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{{short description|1968 film}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Be Sick... It's Free<br>(Il medico della mutua)
| image = Be Sick... It's Free.jpg
| caption = Film poster
| director = [[Luigi Zampa]]
| producer =
| writer = [[Sergio Amidei]]<br>[[Giuseppe D'Agata]]<br>[[Alberto Sordi]]<br>Luigi Zampa
| starring = [[Alberto Sordi]]
| music = [[Piero Piccioni]]
| cinematography = [[Ennio Guarnieri]]
| editing = [[Eraldo Da Roma]]
| distributor =
| released = {{film date|1968|df=y}}
| runtime = 98 minutes
| country = Italy
| language = Italian
| budget =
| gross = $1.6 million (Italy)<ref name=gross>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=March 5, 1969|page=31|title=Metro, Par in Dual Assault on Italo B.O., But Euro Still No. 1 Distrib}}</ref>
}}

'''''Be Sick... It's Free''''' ({{langx|it|'''Il medico della mutua'''}}) is a 1968 Italian [[comedy film]] directed by [[Luigi Zampa]] and starring [[Alberto Sordi]].<ref name="NY Times">{{cite web |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/159453/Il-Medico-Della-Mutua/overview |title=New York Times: Be Sick... It's Free |access-date=10 August 2008|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080320233218/https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/159453/Il-Medico-Della-Mutua/overview|department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=[[The New York Times]] |author=Dan Pavlides |date=2008 |archive-date=20 March 2008}}</ref> A sequel was made titled ''[[Il Prof. Dott. Guido Tersilli, primario della clinica Villa Celeste, convenzionata con le mutue]]''.

In 2008, the film was included on the [[Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism|Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage]]’s [[100 film italiani da salvare|100 Italian films to be saved]], a list of 100 films that "have changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ecco i cento film italiani da salvare Corriere della Sera|url=https://www.corriere.it/spettacoli/08_febbraio_28/elenco_cento_film_d83cacd8-e5ce-11dc-ab61-0003ba99c667.shtml|access-date=2021-03-11|website=www.corriere.it}}</ref>

==Plot==
Doctor Guido Tersilli, a young medical graduate in Rome, wants to open his own practice to repay his widowed mother's financial sacrifices. To make money, he joins a health insurance scheme where the more patients he has, the more he earns. However, he faces challenges with patients demanding unnecessary treatments.

With the help of his mother and fiancée Teresa, Guido starts his practice. He gains experience by volunteering in a hospital, impressing the head physician and nursing staff. Guido's aggressive approach to gaining patients, however, creates tension with his colleagues.

In a bid to secure a large number of patients, Guido befriends an elderly doctor, Dr. Bui, and pretends to fall in love with Bui's wife, convincing them to transfer all patients to him. Guido even changes clinics after Bui's death, leaving the widow behind.

Guido's life takes a turn when he meets Anna Maria, a wealthy woman he decides to marry. However, the stress of handling over 3100 patients causes Guido to collapse. Though his colleagues try to claim his patients, Guido recovers and continues his practice from home, instructing his nurse over the phone.

==Cast==
* [[Alberto Sordi]] as Dr. Guido Tersilli
* [[Sara Franchetti]] as Teresa
* [[Ida Galli|Evelyn Stewart]] as Anna Maria
* [[Nanda Primavera]] as Tersilli's Mother
* [[Bice Valori]] as Amelia, the Widow
* [[Leopoldo Trieste]] as Pietro
* [[Franco Scandurra]] as Dr. Bui
* [[Claudio Gora]] as The Chief Physician
* [[Pupella Maggio]] as Mrs. Parise
* [[Franco Gelli]] as One of Tersilli's Colleagues
* [[Tano Cimarosa]] as Laganà
* [[Sandro Merli]] as Dr. Drufo
* [[Marisa Traversi]] as The Prostitute
* [[Sandro Dori]] as Doctor Zucconi-Colleague in hospital

==Reception==
The film was the highest-grossing film in Italy of the 1968-69 season, with a gross of more than 1 billion [[Italian lira|lira]] ($1.6 million) from 16 key cities.<ref name=gross/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb title|id=0063288|title=Be Sick... It's Free}}

{{Luigi Zampa |state=collapsed}}

[[Category:1968 films]]
[[Category:1960s Italian-language films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Luigi Zampa]]
[[Category:1968 comedy films]]
[[Category:Films set in Rome]]
[[Category:Medical-themed films]]
[[Category:Italian comedy films]]
[[Category:1960s Italian films]]
[[Category:Films scored by Piero Piccioni]]

Be Sick... It's Free - Revision history

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