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Big Deal on Madonna Street is a italien film of genre Comedy directed by Mario Monicelli released in USA on 30 june 1958 with Vittorio Gassman
Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958)
I Soliti ignoti
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Add to a movie listBig Deal on Madonna Street (Italian: I soliti ignoti, also released as Persons Unknown in the UK) is a 1958 Italian criminal-comedy film, directed by Mario Monicelli, and considered to be among the masterpieces of Italian cinema. Its original title translates as "the usual unknown persons", a journalistic and bureaucratic euphemism for "unidentified criminals". The film is a comedy about a group of small-time thieves and ne'er-do-wells who bungle an attempt to burgle a state-run pawn shop (Monte di Pietà in Italian) in Rome.
The main roles are played by Marcello Mastroianni, Vittorio Gassman, Renato Salvatori, Carlo Pisacane, and Tiberio Murgia. The careers of both Gassman and Mastroianni were considerably helped by the success of the film, Gassman in particular, since before then he was not deemed suitable for comedic roles. Claudia Cardinale featured in a minor role (a chaste, black-clad Sicilian girl, almost held prisoner at home by her overbearing brother, played by Tiberio Murgia); she would later rise to fame for other work. The film is also notable for its breezy jazz score by the composer Piero Umiliani, who helped develop the style of the jazz soundtracks now considered characteristic of European films in the 1960s and 1970s.
The producers were initially skeptical about the film, and used some misleading tactics to hook the public's interest, such as the original poster featuring famous comedian Totò in a prominent position even though he has only a minor role.
The film is currently distributed in Region 1 by The Criterion Collection and for the Italian market in Region 2 by 20th Century Fox.
Synopsis
A Roman small-time crook, Cosimo, is arrested for the attempted theft of a car. After he is convicted and put in prison, he starts haranguing his girlfriend and former accomplices by telling them that he has a plan for a heist but that he needs their help to be freed. In order to assure his release, they find an acquaintance named Peppe (Vittorio Gassman) with a clean criminal record to take the blame for the theft in the hope that the police will release Cosimo. They instead have both of them jailed. While Peppe is in jail, Cosimo tells him the plans for the heist of a safe in a pawnshop. Peppe then reveals that he got off merely with probation, leaving him free to pursue the heist without Cosimo, much to his chagrin.Actors
Vittorio Gassman
(Peppe il pantera)
Totò
(Dante Cruciani)
Claudia Cardinale
(Carmelina)
Marcello Mastroianni
(Tiberio)
Renato Salvatori
(Mario Angeletti)
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