Il bidone (1955)

English title: The Swindle

The exploits of three men who make a living out of swindling poor people out of their money. Their leader is a middle-aged man, whose relationship with his daughter becomes sort of the focal point at around midmovie.

*SPOILERS*
Second viewing. I was not very impressed. The characters act for the viewer, example: 'Carlo' is a struggling painter, so he is shown making observations about a landscape, comparing it to a Corot; Roberto is always singing (that is his intended career); etc. The film is very easy to watch and, concessions being made about the points mentioned, well directed. Another interesting aspect is the moral ambiguity of the main character, shown in the ending of the movie: he tries to be a good father even at the moral cost of fleecing both a poor family and his crime partners.
There is an allegorical level to Il bidone which I am not sure anyone has remarked. On that level, its theme is cinema itself. The criminal activity performed by the swindlers has a necessary component of staging which makes it akin to the theatrical art (and by extension to cinema). The two auxiliary members -- the would-be painter and the would-be singer -- symbolize respectively the visual and aureal artistic ideals which a cinematic work of art should aspire to. By the end of the movie they have defected the crime life, presumably to pursue their art. The older man, devoid of their assistance, must resort to other persons. It all goes wrong, signalling the fate of cinema itself should it forsake its artistic potential to focus on profit alone. The attempt to divert the money for a good cause will be curtailed by the businessmen (criminals). So, what it is saying is: when cinema becomes dominated by the business side, Art will necessarily be crushed.

Rating: 60 (down from 70)