''The Pigeon That Took Rome'' is a 1962 American comedy war film directed and written by

Melville Shavelson Melville Shavelson (April 1, 1917 – August 8, 2007) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. He was President of the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAw) from 1969 to 1971, 1979 to 1981, and 1985 to 1987. Biog ...

and starring

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist. As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film '' The Ten ...

. The film is set in the Italian Campaign of World War II and was based on the 1961 novel ''The Easter Dinner'' by former spy Donald Downes.

Plot

In 1944, during the last stages of the war in Europe, American officers Paul MacDougall (

Heston Heston is a suburban area and part of the Hounslow district in the London Borough of Hounslow. The residential settlement covers a slightly smaller area than its predecessor farming village, 10.8 miles (17.4 km) west south-west of Charing C ...

) and Joseph Angelico ( Guardino) are sent to Rome to act as spies for the Allies, even though they have no experience in espionage. Working with

Italian partisan The Italian resistance movement (the ''Resistenza italiana'' and ''la Resistenza'') is an umbrella term for the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Social ...

soldier Ciccio Massimo ( Baccaloni), MacDougall and Contini send regular reports to their superiors by

carrier pigeon The homing pigeon, also called the mail pigeon or messenger pigeon, is a variety of domestic pigeons (''Columba livia domestica'') derived from the wild rock dove, selectively bred for its ability to find its way home over extremely long dist ...

. Angelico also finds himself falling in love with Massimo's pregnant daughter Rosalba ( Pallotta), while her sister Antonella (

Martinelli Martinelli is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Alberto Martinelli, Italian President of the International Social Science Council * Alessandro Martinelli, Swiss footballer * Alfredo Martinelli (1899–1968), Italian fil ...

) has her eye on MacDougall. Angelico proposes to Rosalba, and Ciccio prepares a feast to celebrate his daughter's upcoming wedding. However, Ciccio prepares squab for the occasion, killing all but one of the carrier pigeons. Ciccio scrambles to replace them, but the new pigeons he finds are German, and they deliver MacDougall's and Angelico's messages directly into enemy hands, creating new confusion.

Cast

- Captain Paul MacDougall, Benny the Snatch and Narrator *

Elsa Martinelli Elsa Martinelli (born Elisa Tia; 30 January 1935 – 8 July 2017) was an Italian actress and fashion model. Life and career Born Elisa Tia in Grosseto, Tuscany, she moved to Rome with her family. In 1953, she was discovered by Roberto Capu ...

- Antonella Massimo *

Harry Guardino Harry Guardino (December 23, 1925 – July 17, 1995) was an American actor whose career spanned from the early 1950s to the early 1990s. Biography Guardino was born to an Italian family on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and raised in Bro ...

- Sgt. Joseph Angelico *

Salvatore Baccaloni Salvatore Baccaloni (14 April 190031 December 1969) was an Italian operatic bass, buffo artist, and actor. Life and career Baccaloni was born in Rome. After attending the Sistine Chapel choir school from age seven, he studied voice with the c ...

- Ciccio Massimo *Carlo Angeletti ("Marietto") - Livio Massimo *

Gabriella Pallotta Gabriella Pallotta (born 6 October 1938) is an Italian film actress. She appeared in 22 films between 1956 and 1974. For the film '' The Pigeon That Took Rome'' (1962) she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress Gol ...

- Rosalba Massimo *

Brian Donlevy Waldo Brian Donlevy (February 9, 1901 – April 6, 1972) was an American actor, noted for playing dangerous tough guys from the 1930s to the 1960s. He usually appeared in supporting roles. Among his best-known films are ''Beau Geste'' (193 ...

- Col. Sherman Harrington *

Arthur Shields Arthur Shields (15 February 1896 – 27 April 1970) was an Irish actor on television, stage and film. Early years Born into an Irish Protestant family in Portobello, Dublin, Shields started acting in the Abbey Theatre when he was 17 years o ...

- Monsignor O'Toole *

Rudolph Anders Rudolph Anders (December 17, 1895 – March 27, 1987) was a German character actor who came to the United States after the rise of Hitler, and appeared in numerous American films in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Biography He was born Rudo ...

- Col. Wilhelm Krafft *Vadim Wolkowsky - Conte Danesi

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

*Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White (

Hal Pereira Hal Pereira (April 29, 1905 – December 17, 1983) was an American art director, production designer, and occasional architect. Pereira was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Sarah (Friedberg) and Saul Pereira. In the 1940s through the 1960s ...

Roland Anderson Roland Anderson (November 18, 1903 – October 29, 1989) was an American movie art director. He received 15 Academy Award nominations but never won an Oscar. Anderson's first Oscar nomination was for his first film in 1933, ''A Farewell to Arm ...

, Samuel M. Comer,

Frank R. McKelvy Frank R. McKelvy (January 24, 1914 – February 18, 1980) was an American set decorator. He was nominated for seven Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction. He worked on nearly 70 different films and TV shows from 1947 to 1979. S ...

) (nominated)

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

*Best Motion Picture Actor - Musical/Comedy (

, nominated) *Best Supporting Actor (

, nominated) *Best Supporting Actress (

, nominated)

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers G ...

*Best Written American Comedy (

, nominated)

References

External links

* 1962 films 1960s spy comedy films American spy comedy films American black-and-white films Films based on American novels Films directed by Melville Shavelson American war comedy films Films set in 1944 Italian Campaign of World War II films Military humor in film Paramount Pictures films World War II spy films Films set in Rome 1962 comedy films Films scored by Alessandro Cicognini 1960s English-language films 1960s American films {{1960s-comedy-film-stub

Plot

Cast

Awards and nominations

See also

References

External links