I tromboni di Fra Diavolo (1962)

Italian Locandina Poster

I tromboni di Fra Diavolo is an Italian/Spanish comedy starring Italian acting legend Ugo Tognazzi.  Since I have only been able to view the film in Italian, I am reliant on the following rough translation of a plot summary that I came across in Italian:

In the Kingdom of Naples, the occupation by the French troops is raging, but they have encountered opposition and resistance from the population, led by the famous bandit Fra Diavolo (Francisco Rabal), who tries in every way to put in check the power of the French.  Some squadrons of French troops, accompanied by a small group of soldiers of the Cisalpine Republic come, commanded by Tenente Salimei (Raimondo Vianello), a marquis loyal to the Republican cause in France.  He is accompanied by Sgt. Visicato (Ugo Tognazzi), his sergeant in the military and servant in his everyday life.  After many raids that continue to undermine public order, the Col. Chamonis, commander of the French army, decides to go in search of the bandit, leaving the castle of the baron Forzano, occupied by Napoleon, in the hands of the Cisalpinos.  Here, however, lurks the love story of the film, where the Baroness Cristina Forzano (Jocelyn Lane), daughter of the owner of the fortress, falls in love with the bandit Fra Diavolo.  With the intention of getting married, the two will travel to a remote monastery in the countryside of Naples where the story concludes.

It's hard for me to really form an opinion based on an Italian language viewing with no English subtitles.  The film is shot in color, which is a bit unusual for an Italian film of the era.  Although Alberto Sordi is my favorite Italian actor, I generally like Ugo Tognazzi films of the 1960's.  He appears to be hamming it up in this film, but I don't get the sense that it would be one of my favorites.  Jocelyn gets a decent amount of screen time and prominent billing, looking lovely as usual.  Her performance seems solid.  She appears to be mouthing her lines in Italian, but I doubt that she did her own dubbing.  Even if it's not a classic Italian film of the era, it is clearly the best of Jocelyn's Italian work.  Hopefully some bi-lingual fans will make some English subtitles one day so that we can better appreciate the film.  

Here are some screen grabs of Jocelyn:

I tromboni di Fra Diavolo was shot in the early summer of 1962 (Variety was reporting in April and May that Jackie Lane was to star in the film).  It was released in Italy on October 11, 1962 (per IMDB), but I have seen no indication that it was ever released in any English-speaking country.

The film was released on DVD in Italy in 2007.

Here is a French poster:

A Belgian poster:

A Spanish poster: