Il Bidone (The Swindle)
Directed by Federico Fellini
Written by Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, and Tullio Pinelli
1955/Italy/France
Titanus/Societe Generale de Cinematographie
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental
Augusto: I was never like that! I always had style. I went around the world ripping everybody off. The world is full of idiots. I can sell ice to Eskimos. Now I work with these amateurs, but I’ll be working again alone soon.
This film is missing a some of the characteristic Fellini humor that I love.
Augusto (Broderick Crawford), Picasso (Richard Basehart) and Roberto (Franco Fabrizzi) are a trio of con men. Augusto is an old pro, Roberto is a young self-assessed hot shot, and Picasso is a family man, with a wife, Iris (Gulieta Masina),and daughter. One of their favorite cons is dressing up as clergy and convincing poor farmers that they can keep the treasure they “discover” on their land in exchange for cash to pay for masses for the soul of the criminal that buried the loot.
Picasso has problems with his conscience and his long-suffering wife and begins to cool on his chosen profession. Augusto unexpectedly shows a soft spot for his estranged daughter who needs money for college and a job (evidently in Italy at this time employees had to leave a deposit with employers to get work!) Will humanity be the downfall of the gang?
Like La Strada, this film ends tragically. Unlike that film, however, I felt that this lacks some of Fellini’s wit and weirdness. Masina’s small part does not give her enough scope to do her stuff. Crawford is very good and the Nino Rota score is wonderful. The movie is good but not great.
Trailer
