The Passionate Thief (1960)
"Risate di gioia" (original title)

On New Year's Eve, an insecure, struggling actress (Anna Magnani) has nothing to do. When a colleague invites her to a New Year's party, she jumps at the opportunity. Accidentally she runs ... See full summary »

Director:

Mario Monicelli

Writers:

Suso Cecchi D'Amico, Agenore Incrocci,

Stars:

Anna Magnani, Totò, Ben Gazzara

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anna Magnani	...	Gioia 'Tortorella' Fabbricotti
Totò	...	Umberto 'Infortunio' Pennazzuto
Ben Gazzara	...	Lello
Fred Clark	...	L'americano
Edy Vessel	...	La ragazza
Gina Rovere	...	Mimì
Toni Ucci	...	L'amico di Milena
Kurt Polter
Mac Ronay	...	Il guidatore della metropolitana
Alberto De Amicis
Gianni Bonagura
Rik Van Nutter
Dori Dorika	...	Milena
Peppino De Martino
Marcella Rovena

Storyline

On New Year's Eve, an insecure, struggling actress (Anna Magnani) has nothing to do. When a colleague invites her to a New Year's party, she jumps at the opportunity. Accidentally she runs into an old acting acquaintance (Toto), who is helping a professional pickpocket (Ben Gazzara) steal from people during the hustle-bustle of New Year's Eve festivities. During the course of the evening, they have numerous crazy, humorous adventures all over Rome at different parties, restaurants, and even the Trevi fountain. Magnani's character (Tortorella) falls for Gazzara's character (Lello) without knowing what he's up to, while Toto tries to placate them both.

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Plot Keywords:

party | new year's eve | trevi fountain | actress | new year's eve party | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

21 October 1960 (Italy)

Also Known As:

The Passionate Thief

Company Credits

Production Co:

Titanus

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gioia's character surname, Fabbricotti, comes from a famous Tuscan family, which owned a huge villa in Livorno (presently, it hosts the Municipal Library).

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Soundtracks

"Una zebra a pois"
Written by Lelio Luttazzi - Corciolini - Verde
Performed by Mina

User Reviews

Give me some of that old Roman misadventure

I saw this film 40 years ago as "The Passionate Thief" and it still makes me laugh when I think about it, which is often. Anna Magnani's appallingly delusional "blonde" actress is unforgettable as she, with her old standby Toto, blunder their way through this pathetic misadventure worthy of a New Year's Eve. Ben Gazzara's con man/thief is juicy and sexy enough to make any woman his accomplice, willing or accidental, and the tragic-comic tension between Ms. Magnani and the thief is pure comedy. This film really belongs in the category of Billy Wilder films and why it is not better known is beyond me. Given a choice, I would be hard pressed to decide whether The Passionate Thief or Die Fledermaus is my favorite New Year's party. I cannot recommend this film enough, especially to fans of Bunuel and Wilder.