Umberto Melnati

Though he also had various parts in dramas and precursors of the Giallo, Umberto Melnati (1897-1979) is mostly known for his screen comedies, in particular, the 'Telefoni Bianchi' comedies of the 1930s and 1940s. In these films, he often acted with Vittorio De Sica and Alida Valli. Before, he had acted on stage with De Sica and Checco Rissone. After the war, Melnati played the lead in the film drama La valigia dei sogni/The suitcase of dreams (1953) by Luigi Comencini. In total, he appeared in over 35 films between 1932 and 1962.


Italian postcard by Unione Fotoincisori Firenze. Photo: Gneme / Prod. INCINE. Caption: The actors of the Tirrenia film studio, no. 2. Umberto Melnati in the film Brivido (Giacomo Gentilomo, 1941).


Italian postcard by ASER (A. Scarmiglia Ed., Roma). Photo: Gneme.

An unmistakable shrill and slightly nasal voice

Umberto Melnati was born in Livorno (Leghorn), Italy, in 1897. His real name was Raimundo Melnati, and he was the son of the actors Gino Pietro and Marcella Conti.

He specialised at a very young age in the role of supporting actor on stage. During the First World War, he was a generic actor in various companies until joining the company of Alfredo De Sanctis in 1919.

In 1931 he entered into a company with Vittorio De Sica and Giuditta Rissone and together they participated in 'Za Bum n. 8 and n. 10'. It was in the famous revues produced by Luciano Ramo and Mario Mattoli, such as 'Lucciole della città' (Fireflies of the city, Falconi and Biancoli, 1931), that the famous duets ('Düra minga') between Melnati and De Sica matured, promptly exported to the radio universe of the sponsored programs.

In 1938 he interpreted the Touchstone in 'As you like it' by William Shakespeare, directed by Jacques Copeau, and with actors Massimo Pianforini, Enzo Biliotti, and others at the Boboli Gardens in Florence.

The trio De Sica-Melnati-Rissone enjoyed enormous success for a decade, also thanks to the records and sketches taken from the magazines that the protagonists recorded for Dischi Columbia and which were then also broadcast on radio, and added to the theatrical activity that cinema and radio such as the first episode of radio skits for the Bisleri liquor company in 1937.

Melnati's success was immediately linked to an unmistakable shrill and slightly nasal voice that the actor emphasised in the contrasting singing duo with his friend De Sica or by dubbing the character actors in the films of the time. Melnati was also one of the first actors employed by RAI in their first works of fiction: in 1958, when the state broadcaster had been broadcasting for only four years, he was among the interpreters of the television program Il Teatro dei Ragazzi/Children's Theatre which proposed scripted stories for children and adolescents.


Italian postcard by Melloni. Photo: Luxardo.


Italian postcard.

A brilliant actor with a nervous acting style

Umberto Melnati became well-known in Italy in the mid-1930s thanks to some famous parts in the cinema. His film debut was Due cuori felici/Two Happy Hearts (Baldassarre Negroni, 1932) with Vittorio De Sica and Rina Franchetti. Then followed L'uomo che sorride/The Man Who Smiles (Mario Mattoli, 1936) with De Sica and Assia Noris, Il signor Max/Mister Max (Mario Camerini, 1937) with De Sica, Noris and Rubi Dalma, and Mille lire al mese/One thousand lira per month (Max Neufeld, 1938) with Alida Valli and Osvaldo Valenti.

In the early 1940s, he acted in La peccatrice/The sinner (Amleto Palermi, 1940) starring Paola Barbara, and the pre-Giallo Cortocircuito/Short Circuit (Giacomo Gentilomo, 1943) with Vivi Gioi. Between 1932 and 1943 Melnati acted with De Sica in well nine films, plus several with Assia Noris.

After the war, Umberto Melnati returned to the stage revues alongside the most famous faces of the time including De Sica, Elsa Merlini, Isa Pola, and Milly, not disdaining more demanding interpretations. By now, however, the artist was definitively attracted by the mass media and by a consolidated radio career: among the numerous others, one can remember his participation in the radio comedies 'Non ti conosco più' (I don't know you anymore, 1950) and 'Buonanotte, Patrizia' (Good night, Patrizia, 1960), both directed by Umberto Benedetto.

In addition, he had success in some comedies broadcast on television, such as Zampa di velluto/Velvet leg, Milizia territoriale/Territorial militia, Jack l'infallibile/Infallible Jack (Roberto Meloni, 1963), and La moglie di papà/Daddy's wife (Marcello Sartarelli, 1963).

From 1950 Melnati returned to the film sets for 10 more parts. Melnati's best post-war film interpretation, which aimed more at the pathetic than the comedian, remains that of the old film actor who survives by saving and projecting the great masterpieces of Italian silent cinema in private parties, in the film La valigia dei sogni/The suitcase of dreams (1953) by Luigi Comencini.

Melnati was a brilliant actor with a nervous acting style. He often had a convulsive speech that made his jokes and theatrical and radio monologues a success. He embodied the triumph of the light radio show, made up of improvisations and short-term interventions that exerted so much attraction on the listener of the time. As he remembers in his memoirs 'Così... per ridere' (So... for a laugh, 1954), his radio interventions were often just "small talk" adapted from repertoire jokes that the actor developed into radio talks of about ten minutes.

Umberto Melnati was married to Christie Cleyn. He died in 1979 in Rome. He was 81.


Italian small foto portrait.


German postard by Ross. Photo: Difu.


Cover of the magazine Il Dramma, no. 313, 1939. Caricature of Umberto Melnati by Onorato. Collection: Manuel Palomino Arjona (Flickr).

Sources: Wikipedia (Italian and English), and IMDb.

This post was last updated onm 19 February 2022.