Scandal in Sorrento

"Scandal in Sorrento" (1955) is an Italian romantic comedy to watch online, directed by Dino Risi and starring Vittorio De Sica alongside a magnetic young Sophia Loren. Carabinieri commander Carotenuto returns to his hometown only to find his house claimed by Sofia, a loud and cheerful fishwife with no intention of leaving.

Loren makes Sofia the most alive screen presence of the decade — all gesture and dark-eyed confidence, she runs circles around De Sica's pompous officer. The film is the third in the "Pane, amore" series, notable for swapping Gina Lollobrigida for Loren, who owned the role from the first frame. There is no grand plot: Sorrento air, market-square flirtation, and the slow deflation of a military man's dignity.

Light, warm and still genuinely funny at seventy years' distance. Stream "Scandal in Sorrento" (1955) online on iFILM.