Miracle in Milan (1951)
"Miracolo a Milano" (original title)

Once upon a time an old woman discovers a baby in her cabbage patch. She brings up the child and, when she dies, the boy, Toto, enters an orphanage. Toto leaves the orphanage a happy young ... See full summary »

Director:

Vittorio De Sica

Writers:

Cesare Zavattini (novel), Cesare Zavattini (screenplay),

Stars:

Emma Gramatica, Francesco Golisano, Paolo Stoppa

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 4 wins.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Emma Gramatica	...	La vecchia Lolotta
Francesco Golisano	...	Totò
Paolo Stoppa	...	Rappi
Guglielmo Barnabò	...	Mobbi
Brunella Bovo	...	Edvige
Anna Carena	...	Marta, la signora altezzosa
Alba Arnova	...	La statua che prende vita
Flora Cambi	...	L'innamorata infelice
Virgilio Riento	...	Il sergente delle guardie
Arturo Bragaglia	...	Alfredo
Erminio Spalla	...	Gaetano
Riccardo Bertazzolo	...	L'atleta
Checco Rissone	...	Il comandante in secondo (as Francesco Rissone)
Angelo Prioli	...	Il comandante in primo

Storyline

Once upon a time an old woman discovers a baby in her cabbage patch. She brings up the child and, when she dies, the boy, Toto, enters an orphanage. Toto leaves the orphanage a happy young man, and looks for work in post-war Milan. He ends up with the homeless and organizes them to build a shanty town in a vacant lot. The squatters discover oil in the land and Toto sees a vision of the old woman who gives him a magic dove that will grant him anything he wishes.

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Plot Keywords:

orphanage | cabbage patch | dove | magic | baby | 

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Taglines:

An impudent, riotous laugh on the lives and morals of our day!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy

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Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian English

Release Date:

17 December 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

Miracle in Milan

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ente Nazionale Industrie Cinematografiche (ENIC), Produzioni De Sica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Cesare Zavattini's original choice for the film's title was "The Poor are a Disturbance".

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Connections

Referenced in Montecarlo! (2004)

User Reviews

For True Film Lovers Only

The snobs and pseudo experts consider it "a far cry from De Sica's best" The ones suffering from a serious lack of innocence will find a problem connecting to this masterpiece. De Sica spoke in a very direct way. His Italianness doesn't have the convoluted self examination of modern Italian filmmakers, or the bitter self parody of Pietro Germi, the pungent bittersweetness of Mario Monicelli, the solemnity of Visconti or the cold observation of Antonioni. De Sica told us the stories like a father sitting at the edge of his children's bed before they went to sleep. There is no attempt to intellectualize. Miracolo A Milano and in a lesser degree Il Giudizio Universale are realistic fairy tales, or what today we call magic realism. The film is a gem from beginning to end and Toto is the sort of character that you accept with an open heart but that, naturally, requires for you to have a heart. Cinema in its purest form. Magnificent.