Directed by:
Federico FelliniCinematography:
Otello MartelliComposer:
Nino RotaCast:
Broderick Crawford, Giulietta Masina, Richard Basehart, Franco Fabrizi, Sue Ellen Blake, Riccardo Garrone, Yami Kamadeva, Lorella de Luca, Irene Cefaro (more)Plots(1)
Il bidone (The Swindle) follows three small-time crooks - 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. (British Film Institute (BFI))
(more)Cast
Broderick Crawford
USA
Best movies:
Producers' Showcase (1954) (series)
Beau Geste (1939)
Scandal Sheet (1952)
Giulietta Masina
Italy
Best movies:
The Road (1954)
Nights of Cabiria (1957)
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen (2012) - a.f.
Richard Basehart
USA
Best movies:
Being There (1979)
The Road (1954)
Moby Dick (1956)
Franco Fabrizi
Italy
Best movies:
Witness in the City (1959)
Nights of Cabiria (1957)
Una questione d'onore (1966)
Sue Ellen Blake
Best movies:
Il bidone (1955)
Love in the City (1953)
Riccardo Garrone
Italy
Best movies:
Three Bites of the Apple (1967)
Like Father, Like Son (1957)
La dolce vita (1960)
Lorella de Luca
Italy
Best movies:
Like Father, Like Son (1957)
Il bidone (1955)
Doctor and the Healer (1957)
Irene Cefaro
Italy
Best movies:
Chronicle of Poor Lovers (1954)
Il bidone (1955)
Xenia Valderi
Best movies:
Woman of Rome (1954)
Il bidone (1955)
Red Desert (1964)
Maria Zanoli
Italy
Best movies:
Quo Vadis (1951)
Le Notti Bianche (1957)
War and Peace (1956)
Ada Colangeli
Italy
Best movies:
Twelve Hours to Live (1950)
Chronicle of Poor Lovers (1954)
Bread, Love and Dreams (1953)
Mario Passante
Italy
Best movies:
The Road (1954)
Nights of Cabiria (1957)
Villa Borghese (1953)