Four Steps in the Clouds (Quatro passi tra le nuvole). 1942. Directed by Alessandro Blasetti.

(5/21/01)

I was truly disappointed that this film was shown without subtitles. I had seen it in 1978 and, having enjoyed it, was looking forward to seeing it again.

It has an engaging, homely quality about it. A married salesman is persuaded by a young woman he meets on his travels to accompany her to her family's home and pretend to be her husband, as she is an unwed mother. Her father in particular seems to be a difficult man. The family searches the man's luggage and finds pictures of his wife and children which (I guess) suggest that he is a bigamist. He tells them the truth and it appears that this stranger who comes out of nowhere straightens out this dysfunctional family before returning to his humdrum existence.

I continue to like the character of the grandfather especially--the old man who plays checkers by himself, moving from one side of the table to the other. If I remember right he gets the salesman to use his samples of candies as the checkers and quickly eats a couple of themwhile the other man isn't looking.