FONDATO, MARCELLO

(1924-)

Screenwriter and director. Fondato began his career in films as a screenwriter, collaborating withLuigi Comencinion a number of films, includingMogli pericolose(Dangerous Wives, 1958),Tutti a casa(Everybody Go Home, 1960), andLa ragazza di Bube(Bebo's Girl, 1963). After also working on a number of theTotofilms and cowriting several ofMario Bava'shorrorclassics, includingI tre volti dellapaura(Black Sabbath, 1963) andSei donne per l'assassino(Blood and Black Lace, 1964), he made his directorial debut withIprotagonisti(The Protagonists, 1968), a film about five wealthy tourists who pay to spend time with a notorious Sardinian bandit and which earned him aNastro d'argentofor Best Original Story.Certo certissimo. . .anzi probabile(Diary of a Telephone Operator, 1969), adapted from a short story by Dacia Maraini, is usually regarded as his finest work as a director. However, he continued to write and direct a number of other successful films in the 1970s, includingCausa di divorzio(Cause of Divorce, 1972), which reflected a burning issue in Italy at the time;Altrimenti ci arrabbiamo(Watch Out, We're Mad, 1974), one of the films featuring the comic duoBud SpencerandTerence Hill(Mario Girotti); andA mezzanotte va la ronda del piacere(The Immortal Bachelor, 1975), which took its title from a popular song of the 1930s. In the 1980s he worked mostly in television, directing several miniseries, among them the six-episodeAffari di famiglia(Family Affairs, 1989).