Chi si ferma è perduto

Totò and Peppino De Filippo are next door neighbors and clerks in a shipping company. When their boss drops dead from having to deal with them, they connive to impress the inspector sent to review the state of the office and settle on the new manager.

Totò is clearly the lead comic, talking fast and furious, but Peppino certainly keeps up with him, to the point where they drown out the expert players in this well written comedy, that evolves over its course into a door-slamming farce. There's mistaken identities, lecherous bosses, dissatisfied customers, falling bric-a-brac.... if there aren't many pratfalls in this Plautine comedy, it's only because the stars were getting old for such dangerous affairs. There are certainly plenty of other reasons to laugh in this one.

Two clerks get a new boss. They are eager to get his support for a promotion. But the problem is they are not sure which 'Rossi' it will be. Hilarity ensues.

At first, I had my doubts. It seemed the hysterical, over the top, corny kind of comedy. But I had a couple of laughs and it got better. Although the story is predictable, the energy of this film makes up for it. There so much energy in this film, it will create a smirk on the face of even the worst pessimist. It is a loud comedy – but in a good sense. A lot of tempo, fast paced dialogues and vivid acting.

Another good thing is the acting. The main characters are played by Totó and Peppino De Filippo, famous comedy actors in Italy back in the days. This duo was famous for their 'Totó and Peppino' films, from which Totò, Peppino e la... malafemmina is their most glorified comedy. They are arguably talented for playing comedy, but actually, in this film, I enjoyed the supporting roles better, from lady-killer Luigi De Filippo (Cavallo) and the sentimental Aroldo Tieri (the 'wrong' Rossi).

Nevertheless, you should expect dated comedy, with 'funny music', confusion and the works, and there are a loads of boring scenes as well, in which the characters are just talking with each other for minutes. When those moments were left out, it could have been a fantastic comedy, but also a lot shorter. I rate this 6/10. This was directed early in his career by Sergio Corbucci, famous for his westerns like Django.

The two main actors are brilliant and use a long line of funny jokes of excellent humor, and it's hard not to laugh. The movie is intelligent and never boring.