La provinciale (1953)

The beautiful Gemma, the daughter of a landlady, dreams of a marriage that will free her from the narrow world in which she grew up and bring her comfort and social prestige. She falls in love with Paolo, the heir to a count, whom she has known since childhood. However, her mother reveals that a relationship with the young man is impossible: she herself was born from an affair with the count, which means Paolo is her half-brother. Shocked, Gemma eventually agrees to marry Franco, a fairly mature professor who boards in her family’s house. Gemma finds life with Franco rather monotonous, while he neglects her to focus on his studies. Feeling lonely, she begins spending time with Elvira, a supposed Romanian countess who is really just a presumptuous, garrulous fixer. The countess persuades her to sleep with Luciano, an acquaintance of Gemma’s from the time she used to visit Paolo’s villa. Elvira tries to make illicit gains both from her connection with Luciano and from Gemma, and then to move into Gemma’s home: she blackmails her, threatening to tell her husband about Gemma’s affair with Luciano. With her back against the wall, Gemma begins to realize the value of her marriage, all the more so when Franco is offered a university professorship in Rome. The problem is that the countess is determined to follow the couple even after they move to the city, and it is not even out of the question that she intends to steer Gemma into prostitution. One evening, after trying to get rid of the intrusive countess, Gemma loses her temper and wounds her with a knife. The incident opens Franco’s eyes. Finally aware of his own mistakes and Gemma’s, he throws the countess out of the house, despite her defending herself with empty threats. Franco, however, proves more resolute than the countess, and in the end husband and wife reconcile.