First Communion

People who love Italian films remember this picture as being one of the funniest and most enjoyable of classic Italian comedies. It is also known as "Father's Dilemma" and in it Aldo Fabrizi plays a silly, pompous, and egotistical father who makes a big mess of everything on the morning his little daughter is to receive her first communion. After he loses the girl's communion dress, virtually half the population of Rome gets involved in getting her suitably attired and brought to the church on time. Aldo Fabrizi plays the father with immense gusto and is a wonder to behold. This Roman actor of vaudeville, stage, and screen is most familiar to non-Italian film fans as the priest in Rossellini's OPEN CITY. The movie won the first prize at the Venice Film Festival. It is a gem.