Shoeshine (1946)

Two shoeshine boys in postwar Rome, Italy, save up to buy a horse, but their involvement as dupes in a burglary lands them in juvenile prison where the experience take a devastating toll on their friendship.

Director:

Vittorio De Sica

Writers:

Sergio Amidei (story), Adolfo Franci (story)

Stars:

Rinaldo Smordoni, Franco Interlenghi, Annielo Mele

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

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Franco Interlenghi	...	Pasquale Maggi
Rinaldo Smordoni	...	Giuseppe Filippucci
Annielo Mele	...	Raffaele (as Aniello Mele)
Bruno Ortensi	...	Arcangeli (as Bruno Ortenzi)
Emilio Cigoli	...	Staffera

Storyline

At a track near Rome, shoeshine boys are watching horses run. Two of the boys, the orphan Pasquale and his younger friend Giuseppe, are riding. The pair have been saving to buy a horse of their own to ride. The boys meet Attilio, Giuse's much older brother, and his shady friend at a boat on the Tiber. In return for a commission, the boys agree to deliver black market goods to a fortune-teller. Once the woman has paid, Attilio's gang suddenly arrives, pretending to be cops, to shake the woman down. With a payoff from Attilio, the boys are able to make the final payment and stable their horse in Trastevere over the river. The fortune-teller identifies Pasqua and Giuse. Held at an overcrowded boys' prison, they are separated. Giuse falls under the influence of an older lad in his cell, Arcangeli. During interrogation, Pasqua is tricked into betraying Giuse's brother to the police. With their trial still in the future, the two friends are driven further apart.

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Plot Keywords:

poverty | post world war two | juvenile delinquency | boy | italy | 

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Taglines:

Un milagro como no conoció el cine en los 50 años de su historia! [Spanish poster.]

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian English

Release Date:

26 August 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

Shoeshine

Filming Locations:

Scalera Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

CG Entertainment, Societa Cooperativa Alfa Cinematografica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Italian censorship visa # 533 delivered on 4-4-1946.

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Quotes

Giuseppe Filippucci: Whoever invented the elevator is a genius.
Pasquale Maggi: Tell me about it. I slept in one for three months.

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Alternate Versions

Some USA video editions are edited to suppress the full nudity in the shower scene and to minimize the subsequent fist fight between two boys.

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Connections

Referenced in Bye Bye Braverman (1968)

User Reviews

Heartwrenching commentary on impoverished children's lives, on friendship, corruption and betrayal

Since I enrolled in International Cinema at my university, I've had the opportunity to see classic foreign films in the theatre, and it's really opened me up to the genre. I'd have to say that this movie (Shoeshine, in English) struck me as one of the most powerful I've seen yet, a sad, bleak commentary on children's lives in postwar Italy. Shoeshine dealswith a pair of children living on the street, best friends who shine shoes for a living and whose greatest dream is to buy a horse, something they could actually take care of and call their own. Pasquale, the older boy, and Giuseppe, the younger, are drawn into a situation they don't quite understand the weight of. Not knowing that the Italian society is chaotic after the war (when children under ten years old are put into prison for crimes like vagrancy), Pasquale and Giuseppe are coerced into doing a favor for Giuseppe's brother, Attilio Filipucci -- they are to bring and sell smuggled American blankets to a lady fortune-teller for the Filipucci family's profit.

Without warning, police appear at the fortune-teller's house, and question her. The boys are paid not to say anything, and are paid just enough to pool their money and buy the horse. Unfortunately, the fortune-teller has the boys taken from the street and into police custody, where, though claiming not to know anything, are fingerprinted and thrown into a juvenile prison. The prison and events that occur in it force the best friends apart, and the previously light-hearted story turns ugly. The boys' environment corrupts them, and innocence is quickly lost.

Directed by the famous Vittorio De Sica, and with Cesare Zavattini doing his trademark poetic screenplay, Shoeshine definitely deserves its place as one of the first foreign films to with the Oscar of the same name. The Neo-realist De Sica does include some comic relief in the movie, and it's not all serious and depressing... The line from Giuseppe to Pasquale as they're walking up a flight of stairs, "Elevators sure are great," and Pasquale's answer of "Yes, I slept in one for quite a while," is one example.

To say any more would give away the story, and you simply must experience this classic for yourselves. My rating: 9/10.