The Machine That Kills Bad People (1952)
"La macchina ammazzacattivi" (original title)

A demon bestows on a self-righteous working photographer's camera the power to smite from the Earth "evil-doers". Naturally, the indignant photographer turns his new weapon on, one by one, ... See full summary »

Director:

Roberto Rossellini

Writers:

Sergio Amidei, Giancarlo Vigorelli,

Stars:

Gennaro Pisano, Marilyn Buferd, William Tubbs

Cast

Cast overview:
Gennaro Pisano	...	Celestino Esposito
Marilyn Buferd	...	Ragazza americana / American Tourist
William Tubbs	...	Padre della ragazza americana / American Tourist (as Bill Tubbs)
Helen Tubbs	...	Madre della ragazza americana / American Tourist
Giovanni Amato	...	Sindaco del paese / The Mayor
Clara Bindi	...	Giulietta Del Bello
Giacomo Furia	...	Romano Cuccurullo
Joseph Falletta
Pietro Carloni
Camillo Buonanni
Aldo Giuffrè
Aldo Nanni
Gaio Visconti
Carlo Giuffrè

Storyline

A demon bestows on a self-righteous working photographer's camera the power to smite from the Earth "evil-doers". Naturally, the indignant photographer turns his new weapon on, one by one, his entire village, beginning with the wealthy or illustrious. Soon, the poor he is so supposedly so enamored of become his victims too, so rife with impatience and contempt is he, that the slightest flaw is cause for smiting. Inevitably, he embarks on a task to destroy everyone.

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Plot Keywords:

demon | photograph | murder | coffin | beach | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian English

Release Date:

14 May 1952 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Machine to Kill Bad People

Filming Locations:

Amalfi, Salerno, Campania, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tevere Film, Universalia Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Censorship visa # 115999 delivered in 11-3-1952.

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Connections

Featured in Jolanda e Rossellini (1995)

User Reviews

The Rossellini Touch

Rossellini had a wry sense of humor that showed up particularly in L'AMORE and his life of Francis of Assisi. Unfortunately for him, film making is a commercial art, and when people want to see a film by Roberto Rossellini, they want a drama. So this comedy, which owes a lot to E.T.A. Hoffman and Ernst Lubitsch (the preface even borrows from Lubitsch' DIE PUPPE) confounded the audiences. They expected a serious, small scale tragedy, and so didn't laugh. They stayed away and the film vanished for almost half a century. If you wanted a black comedy, you went to see a Billy Wilder film. Rossellini went back to doing what his audiences expected of him.

It's a pity. This is not a ground-breaking film for Rossellini, but it is a beautifully photographed and well-acted comedy with some wonderful pick-up shots.

If you see this movie, I suggest that you go in without any expectation of seeing a Rossellini film. Just give it the chance that you would give a film by some one you've never heard of before. On those terms, I expect you'll enjoy it a lot.

Aren't those the terms we should offer every movie?