Guardie e ladri

Cops and Robbers (Italian: Guardie e ladri) is a 1951 Italian cult comedy film directed by Steno and Mario Monicelli. It stars the famous comedian Totò, and the cinematographer was the future film director Mario Bava. It was produced by Dino De Laurentiis and Carlo Ponti. Its style is close to Italian neorealism. Released in Italian cinemas in November 1951 and shown in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 1952, earned the award for Piero Tellini the script and Totò the Nastro d'Argento. It had trouble with the censor because it portrayed clumsy police and smart thieves, but it was a great success. The film was a huge success and an unexpected liking by critics. Cops and robbers represented a real turning point in the career of Totò, so that for the first time his film was exclusively positive reviews, and its interpretation is considered one of the best of his career. In 2008 the film was selected to enter the list of the 100 Italian films to be saved. It was shown as part of a retrospective on Italian comedy at the 67th Venice International Film Festival.