Cani e gatti (2001)

Directed by Bruno Napolitano

Cast

‘O priore ‘e san Martino

Lui……….Giuseppe Tizzano
Lei……….Rosa Tizzano

Cast

Cani e gatti

Luciano Marino……….Giovanni Conte
Gemma Marino, sua moglie……….Manuela Di Nola
Ferdinando Mazzella, padre di Gemma……….Rino Pellone
Virginia Mazzella, madre di Gemma……….Claudia Vecchio
Luigino Mazzella, fratello di Gemma……….Rocco Loiacono
Brigida, cameriera dei Mazzella……….Nicoletta Ciampini
Ciro, cameriere dei Marino……….Nick Cappa
Rosetta, cameriera dei Marino……….Lucia Conte
Margherita Lombardi, inquilina di Ferdinando Mazzella……….Michelle Valdrighi
Gaetanino Savarese, spasimante……….Carlo Picchetti
Enrico Fogliano, avvocato……….Luciano Pinto
Marcella Fogliano, sua moglie……….Pina Zingales
Michele De Michelis, possidente……….Enzo Sirna
Michelina, sua figlia……….Gloria Pellone

We are in Luciano Marino’s house in Naples. His jealous wife, Gemma, is giving their maid, Rosetta, a hard time as usual. Apart from her jealousy, Gemma’s other problem is that she doesn’t know how to relax and be happy. Instead, she imagines all sorts of things, insisting that her husband is being unfaithful to her. After two years of marriage, Luciano is used to her scenes; In fact, he manages one more time to reassure her but he is getting fed up with Gemma’s neurotic fits.

Marcella, a friend of the Marinos, arrives from Avellino, where Gemma’s happily married parents live. Luciano goes off to buy some paints under strict orders to come home within half and hour. Gemma’s suspicious character is fully revealed in her exchange with Marcella: she maintains that all husbands are unfaithful and that’s why she must keep Luciano under constant surveillance and questioning. Marcella tries to talk sense into her: Gemma must curb her jealousy and should instead learn to trust her husband and have more confidence in herself.

Having invited Marcella and her husband Enrico to lunch, Gemma tells Rosetta so that the cook, Ciro (who happens to be her husband), can be informed. Ciro is furious because he hoped to get off work early this day. Rosetta comes up with a devious scheme: they will conspire together to cause another of Gemma’s fits.

Luciano is ten minutes late, and that’s sufficient cause for Gemma to suspect the worst. When she smells a new perfume on him, and finds two strands of another woman’s hair on his jacket it’s all she needs to cause another terrible fight. This time Luciano’s patience runs out. Gemma suggests that it may be better if they separated and Luciano agrees out of utter exasperation. The two of them go off in a great huff.

Luigino, Gemma’s brother, arrives unannounced. He has brought his fiancèe and her father, Michele de Michelis, to meet his relatives. Marcella and Gemma arrive for lunch and Luigino takes advantage of the situation to impress upon his future father-in-law the love and harmony in this household. However, Luigino doesn’t know what is brewing up next door.