De Sica teaches class in a neorealist school drama where rich meets poor.
A young student of an upper-class background who is surrounded by classmates that are of working-class backgrounds, after a novel in diary format by Enrico Bottini.
Direction
De Sica cameo as the wise, weary teacher.
Production
Authentic 1940s Roman locations and classroom dynamics.
Director
Duilio Coletti
Vittorio De Sica
Master Perboni
María Mercader
Clotilde Serra
Giorgio De Lullo
Renato Gardena
Nerio Bernardi
Major De Rossi
Arturo Bragaglia
Honorable Antonio Pestelli
Salvo Randone
Precossi's father
Augusto Mastrantoni
Don Camillo
Armando Migliari
School director
Ave Ninchi
Mrs. Serra
Luigi Pavese
Master Lari
Lamberto Picasso
School inspector
Vittorio Sanipoli
Pacetti
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
De Sica stepped in to direct after Coletti fell ill, keeping the neorealist aesthetic he pioneered in Bicycle Thieves.
Adapted from Edmondo De Amicis's 1886 novel, a foundational text in Italian education that every schoolchild once read.
IT
