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

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

There are two dogs used in the film. The trained one has a black head and its right side is white. Another dog, with a white muzzle and a black spot on its right flank, is used in two scenes - firstly, when Umberto is hiding from the police after the demonstration and, secondly, when he reclaims Flike from the pound.

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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

Umberto Domenico Ferrari: During the war she called me Grandpa. I gave her some meat from time to time. After the war she went crazy. She even hates my dog. If you saw my dog, you'd know it's impossible to hate him.

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Connections

Remade as Un homme et son chien (2008)

User Reviews

An obedient dog is a man's best friend.

Vittorio De Sica once remarked that why should film makers go in search of extraordinary events when in the course of their daily lives they are confronted with ordinary events of extraordinary beauty.This statement sums best the very essence of this Neorealist classic. Umberto D directed by the master Italian filmmaker Vittorio De Sica is a sad albeit ordinary tale of the loss of human values in Italian society after the end of second world war.Everything about the leading character Umberto D is told in an ordinary indeed prosaic manner.It is rather bizarre but mention must also be made of the poor light in which women characters have been shown.This is due to the fact that in Umberto D,both the grumpy landlady and unmarried pregnant girl representing loss of moral values are women characters directly associated with the old man.The great thing about Umberto D is its canine protagonist named Flike who serves his master so well that he even prepares to die for his master's sake.In Umberto D, by showing a faithful dog who remains loyal to his old master,Vittorio De Sica has rightly depicted that animals are more truthful than some human beings.