficiale di scrittura
as Policarpo De TappettiPolicarpo De Tappetti is a calligrapher who works under the orders of Don César Pancarano de...
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The Last Judgment
as CoppolaThe Last Judgement (Italian: Il giudizio universale) is a 1961 commedia all'italiana film by...
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Pinocchio
as Narratore (voce)The film was directed by Giuliano Cenci with assistance from his brother Renzo. During...
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I'm in the Revue
as himselfGood-natured and devout, a French house painter takes the train to Rome, where he has decided to...
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The Monte Carlo Story
as DuvalStylish, sophisticated and absolutely broke, Dino and Maria pursue a romance until they realize...
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Transplant
as Dario BarbieriTo satisfy his wife, an elderly man has to have a penis transplant and is willing to pay a lot...
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The Orderly
as Remigio De AcutisColonels, majors, lieutenants: all of them live in the same building. Some of them have a wife...
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Seven Hills of Rome
as Pepe BonelliAfter having a fight with his girl friend, Marc follows her to Rome to try and win her back. On...
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Oh! Sabella
as Don Gregorio (uncredited)Raffaele, a Neapolitan student, get the news that his beloved grandmother Sabella is dying. He...
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Destination Fury
as Renato MicacciLemmy Caution has been assigned by Interpol to work as a double agent. Little does he know how...
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Il corazziere
as Urbano MarangoniIn fascist Italy, Urbano Marangoni aspires to become Corazziere, like his late father, but it is...
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Uncle Was a Vampire
as Baron Osvaldo LambertenghiBaron Osvaldo Lambertenghi is forced to sell his ancestral castle, staying on as a bellboy when...
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Un militare e mezzo
as Nicola CarlettiNicola Carletti is a middle age 50-year old man who return to Italy with his family but he is...
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Figaro qua... Figaro là
as Don AlonzoIn the 18th century, Figaro the Sevillian barber is likely to be arrested because he operates...
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Attanasio cavallo vanesio
as uncreditedA jockey buys his favorite horse.
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These Phantoms
as Pasquale LojaconoA young husband is persuaded to move his new bride into an old palace that is supposedly...
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Jesus Of Nazareth
as The Blind ManRobert Powell stars in the epic 1977 drama chronicling the birth, life, crucifixion and...
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The Overcoat
as Carmine De CarmineBased on the Nikolai Gogol story but set in 1950s Italy, "The Overcoat" is the story of a poor...
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Beauties on bicycles
as Il figlio del meccanicoTwo chorus girls leave Milan to get to the famous Totò's theatre company. Unfortunately the bus...
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Love I Haven't... But... But
as TeodoroGina tries to commit suicide by jumping into the river but is saved by Teodoro, an innocent...
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Little Girls and High Finance
as uncreditedA low level official and a prostitute both try to commit suicide and fail, afterwards he becomes...
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Move and I'll Shoot
as Renato Tuzzi - il professoreRenato Tuzzi, a primary school teacher, is a shy man, unable to be respected by the turbulent kids.
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Il matrimonio
as Dmitry Marinin, il 'generale'An Italian historical comedy film consisting of three segments, based on three stage plays by...
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Gran varietà
as Il comicoA musical comedy divided into five segments: Mariantonia, Cuttica, Il Fine Dicitore, Fregoli and...
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The Bear
as MedardA mild-mannered zookeeper has to contend with his tyrannical boss and a talking lovesick bear.
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La passeggiata
as Paolo BarbatoA meek and simple-minded boarding school teacher falls in love with a prostitute and gets the...
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Io sono il capataz
as Uguccione / Rascelito VillaThe young Uguccione is mistaken for Rascelito Villa called "C6", a dangerous revolutionary, and...
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Variety carousel
as uncreditedA painter gives his daughter a television set for her 18th birthday. On the evening of the...
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Il bandolero stanco
as PepitoA comedy centered on the character of Pepito. It is an Italian western made before the Spaghetti...
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Rascel Marine
as Caporale Ronny RascelDuring WW2 a platoon of marines fights the Japanese on a little island in the Pacific Ocean. On...
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Ho scelto l'amore
as Boris PopovicA satire of the Cold War, Italian style. Soviet flunkey Boris Popovitc is sent on a goodwill...
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Alvaro piuttosto corsaro
as AlvaroAlvaro hunts for a treasure, of which he owns only half the map.
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Rascel-Fifì
as Renato / Renatino - il suo figlioRenato and Gedeon have just opened a nightclub in a disreputable area of New York, triggering...
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Piovuto dal cielo
as RenatoA pickpoket falls in love with one of his victims.
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Half a Century of Song
as uncreditedThrough a series of scenes inspired by famous songs, various episodes of Italian life in the...
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Jesus of Nazareth
as The Blind ManDramatizes the Birth, Life, Ministry, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, largely...
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