Film Forum

(1959, Roberto Rossellini) In wartime Genoa, swindler De Sica keeps multiple fraudulent schemes and two girlfriends going, until German colonel Hannes Messemer (The Great Escape) throws him into prison posing as the legendary Della Rovere, in order to rat out a Resistance leader prisoner — but what if De Sica starts to live the General’s role? Based on an actual story, a triumph for De Sica, and Rossellini’s big comeback. “My best role... by a director I revere.” – De Sica. Approx. 138 min. 35mm.

Reviews

“De Sica’s most enduring screen performance.”
– The New York Times