Long before Cher, Sting and Madonna, a
one-named Italian comedian was breaking box-office records in
his native country.
Toto – real name Antonio de Curtis – was one of the most beloved
of all silver screen stars in Italy; although many of his movies
are barely known here, back home they were consistent hits. And
"Toto Recall" – a BAMcinematek retrospective running
Sept. 6-28 – showcases a dozen films that made Toto such a revered
comic figure.
What contributed to Toto’s grand success as a comedian – he began
in vaudeville, perfecting a physical brand of comedy that he
carried over into movies – was his face, a rubbery visage that
may have been the most sublime comedic "mask" since
Buster Keaton’s. Toto was always recognizable: his slightly off-center
features added up to a natural, singular work of art.
But Toto never simply cashed in on his face. As the 12 "Toto
Recall" features show, he was an artist of extraordinary
ability, who was at home in both slapstick and cerebral comedies.
The series opener on Sept. 6, Mario Monicelli’s classic caper
spoof, "Big Deal on Madonna Street" (1958), actually
casts Toto in a minor role, as a now-retired robber who shows
a bungling group of would-be thieves how to crack a safe.
While only in a few scenes, Toto virtually steals the movie from
a formidable group of actors including Marcello Mastroianni and
Vittorio Gassman. Monicelli’s masterly comedy has had its share
of imitators – including last year’s Woody Allen gem, "Small
Time Crooks" – but, thanks in no small way to Toto, it has
never been equaled.
When Monicelli and Toto partnered again, the actor got one of
the leading roles. "The Passionate Thief" (1960) –
showing Sept. 27 – paired Toto with Anna Magnani, who had often
played opposite each other in the theater, but never before in
the movies. Toto and Magnani are unemployed actors who team with
an American pickpocket to scam affluent guests at a New Year’s
Eve party, a ploy that (couldn’t you guess?) derails.
Of all of Toto’s starring roles, it’s ironic that the one for
which he received the most acclaim outside Italy was one of his
last: in Pier Paolo Pasolini’s "The Hawks and the Sparrows"
(1966) – showing Sept. 21 – Toto plays father to Ninetto Davoli’s
youngster, both of them transported to a fantasy world where
they learn "birdspeak." Pasolini’s funny Marxist parable
was one of the director’s lightest, most accessible features,
due in no small part to the presence of Toto, who won an award
at the Cannes Film Festival for his portrayal.
By the time of his death in 1967, the 69-year-old Toto had appeared
in more than 90 films. Unbelievably, he didn’t star in his first
feature until he was 40 years old. By the time his career was
peaking, Toto was so recognizable, so big a star in Italy that
several of his pictures’ titles had his name inserted into them
in order to ensure their success. Many of these flimsy flicks
were quickly made, but lit up whenever Toto appeared onscreen.
A handful of these titles are included in the BAM Rose series.
"Toto the Con Man" (Sept. 11) is an episodic 1961 romp
that features our man as the title character, of course. The
following year’s "Toto Diabolicus" (Sept. 13) allows
the star to enact a half-dozen roles in finest Alec Guinness
style, all of them heirs of a murdered nobleman who are then
picked off one by one. It’s a comedy, naturally, and one of Toto’s
greatest.
In the early ’60s, with the Cold War in full swing, Europe was
on edge as much as the United States. The surprisingly contemporary
"Toto and Peppino Are Divided by Berlin" (1962; showing
Sept. 20) casts Toto and his oft-starring partner Peppino De
Filippo as stooges for some ex-Nazis; to say more would spoil
the blackly comic fun of this once-controversial hit.
Finally – and closing the series Sept. 28 – "Toto Versus
the Four" (1963) gives our hero the chance to portray a
cop (a bumbling one, to be sure) and team again with De Filippo
in one of the most plotless, yet gut-busting of all his pictures.
"Toto Recall" shows beyond any doubt that Toto was
such a consummate actor that he was able to get laughs as himself,
with his own personality, even while ostensibly staying in character.
Today, when we witness such meager talents as Jim Carrey and
Chris Tucker being touted as mega-stars, it’s instructive to
be reminded what true comedic genius actually is.
"Toto Recall" runs Sept. 6-28
at the BAM Rose Cinemas (30 Lafayette Ave. at Ashland Place).
Tickets are $9, $6 students and seniors. All films are in Italian
with English subtitles. For more information visit www.bam.org
or call (718) 636-4100.
