''The Bandit'' ( it, Il Bandito) is a 1946

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

film directed by Alberto Lattuada and starring

Anna Magnani Anna Maria Magnani (; 7 March 1908 – 26 September 1973) was an Italian actress.Obituary ''Variety'', 3 October 1973, pg. 47 She was known for her explosive acting and earthy, realistic portrayals of characters. Born in Rome, she worked her ...

Amedeo Nazzari Amedeo Nazzari (10 December 1907 in Cagliari – 5 November 1979 in Rome) was an Italian actor. Nazzari was one of the leading figures of Italian classic cinema, often considered a local variant of the Australian–American star Errol Flynn. Al ...

and

Carla Del Poggio Carla Del Poggio (2 December 1925 – 14 October 2010) was an Italian cinema, theatre, and television actress. Biography Born Maria Luisa Attanasio in Naples, she was the wife of Italian director Alberto Lattuada for 60 years, from 2 April 194 ...

. It was shot on location in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

. Nazzari won the

Nastro d'Argento The Nastro d'Argento, also known by its translated name Silver Ribbon, is an Italian film award awarded each year since 1946 by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists (Italian: ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani ...

as Best Actor for his performance. The film was entered into the

1946 Cannes Film Festival The 1st annual Cannes Film Festival was held from 20 September to 5 October 1946. Twenty-one countries presented their films at the "First Cannes International Film Festival", which took place at the former Casino of Cannes. Only one year after t ...

Plot

A contingent of Italian prisoners of war arrive on a train from Germany after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The city where Ernesto (played by Nazzari) lives has been bombed, his mother is dead and his sister has gone missing. State help for returning veterans is scant and bureaucracy rampant. Ernesto tries to get an honest job, but fails. After finding a lost purse and meeting the dangerously seductive Lidia (played by Anna Magnani), Ernesto discovers the whereabouts of his lost sister (played by Carla del Poggio), who has turned to prostitution to survive during the war years. He unwittingly causes her death, kills her pimp, escapes capture with Lidia's help and joins her gangster band.

Cast

as Lidia *

as Ernesto *

as Maria * Carlo Campanini as Carlo *Eliana Banducci as Rosetta *

Mino Doro Mino Doro (6 May 1903 – 13 April 1992) was an Italian actor who appeared in more than a hundred films between 1932 and 1970. Doro generally played supporting and character roles. He appeared as a blackshirt in the 1934 Fascist propaganda fi ...

as Mirko *

Folco Lulli Folco Lulli (3 July 1912 – 23 May 1970) was an Italian partisan and film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1946 and 1970. He was the brother of actor Piero Lulli. Selected filmography * ''How I Lost the War'' (1947) * ' ...

as Andrea * Mario Perrone as Il gobbo * Amato Garbini as Il tenutario * Gianni Appelius as Signorina * Ruggero Madrigali as Il negriero * Thea Aimaretti as Tecla, la padrona * Alessandro Tedeschi as Stefano Albertini

References

Bibliography

* Gundle, Stephen. ''Fame Amid the Ruins: Italian Film Stardom in the Age of Neorealism''. Berghahn Books, 2019. * Reeves, Nicholas. ''The Power of Film Propaganda: Myth or Reality?''. Continuum, 2003.

External links

* 1946 films Italian World War II films 1940s Italian-language films Films set in Italy 1946 crime drama films Italian black-and-white films Social realism in film Films directed by Alberto Lattuada Films set in Turin Films shot in Turin Lux Film films Italian crime drama films 1940s Italian films {{1940s-Italy-film-stub