WATCHMOVIES RATING
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Bidone, Il aka Swindle, The 1955
An organized group of con men make their living from swindling people out of their life savings. Instead of going after those with a lot of money (presumably because they are harder to fool), the con men prey upon poor people in rural areas. In their principal con they masquerade as representatives of the church. One such criminal is Augusto, an older gentleman who is growing tired of his life. Augusto is played by Broderick Crawford, and his lines (and Richard Basehart's) were apparently dubbed into Italian. Augusto begins to realize that the money is not bringing him happiness, especially since he is making other people unhappy in the process. His partners in crime are younger, and perhaps their crass attitudes are making him realize that he, too, acted that way in his younger years. Seeing his daughter again after a long separation makes him realize the many years he has wasted.
IL BIDONE (also known as 'The Swindle") is a conventional story by Fellini standards. Except for the striking camerawork IL BIDONE has all the makings of a semi-standard American release, although the ending would have to be changed to satisfy our audiences. The last third of the film is heavy-handed and mostly predictable. Fellini really pours on the guilt. I am surprised dead puppies didn't make an appearance. No character, not even Crawford's, is very sympathetic.
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producer | Derecchi, Mario | screenwriter | Fellini, Frederico |
| musicscore | Rota, Nino |
duration | 92 |
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color | No |
sound | Yes |
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genre | drama |
country | ITALY |
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