Aging small-time conman Augusto works with two younger men: Roberto, who desires to become the Italian Johnny Ray, and Carlo, nicknamed Picasso. Through a series of mishaps and personal entanglements, things go badly for Augusto.
Acting
Broderick Crawford's crushing physicality as a broken man pretending.
Cinematography
Otello Martelli's shadows eat these characters alive.
Direction
Fellini's last neorealist gasp before the dreamscape took over.
Director
Federico Fellini
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Fellini fought producers to cast Crawford, an American, insisting his foreignness amplified Augusto's isolation. Italian critics initially hated it.
IT
