Two small-town dancers get their big Broadway break from American GIs — then the war marches on.
The lives of two local professional dancers change suddenly as American soldiers stop in their town hoping to be entertained in accordance with the Broadway style. Effectively, they perform up to their expectations. However, as the army men have to march northward, their moment of glory finishes heartlessly.
Acting
Monica Vitti's luminous, heartbreaking final scenes.
Production
Sordi's meticulous recreation of 1940s variety theatre.
Score
Gianni Ferrio's jazz-orchestra hybrid that seduces then abandons you.
Director
Alberto Sordi
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Vanda Osiris's final scene uses her actual 1940s archival footage; Sordi insisted on no recreation.
The film satirizes Italy's complicated relationship with American liberation — glamour that liberates then leaves.
IT
