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 ...

---

Plot Keywords:

dog | rent | landlady | pension | old man | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

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

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,664, 17 May 2002, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$74,308, 22 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

This is the first and only film for non-actor Carlo Battisti, who plays the leading role in the film. His real occupation was that of a Professor of Linguistics at the Università degli Studi di Firenze.

---

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.

---

Quotes

Umberto Domenico Ferrari: She's hoping I'll die, but I'm not going to.

---

Connections

Referenced in Trumbo (2015)

User Reviews

Have A Good Cry

An elderly retired civil servant in Rome is about to be forced onto the streets due to the loss of his pension, with only his little dog to comfort him. I'm not even a dog lover and this movie STILL got to me. I rented this on video when I was in high school and my mom ended up watching it with me. The ending (which I won't spoil for those who haven't seen it yet) is the only time I can remember when we have both been crying at the same time during a movie. This is truly a beautiful film and I have to see again soon.