''The Angels of the District'' (Italian: ''Gli Angeli del quartiere'') is a 1952 Italian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Carlo Borghesio Carlo Borghesio (24 June 1905 – 12 November 1983) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Life and career Born in Turin, Borghesio started his career as an assistant director in the second half of the 1930s, notably collaborating ...

and starring

Rossana Podestà Rossana Podestà (born Carla Dora Podestà; 20 June 1934 – 10 December 2013) was an Italian actress who worked mainly in Italy from the 1950s to the 1970s. Biography Podestà was born in Tripoli in the Italian colony of Libya. She spent her fi ...

Jacques Sernas Jokūbas Bernardas Šernas (30 July 1925 – 3 July 2015), commonly known as Jacques Sernas and sometimes credited as Jack Sernas, was a Lithuanian-born French actor with an international film career. Biography He was born in Kaunas, Lithuania, ...

and

Marisa Merlini Marisa Merlini (6 August 1923 – 27 July 2008) was an Italian character actress active in Italy's post-World War II cinema. Merlini appeared in over fifty films during her career, which spanned from World War II to 2005. In Luigi Comencini's 1953 ...

.Borin p.72 The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Luigi Ricci while the score was composed by

Nino Rota Giovanni Rota Rinaldi (; 3 December 1911 – 10 April 1979), better known as Nino Rota (), was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor and academic who is best known for his film scores, notably for the films of Federico Fellini and Luchino Visco ...

Plot

Italy in the early 1950s. Five children whose parents died in World War II live in the dilapidated basement of an old apartment building. One night, Virgola, the youngest of them, discovers several boxes in an adjoining room, all of which are filled with 1,000 lira bills. The boys, who have suddenly become infinitely rich, decide not to tell any adults their secret, but soon have to realize that they cannot do without an adult to manage the money and shop for them. So they take Mario, a pickpocket, into their midst. Although Mario originally only wanted the boys' money and wanted to steal from them, the children's genuine affection and trust transforms him into a better person. He is now making every effort to break away from his shady and criminal cronies in order to start a new life. Then he and the children become secret benefactors. They help and give gifts to the poor, the elderly, and above all to the children of the city. Eventually, they leave all the money to the nuns at a hospital. After Mario was able to free himself from his past, he married an acquaintance of the children. Everyone is happy and content now.

Cast

Enzo Cerusico Enzo Cerusico (22 October 1937 – 26 November 1991) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1951 and 1984. Career in the United States Cerusico's first role on American television was in a 1966 episode of ''I ...

as Il Capo *

Giancarlo Nicotra Giancarlo Nicotra (30 April 1944 – 12 June 2013), sometimes spelled Gian Carlo Nicotra, was an Italian television writer, director and actor. Biography Born in Rome, Nicotra was the son of the actors Mariannina Libassi and Antonio Nicotra. H ...

as Virgola * Giampiero Sciommari as Sonno *

Nicola Gallo Nicola may refer to: People * Nicola (name), including a list of people with the given name or, less commonly, the surname **Nicola (artist) or Nicoleta Alexandru, singer who represented Romania at the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest * Nicola people ...

as Ta-Tà * Ciccio Jacono as Carnera *

as Mario *

as Lisa *

as Gianna *

Nico Pepe Nico Pepe (19 January 1917 – 13 August 1987) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1936 and 1981. Selected filmography * '' The Two Sergeants'' (1936) * ''The Cavalier from Kruja'' (1940) * '' Captain Fraca ...

as Giuseppe *

Virgilio Riento Virgilio Riento (29 November 1889 – 7 September 1959) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 108 films between 1936 and 1959. Selected filmography * ''Sette giorni all'altro mondo'' (1936) - Man on train * ''Il signor Max'' (1937) - P ...

as Cecco

References

Bibliography

* Borin, Fabrizio. ''La filmografia di Nino Rota''. L.O. Olschki, 1999.

External links

* 1952 films Films scored by Nino Rota 1950s Italian-language films Films directed by Carlo Borghesio Italian drama films 1952 drama films Italian black-and-white films 1950s Italian films {{1950s-Italy-film-stub