Umberto D. (1952)

An elderly man and his dog struggle to survive on his government pension in Rome.

Director:

Vittorio De Sica

Writer:

Cesare Zavattini (story and screenplay)

Stars:

Carlo Battisti, Maria Pia Casilio, Lina Gennari

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
Carlo Battisti	...	Umberto Domenico Ferrari
Maria Pia Casilio	...	Maria
Lina Gennari	...	Antonia Belloni
Ileana Simova	...	La donna nella camera di Umberto
Elena Rea	...	La suora all' ospedale
Memmo Carotenuto	...	Il degente all' ospedale

Storyline

Umberto Ferrari, aged government-pensioner, attends a street demonstration held by his fellow pensioners. The police dispense the crowd and Umberto returns to his cheap furnished room which he shares with his dog Flick. Umberto's lone friend is Maria, servant of the boarding house. She is a simple girl who is pregnant by one of two soldiers and neither will admit to being the father. When Umberto's landlady Antonia demands the rent owed her and threatens eviction if she is not paid, Umberto tries desperately to raise the money by selling his books and watch. He is too proud to beg in the streets and can not get a loan from any of his acquaintances. He contracts a sore throat, is admitted to a hospital and this puts a delay on his financial difficulty. Discharged, he finds that his dog is gone and, following a frantic search, locates him in the city dog pound. His room has been taken over by the landlady and the now-homeless Unberto determines to find a place for his beloved dog, and ...

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Plot Keywords:

dog | rent | landlady | pension | hospital | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

7 November 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

Humberto D.

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$1,664 (USA) (17 May 2002)

Gross:

$74,308 (USA) (20 September 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rizzoli Film, Produzione Films Vittorio De Sica, Amato Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Non-actress Maria Pia Casilio, who plays the role of the house maid in the film, got the part when she accompanied a friend to see the real actresses competing for the film's audition. Director Vittorio De Sica spotted her in the balcony and knew she was exactly what he was looking for in the role. Maria went on to work with De Sica in three other films. She continued to work in films until the late 1990s.

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Goofs

The position of Umberto's bag on the seat changes between the scenes whilst he is trying to give Flike way and when he returns from the railway line.

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Quotes

Umberto Domenico Ferrari: Listen, you need to leave as well. There are lots of jobs in Rome. Don't stay here.
Maria, la servetta: She'll kick me out the minute she finds out I'm pregnant.
Umberto Domenico Ferrari: Can't you go back to your hometown?
Maria, la servetta: My father would beat me.

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Connections

Referenced in The Artist (2011)

User Reviews

humanist film-making

There's an old guy in my family. He's down on his luck. If you try to help him, he uses it as a quick fix and soon goes back to his old ways. He's cantankerous, self-obsessed, contrary. He can light up your day with moments of genuine kindness and cutting humour. People he used to work with would come by now and again when he retired, but gradually they drifted away, leaving him all alone. The people he comes into day-to-day contact with tend to treat him condescendingly, thinly disguising their view of him as a pest.

Every family has one such character. There is no magical solution. You can feel sorry for the guy without really liking him.

Umberto D isn't a likable character, but he is all too human. The small journey from down-at-heel to suicidal is carefully drawn in this quiet, subtle, thought-provoking film. The dog begging, the train speeding past in a whirl of dust and noise, the stranger lying to get away from Umberto's whining; these are small moments of crushing defeat for the human spirit that are finely pitched in this well-crafted film. The film may not be timeless, the score is overly-sentimental and there are jarring jump-cuts. However, the message is universal - Umberto D is an antidote to the white plight movies turned out by cookie cutters in Hollywood about rich misanthropic lawyers who have to take on bad guys. Poverty, isolation, loneliness, and a kind of redemption at the end - unfortunately, they don't make movies like this anymore.