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Federico Fellini followed up his iconic breakthrough La strada with this brilliant drama – an unsparing look at the dog-eat-dog values of postwar Italian society that nonetheless manages to navigate expertly between the lightly comic and the emotionally stark to become one of his richest, most moving works.Il bidone [The Swindle] follows three small-time – the ageing Augusto (Broderick Crawford), “Picasso” (Richard Basehart), and Roberto (Franco Fabrizi) – as they prey upon the poor and gullible for modest gains. However, once Augusto is unexpectedly reunited with his daughter, now struggling with her studies, the moral and emotional demands of his lifestyle begin to take their toll sooner than he had anticipated.With its masterful set pieces and host of superb performances (including the director’s wife and muse Giuletta Masina), this forms the centrepiece of what has been termed Fellini’s “Trilogy of Loneliness” (with bookending films La strada and Le notti di Cabiria), and may be the darkest examination of human nature he ever attempted. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present this long-undervalued classic in a new high-definition restoration.
Original Release
10/07/1955
US Release
10/01/1962
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Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Broderick Crawford | Augusto / Augusto Rocco |
Giulietta Masina | Iris |
Richard Basehart | Picasso / Carlo |
Franco Fabrizi | Roberto / Roberto Giorgio |
Sue Ellen Blake | Susanna |
Irene Cefaro | Marisa |
Alberto De Amicis | Rinaldo |
Lorella De Luca | Patrizia / Patrizia, Augusto's daughter |
Giacomo Gabrielli | Il Baron Vargas / le Baron Charlie Vargas |
Riccardo Garrone | Riccardo |
Directors
Writers
Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Broderick Crawford | Augusto / Augusto Rocco |
Giulietta Masina | Iris |
Richard Basehart | Picasso / Carlo |
Franco Fabrizi | Roberto / Roberto Giorgio |
Sue Ellen Blake | Susanna |
Irene Cefaro | Marisa |
Alberto De Amicis | Rinaldo |
Lorella De Luca | Patrizia / Patrizia, Augusto's daughter |
Giacomo Gabrielli | Il Baron Vargas / le Baron Charlie Vargas |
Riccardo Garrone | Riccardo |
Paul Grenter | |
Emilio Manfredi | |
Lucetta Muratori | |
Mario Passante | Conman |
Sara Simoni | Sorella di Stella |
Xenia Valderi | Luciana |
Mara Werlen | Maggie |
Maria Zanoli | Stella Florina |
Ettore Bevilacqua | Swindled Man |
Gino Buzzanca | Saro |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
Silvio Clementelli | Producer |
Charles Delac | Producer |
Mario Derecchi | Producer |
Goffredo Lombardo | Producer |