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

Complete credited cast:
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 | old man | 

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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:

Umberto D.

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Gross USA:

$71,816

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$71,816

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

The film has been restored by Mediaset (Italy's biggest private television company) and presented again in theaters in New York, Rome and Milan in 1999.

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Goofs

In the kitchen of the landlady, when Umberto is chatting with the maid, she makes fire with a newspaper to get rid of the ants. After a few moments, we see that the newspaper is almost completely on fire, but in the next shot, less than half of the newspaper is on fire.

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Quotes

Maria, la servetta: Can you see anything, Mr. Umberto?
Umberto Domenico Ferrari: No, nothing.
Maria, la servetta: You can a little. Did you know I'm pregnant?
Umberto Domenico Ferrari: My God. And you say it just like that?
Maria, la servetta: How do you want me to say it?

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Connections

Referenced in Jackal of Nahueltoro (1969)

User Reviews

Neorealist Classic (A story of an old man and his dog)

Umberto D was made towards the end of the Neo-realist period in Italian cinema, following on from Roma Citta Aperta (1945),Riso Amaro (Bitter Rice 1946),Paisa (Paisan 1946) and Ladri di Biciclette (The Bicycle Thieves 1948). Many critics see Umberto D has the finest example of the genre and Vittorio de Sica, the director, himself considered it to be his best work. Set in post-war Italy, it is the story of a retired public worker, trying to survive on a meagre state pension and being threatened with eviction from his landlady. His only friends are his small dog 'Flick' and his landlady's young maid Maria who has just discovered she is pregnant. Filled with despair over his situation he finally contemplates suicide.

The film sticks firmly to the neorealist conventions; the lead actor is a non professional actor (a college Professor who agreed to play the role), the use of studio sets is kept to minimum and the everyday lives of people are examined in minute detail. One could say that for long parts of the film nothing much happens, for instance when we follow Maria's early morning routine of grinding some coffee, but from these detailed vignettes, we learn a great deal of the thoughts feelings and emotions of the characters. These sequences are why it is a great film. The acting is wonderful, the impossible situations of the old man and of the unmarried but pregnant Maria are really brought to life for the audience. Although a tragic tale it does include many moments of humour and the ending although non-committal is uplifting. All in all a classic.