''Love in the City'' ( it, L'amore in città) is a 1953 Italian anthology film composed of six segments, each with its own writer or director. The anthology consists of the following episodes: * ''Paid Love'' written and directed by

Carlo Lizzani Carlo Lizzani (3 April 1922 – 5 October 2013) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and critic. Biography Born in Rome, before World War II Lizzani worked as a scenarist on such films as Roberto Rossellini's '' Germany Year Zero' ...

* ''Attempted Suicide'' by Michelangelo Antonioni * ''Paradise for Three Hours'' by

Dino Risi Dino Risi (23 December 1916 – 7 June 2008) was an Italian film director. With Mario Monicelli, Luigi Comencini, Nanni Loy and Ettore Scola, he was one of the masters of ''commedia all'italiana''. Biography Risi was born in Milan. He had an o ...

* ''Marriage Agency'' written and directed by Federico Fellini * ''Story of Caterina'' by

Francesco Maselli Francesco Maselli or Citto Maselli (born 9 December 1930, in Rome) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. He has directed 38 films since 1949. Biography Maselli graduated at the National Film School in 1949 and began his career as assist ...

and

Cesare Zavattini Cesare Zavattini (20 September 1902 – 13 October 1989) was an Italian screenwriter and one of the first theorists and proponents of the Neorealist movement in Italian cinema. Biography Born in Luzzara near Reggio Emilia in northern Italy, ...

* ''Italians Stare'' written and directed by Alberto Lattuada

Synopsis

Under the aegis of Cesare Zavattini, precursor and theoretician of neorealism, the various authors of this film with sketches try to reconstitute according to the testimonies of the protagonists themselves various aspects of love in the city, most often tragic: young women impregnated and immediately abandoned, young prostitutes, a young unemployed mother who has to abandon her child in the middle of the street, a young girl from a family of nine children and poor parents, ready to marry any man, even the sick, to flee misery... A bit of the sad observation of the pre-abortion period of the 1950s? And even the sexual frustration of ordinary men eager to insistently detail pretty women on the street. With this darkness, we are the opposite of Italian comedy sketch films like "The Monsters", "The Dolls" or "Boccaccio 70". The different films are characteristic of the obsessions and the artistic way of the different authors at the time.

Attempted suicide

Young women who have tried to commit suicide for love tell their stories in front of Michelangelo Antonioni's camera placed in front of a white sheet.

A marriage agency

Federico Fellini imagines a journalist who investigates a marriage agency by pretending to be a friend of a wealthy patient who wants to get married.

The Italians turn around

Report by Alberto Lattuada on the reactions of men to the passage of pretty women.

Catherine's Story

An investigation reconstructed by

and

on a woman forced to abandon her child and who does everything to find him.

The Saturday Night Ball

films with tenderness and irony an evening at the ball.

The love we pay

A documentary on Roman prostitutes filmed by

. The film was censored and deleted in retail releases.

Cast

;''Paid Love'' ;''Attempted Suicide'' * Rita Josa * Rosanna Carta * Enrico Pelliccia * Donatella Marrosu * Paolo Pacetti * Nella Bertuccioni * Lilia Nardi * Lena Rossi * Maria Nobili ;''Paradise for Three Hours'' *

Luisella Boni Luisella Boni (born 24 July 1935) is an Italian actress. Born in Como, Lombardy as Luisa Angela Bozzo, Boni debuted in 1952 in Bernard Vorhaus' film '' Finishing School''. One of the most active actresses in Italian cinema between the early fif ...

;''Marriage Agency'' *

Antonio Cifariello Antonio Cifariello (19 May 1930 – 12 December 1968) was an Italian actor and documentarist. Life and career Born in Naples, son of the sculptor Filippo Cifariello, Antonio started his career in 1950 as the main actor, credited as Fabio ...

as Giornalista * Livia Venturini * Maresa Gallo * Angela Pierro * Rita Andreana * Lia Natali ;''Story of Caterina'' * Caterina Rigoglioso ;''Italians Stare'' * Marisa Valenti * Marco Ferreri * Mario Bonotti

References

External links

* L'Amore in Citta Films directed by Dino Risi Films directed by Alberto Lattuada Films directed by Francesco Maselli 1950s Italian-language films 1953 films Films with screenplays by Federico Fellini Films with screenplays by Cesare Zavattini Films scored by Mario Nascimbene Italian anthology films Italian black-and-white films 1950s Italian films {{1950s-Italy-film-stub