Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958)
Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958)
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Currently Big Deal on Madonna Street is available for streaming online, rent, buy or watch for free on: Criterion Channel
Streaming in:🇺🇸 United States
This Movie Is About.
Cast & Crew.
Vittorio Gassman
Giuseppe 'Peppe er Pantera' Baiocchi
Marcello Mastroianni
Tiberio Braschi
Renato Salvatori
Mario Angeletti
Totò
Dante Cruciani
Memmo Carotenuto
Cosimo Proietti
Rossana Rory
Norma
Carla Gravina
Nicoletta
Claudia Cardinale
Carmelina Nicosia
Carlo Pisacane
Pierluigi 'Capannelle'
Italo Calvino
Writer
Gina Rovere
Teresa, wife of Tiberio
Tiberio Murgia
Michele 'Ferribotte' Nicosia
Gina Amendola
una delle tre 'mamme' di Mario
Mario Monicelli
Director
Agenore Incrocci
Writer
Elvira Tonelli
una delle tre 'mamme' di Mario
Furio Scarpelli
Writer
Elena Fabrizi
una delle tre 'mamme' di Mario
Pasquale Misiano
Massimo
Suso Cecchi d'Amico
Writer
Renato Terra
Eladio
Franco Cristaldi
Producer
Aldo Trifiletti
Fernando, il portiere dello stabile di Nicoletta
Nino Marchetti
Luigi, l'impiegato del banco dei pegni
Piero Umiliani
Composer
Gianni Di Venanzo
Cinematographer
Mario De Simone
il ricettatore
Mario Feliciani
il commissario di polizia
Adriana Novelli
Editor
Mimmo Poli
un carcerato
Piero Gherardi
ProductionDesigner
Gustavo Serena
il guardiano dell'orfanotrofio
Media.
Details.
Release DateJuly 26, 1958
Original NameI soliti ignoti
StatusReleased
Running Time1h 46m
Filming LocationsRome, Italy
Genres
Wiki.
Big Deal on Madonna Street (Italian: I soliti ignoti; released as Persons Unknown in the UK) is a 1958 Italian comedy caper film directed by Mario Monicelli. Regarded as one of the masterpieces of Italian cinema, the film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.
The plot revolves around a group of small-time thieves attempting to burglarize a pawn shop in Rome, resulting in a series of comedic mishaps. The main characters, portrayed by Vittorio Gassman, Renato Salvatori, Carlo Pisacane, Tiberio Murgia, and Marcello Mastroianni, collectively navigate the pitfalls of their ill-fated heist. The film contributed significantly to the careers of Gassman and Mastroianni, with the former breaking into comedic roles previously considered unsuitable for him.
Claudia Cardinale makes a minor appearance in the film, playing a chaste Sicilian girl constrained by her overbearing brother, portrayed by Murgia. Cardinale would later achieve fame for her subsequent work. The film's breezy jazz score by composer Piero Umiliani is also noteworthy, contributing to the development of the jazz soundtracks characteristic of European films in the 1960s and 1970s.
Initially doubtful about the film's potential success, the producers strategically featured the renowned comedian Totò on the original poster to generate audience intrigue. Despite being cast for comic relief, Totò's character opts to serve as a consultant to the heist gang instead of directly joining them.
In 2008, Big Deal on Madonna Street was included in the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage's list of 100 Italian films to be saved, acknowledging its impact on the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978.