''Bread, Love and Dreams'' () is a 1953 Italian romantic comedy film directed by

Luigi Comencini Luigi Comencini (; 8 June 1916 – 6 April 2007) was an Italian film director. Together with Dino Risi, Ettore Scola, and Mario Monicelli, he was considered among the masters of the "commedia all'italiana" genre. His daughters Cristina Comencin ...

. At the 4th Berlin International Film Festival it won the

Silver Bear The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

award. In 2008, the film was included on the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage’s 100 Italian films to be saved, a list of 100 films that "have changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978".

Plot

The film is set in Sagliena, an imaginary small town in central Italy; Marshal Antonio Carotenuto, an elderly womanizer who will have to adapt to the monotonous and quiet life of the village, is transferred here immediately after the war. Supported by the maid Caramella, the marshal runs the local

Carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign poli ...

station. Here he meets "Pizzicarella la Bersagliera", a young local girl secretly in love with the carabiniere Stelluti. At first the marshal tries to get engaged to the "Bersagliera", as Paoletta, the sacristan of the parish, is in love with the carabiniere Stelluti, but the latter is actually in love with the Bersagliera and wants her mother to know her. So, thanks to the intervention of Don Emidio, who informs the marshal, Stelluti and the Bersagliera get engaged while the marshal, on the evening of the feast of Sant'Antonio, gets engaged to the town's midwife: Annarella.

Cast

Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Widely considered one of the most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, four of the fil ...

as Antonio Carotenuto *

Gina Lollobrigida Luigia "Gina" Lollobrigida (4 July 1927 – 16 January 2023) was an Italian actress, model, photojournalist, and sculptor. She was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and 1960s, a period in which she was an international ...

as Maria De Ritis *

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 19 ...

as Annarella Mirziano *

Virgilio Riento Virgilio Riento (29 November 1889 – 7 September 1959) was an Italian actor and comedian. He appeared in 108 films between 1936 and 1959. Life and career The son of a theatrical impresario, Riento made his debut on stage as a child, as a ...

as Don Emidio *

Tina Pica Tina Pica (31 March 1884 – 15 August 1968) was an Italian supporting actress who played character roles on stage. Her film debut came in 1935 with '' The Three-Cornered Hat''. In the 1950s, she became a celebrity thanks to her role as Caram ...

as Caramella * Maria-Pia Casilio as Paoletta *

Roberto Risso Roberto Risso (22 November 1925 – 16 November 2010) was a Swiss-born Italian film actor. Life and career Born Pietro Roberto Strub in Geneva, Risso joined the cinema industry when he was still a university student of architecture, playing a ...

as Pietro Stelluti *

Memmo Carotenuto Memmo Carotenuto (23 August 1908 – 23 December 1980) was an Italian actor. He appeared in 125 films between 1941 and 1980. Selected filmography *'' The Wedding Trip'' (1969) * '' Assassination in Rome'' (1965) * '' Male Companion'' (196 ...

as Sirio Baiocchi * Vittoria Crispo as Maria Antonia De Ritis *

Guglielmo Barnabò Guglielmo Barnabò (11 May 1888 – 31 May 1954) was an Italian stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1926 and 1954. Life and career Born in Ancona, Barnabò made his stage debut in 1921 at the Greek Theatre of S ...

as Don Concezio

Reception

''Pane, amore e fantasia'' is usually considered the most famous example of '' Pink neorealism''. The film contains what many critics regard as Gina Lollobrigida's best and most naturalistic performance.

Sequels

The film's popularity resulted in two sequels, one with Lollobrigida in 1954: ''Pane, amore e gelosia'' (''

Bread, Love and Jealousy ''Bread, Love and Jealousy'' (), known as ''Frisky'' in the US, is a 1954 Italian romantic comedy film directed by Luigi Comencini. It is the second part of the Italian trilogy, preceded by '' Bread, Love and Dreams'' and followed by '' Scanda ...

'', US title: ''Frisky'') and the open-ended ''Pane, amore e...'' (English title: '' Scandal in Sorrento'') in 1955, starring

Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress, active in her native country and the United States. With a career spanning over 70 years, she is one of the ...

in the female lead role. De Sica also reprised his role in the Spanish-set '' Bread, Love and Andalusia'' (1958).

In popular culture

The Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American sitcom television series that was aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. The series ...

, Season 5, Episode 17,

Barney Fife Bernard "Barney" Fife is a fictional character in the American television program ''The Andy Griffith Show'', portrayed by comic actor Don Knotts. Barney Fife is a deputy sheriff in the slow-paced, sleepy, southern community of Mayberry, North Ca ...

sends a letter saying he watched this movie while on vacation in Raleigh, NC. However, he calls the movie “Bread, Love and Beans” in his letter to Andy.

References

External links

* * 1953 films Italian black-and-white films 1950s Italian-language films 1953 romantic comedy films Titanus films Films directed by Luigi Comencini Films scored by Alessandro Cicognini Italian romantic comedy films 1950s Italian films {{romantic-comedy-film-stub