A Família do Barnabé

US audiences who know the imposing figure of Aldo Fabrizi from his serious role as the priest in Open City could here get a chance to see something of his brilliant background as a comedy performer and inventor.The head of the Passaguai family who he plays has an office job in a company that makes bras, which could have been a film in itself, but most of the story is about their day trip to a beach near Rome, a setup for a series of running gags and arguments that ends up with all hell breaking loose. One gag involves an irate beach patron, played by Luigi Pavese, who Fabrizi and his work colleague played by Peppino de Filippo, have annoyed and who spends most of the film chasing them.Another gag involves a younger man who keeps latching onto Fabrizi and bothering him with questions.There is also a misunderstanding when a changing room has a number that could be either 6 or 9 confused and then there are three old ladies who cause their own kind of trouble.And from start to finish Passaguai and his stout wife, played by character actress Ave Ninchi, do nothing but squabble. The comedy was popular enough that Fabrizi made a sequel.