An American in Rome (1954)

Nando Moriconi is a young Italian living in Rome. He is fond for everything coming from the United States. He tries to speak American-English, to wear clothes he thinks Americans wear, to ... See full summary »

Director:

Steno

Writers:

Sandro Continenza (story) (as Alessandro Continenza), Lucio Fulci (story)

Stars:

Alberto Sordi, Maria Pia Casilio, Ilse Peterson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alberto Sordi	...	Nando Moriconi
Maria Pia Casilio	...	Elvira
Ilse Peterson	...	Molly (as Ilse Petersen)
Anita Durante	...	Madre di Nando
Giulio Calì	...	Padre di Nando
Galeazzo Benti	...	Fred Buonanotte
Carlo Delle Piane	...	Cicalone Romolo
Rocco D'Assunta	...	Commissario
Ivy Nicholson	...	Amica di Molly (as Ivy Nicolson)
Charles Fawcett	...	Mr. Brooks
Caterine Alcajde	...	Ballerina dell'avanspettacolo
Archibald L. Lyall	...	Ambasciatore (as Arcibaldo Layall)
Vincenzo Talarico	...	Onorevole Borgiano
Luigi Giacosi	...	Medico
Salvo Libassi	...	Tullio, radiotecnico

Storyline

Nando Moriconi is a young Italian living in Rome. He is fond for everything coming from the United States. He tries to speak American-English, to wear clothes he thinks Americans wear, to walk like John Wayne, and to eat cornflakes with ketchup - His life is a parody of the real American way of life that he could not get. Nando's not-so-secret dream is to visit the USA, so he climbs up to the Coliseum and threats to commit suicide if the American Embassy does not give him the visa. But at this point Nando is very well known as a 'crazy-for-USA' boy and the troubles he provoked will not help him.

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Plot Keywords:

visa | embassy | italy | united states of america | post war | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

17 December 1954 (Italy)

Also Known As:

An American in Rome

Filming Locations:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Excelsa Film,Ponti - De Laurentiis Excelsa

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

In 2008, the film was selected to enter the list of the 100 Italian films to be saved (100 film italiani da salvare). The list was created with the aim to report "100 films that have changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978". The project was established by the Venice Days ("Giornate degli Autori") in the Venice Film Festival, in collaboration with Cinecittà Holding and with the support of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage.

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Goofs

A white towel covering Alberto Sordi's private area is seen at the bottom edge of the screen during the nude modeling scene.

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Connections

Featured in Ridendo e scherzando - Ritratto di un regista all'italiana (2015)

User Reviews

this film is amazing!

I find his interpretation of the young "romano" who wants to be "americano" fantastic, and although I did not like Alberto Sordi when I first came to Italy (1970) I realize I did not understand the humor or the culture, but since then I have seen many of his films , and this remains one of my favourites. It is lively, funny, relaxing, and also shows how the "americanisation" has really come about (cereals for breakfast, fast food, cars, blue jeans) which were a joke then, are everyday reality today) However one thing has however survived, the love for spaghetti by the Italians, in fact one of the scenes I prefer is when Alberto decides to destroy his huge plate of spaghetti, as I like to destroy them in the same way. It is a film that can be seen over and over again . If you want to learn more about the Italians from the "inside" Alberto sordi is the actor to follow in the last 50 years