Bicycle Thieves (1948)

In post-war Italy, a working-class man's bicycle is stolen. He and his son set out to find it.

Director:

Vittorio De Sica

Writers:

Cesare Zavattini (story), Luigi Bartolini (novel)

Stars:

Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell

Top Rated Movies #97 | Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 18 wins.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Lamberto Maggiorani	...	Antonio
Enzo Staiola	...	Bruno
Lianella Carell	...	Maria
Elena Altieri	...	The Charitable Lady
Gino Saltamerenda	...	Baiocco
Giulio Chiari	...	The Beggar
Vittorio Antonucci	...	The Thief
Michele Sakara	...	Secretary of the Charity Organization
Fausto Guerzoni	...	Amateur Actor
Emma Druetti
Carlo Jachino	...	A Beggar

Storyline

Ricci, an unemployed man in the depressed post-WWII economy of Italy, gets at last a good job - for which he needs a bike - hanging up posters. But soon his bicycle is stolen. He and his son walk the streets of Rome, looking for the bicycle. Ricci finally manages to locate the thief but with no proof, he has to abandon his cause. But he and his son know perfectly well that without a bike, Ricci won't be able to keep his job.

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Plot Keywords:

thief | theft | despair | church | chase | 

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Taglines:

The Prize Picture They Want to Censor!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

13 December 1949 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bicycle Thieves

Filming Locations:

Via del Gran Paradiso, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$133,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,845, 4 October 1998, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$36,818, 31 December 2009

Company Credits

Production Co:

Produzioni De Sica (PDS),Produzioni De Sica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lamberto Maggiorani was very shy and embarrassed throughout the shooting as he had no actor training or would often become anxious when he couldn't do what Vittorio De Sica wanted him to do. The director, however, did not coddle him because he knew Maggiorani's real anxiety and nervousness before the camera would work well for his on-screen character. De Sica would later praise Maggiorani, saying "The way he moved, the way he sat down, his gestures with his hands hardened from work, the hands of a working man, not of an actor...I made him promise that after the film he would forget the cinema and would go back to his job." But during the filming, De Sica would still send a black limousine to pick Maggiorani up and bring him to the day's location.

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Goofs

[All goofs for this title are spoilers.]

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Quotes

Antonio Ricci: You live and you suffer.

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Connections

Edited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Fatale beauté (1994)

User Reviews

The true point of the film

....is the relationship of the father and son.

Watch the film with your focus on the son, not the father. Watch what happens to the boy, what he sees, how he is influenced, his point of view. The father is so preoccupied with the bicycle he fails to see what is happening to his son. This is the strength of the film. Watch the boy.