Boccaccio 70

Cast

The four original episodes were:

The first episode, by Monicelli, was only included in the Italian distribution of the film. Out of solidarity towards Monicelli, the other three directors did not go to the Cannes Film Festival for the presentation of the film.

Plot

In Renzo e Luciana (Renzo and Luciana), a young couple tries to hide their marriage and the wife’s supposed pregnancy from the draconian book-keeper of their employer, who has banned female employees from getting married and having children but does not mind a few cheap thrills at their expense himself.

In Le tentazioni del dottor Antonio (The Temptation of Dr Antonio), an elderly citizen is fed up with too much immorality in the form of indecent content in print. His anger knows no bounds when a provocative billboard of Anita Ekberg advertising "Drink more milk" is put up in a park near his residence. Little does he know how that billboard will go on to change his life. Throughout the film, children are heard singing the jingle "Bevete più latte, bevete più latte!" ("Drink more milk!") The image begins to haunt him with hallucinations in which she appears as a temptress and Dr. Antonio as St. George to spear the dragon – he is pursued and captured by the buxom Swedish star in a deserted Rome and at one point, his umbrella falls between her breasts.

Il lavoro (The Job) is about an aristocratic couple coming to terms with life and marriage after the domineering husband is caught visiting prostitutes by the press.

In La riffa (The Raffle), a timid lottery winner is entitled to one night with the attractive Zoe (Sophia Loren). Zoe, however, has other plans.

Artistic legacy

An orchestrated version of the song "Bevete più latte", from Le Tentazioni del Dottor Antonio, was one of 13 tracks, recorded by Italian band Piccola Orchestra Avion Travel, arranged by Fabrizio France, for their 2009 album "Nino Rota L'Amico Magico", released to mark the 30th anniversary of the death of composer Nino Rota.