A married Sicilian lord falls in love with his cousin and pledges to marry her, but because divorce is prohibited, he must devise a crime of passion to divorce his wife.
Pietro Germi directed the 1961 Italian drama-comedy film Divorce Italian Style (Divorzio all’italiana). Germi, Ennio De Concini, Alfredo Giannetti, and Agenore Incrocci wrote the script, which is based on Giovanni Arpino’s novel Un delitto d’onore (Honour Killing). Marcello Mastroianni, Daniela Rocca, Stefania Sandrelli, Lando Buzzanca, and Leopoldo Trieste appear in the film. The film received Academy Award nominations for Best Writing, Story, and Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen, Mastroianni for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Germi for Best Director.