The Widower

Alberto Nardi runs a modest business in Rome and imagines himself a master of enterprise, yet his operation keeps sliding toward disaster. His plans to salvage the company rely on luck and quick fixes, and the pressure builds as invoices pile up. At his side is Elvira Almiraghi, a stubborn Milanese tycoon whose wealth props his ailing factory but who won't sugarcoat the situation. She treats his schemes with blunt honesty and little patience, insisting on results and practical moves rather than grand talk. The couple's fraught dynamic. He clings to grandiose ideas while she audits every move, balancing affection with sharp sarcasm. The comedy hinges on class, ambition, and the often ridiculous theater of everyday business and family life.

Directed by Dino Risi and released in 1959, The Widower comes from an original screenplay by Fabio Carpi, Rodolfo Sonego, and Sandro Continenza. The film sits within Italy's comedies of manners and showcases Alberto Sordi's sharp timing and comic sensibility.

Box office data for The Widower is not readily available in reliable databases. It debuted in 1959 and found audience circulation in Italy, contributing to the era's climate of witty satirical comedies, but global grosses remain undocumented to date anywhere.

Within Italy's postwar comedy tradition, The Widower stands as a sharp portrait of marriage and money, balancing satire with affection for its characters. Sordi's portrayal helped define a mode of humor that hinges on miscommunication and social games, while Elvira's practical wit became a signature counterpoint in Italian cinema today.

Critics often note the film's brisk pacing and elegant farce, pairing witty lines with a sly critique of mid century business culture. Its themes include the tension between ambition and stability, gendered power in marriage, and the uneasy alliance of love and money, all wrapped in humor that still resonates.