A commoner in the nobility The story about Max (not to be confused with the “Mad” namesake) was invented by Roman screenwriter and film director Amleto Palermi. It's about the transformation of an ordinary newspaper dealer into a hereditary aristocrat. The first adaptation of "Signor Max" appeared in 1937. The director was Mario Camerini, and the main role was played by Vittorio De Sica. 20 years later, De Sica returned to the subject. But only with Giorgio Bianchi in the director's chair and Alberto Sordi as a newspaper salesman. Vittorio took the image of the old, ruined, but preserved manners Count Max, whose name will be used by a seller of fresh press, dreaming of high society.
The movie was funny. De Sica once again proved that he knows how to play heroes who can keep their backs in any circumstances. As for Sordi, he turns so imperceptibly from a commoner to an aristocrat and back again that he misleads not only the characters of the film, but also the audience, if they get distracted a little.
But let the simplicity and predictability of the plot not mislead you. Before us is an instructive story about man’s search for himself, his essence. The fact that the outer gloss often hides emptiness.
As if completing the gestalt, Vittorio De Sica's son Christian in 1991 filmed his "Count Max", with himself in the lead role. But judging by IMDb's estimates of 4.5 out of 10, he lacked either his father's talent or his partners.
7 out of 10