Film version of Luigi Pirandello's stage play Enrico IV that downplays Pirandello's patented absurdism in favor of a comparatively straightforward narrative. The title character is not the 11th-century German king of the same name, but a looney modern-day nobleman who only thinks that he's Henry IV.

Film version of Luigi Pirandello's stage play Enrico IV that downplays Pirandello's patented absurdism in favor of a comparatively straightforward narrative. The title character is not the 11th-century German king of the same name, but a looney modern-day nobleman who only thinks that he's Henry IV. Out of loyalty to their master, the nobleman's servants go along with the gag, dressing up in old costumes and impersonating famous historical personalities. The ersatz "king" continues lapsing in and out of sanity for nearly 20 years, by which time nobody is certain who he really is. Osvaldo Valenti delivers an astonishing performance as Henry IV; by film's end, even the audience will be convinced that he is who he says he is.