Il bidone (1955)

Director:

Federico Fellini

Writers:

Federico Fellini (writer)
Ennio Flaiano (writer)

Release Date:

October 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Aging small-time con man Augusto, who swindles peasants, works with two younger men: Roberto, who wants to become the Italian Johnny Ray...

Plot Keywords:

Peasant | Drug Dealer | Imposture | Cheating | Middle Age

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Broderick Crawford	...	Augusto
Giulietta Masina	...	Iris
Richard Basehart	...	Picasso
Franco Fabrizi	...	Roberto
Sue Ellen Blake	...	Anna
Irene Cefaro	...	Marisa
Alberto De Amicis	...	Rinaldo
Lorella De Luca	...	Patrizia
Giacomo Gabrielli	...	Il Baron Vargas
Riccardo Garrone	...	Riccardo
Paul Grenter
Emilio Manfredi
Lucetta Muratori
Mario Passante
Sara Simoni

Also Known As:

The Swindle (USA)
The Swindlers (UK)

Runtime:

Argentina:100 min | Spain:95 min | USA:92 min | 112 min (original version)

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian | English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:M | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:12

Filming Locations:

Acquedotto dell'Acqua Felice, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Titanus

Trivia:

Film debut of Lorella De Luca.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Cinecittà: La casa di F. Fellini (2004) (V)

Amazing beauty. Broderick Crawford will make you cry

Il Bidone is the story of an old and tired con man, who one day, when it's too late, finds himself transformed after he's gone through a redemption of sorts. One of Fellini's least seen films, and unfortunately for viewers in the US, a cut version has been the only one available since its initial release. Even still, it's an amazing film. As I remember it was Truffault who said of Il Bidone, 'I could watch Broderick Crawford die for hours!' And he was very right. Crawford tended to be such a hack in the vast majority of his work for films and TV, but Fellini got an extraordinary performance out of him. Makes you wonder if he was capable of things like this all the time - if so - what a sad loss for us. He was a really bad alcoholic and Fellini kept having to change the script, but later in life said it turned out better that way. If you cry while watching La Strada and Le Notti di Cabiria, Il Bidone will make you cry much more. A forgotten and neglected classic. Proof again of Fellini's astonishing love and compassion for all humanity.