I Vitelloni  

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I Vitelloni (1953) is an Italian comedy drama film directed by Federico Fellini. The plot was initially written by Ennio Flaiano and was based on the life of a group of young men in Pescara (Flaiano's hometown). Fellini decided to adapt the plot of the movie in his hometown of Rimini that, like Pescara, is a small coastal town on the Adriatic Sea.

The film centers around a group of five young men in the small town: skirt chaser Fausto, intellectual Leopoldo, child-like Alberto, thoughtful and mature Moraldo, and background player Riccardo.

This was Federico Fellini's first successful motion picture after the critical and commercial flop of his second film The White Sheik (1952). It also brought Alberto Sordi to fame, who had suffered from his title role in The White Sheik.

Plot

The film opens with a beach-side beauty pageant. The winner, Sandra (Leonora Ruffo), suddenly becomes upset and faints, and it is revealed that she is pregnant. The father is skirt chaser Fausto (Franco Fabrizi), who, under pressure from his father, has little choice other than to marry her. After the wedding and honeymoon, Fausto gets a job and settles down with Sandra.

He cannot give up his old ways, though, and constantly pursues other women, sometimes even in his wife's presence. After he has a one-night stand with an actress, Sandra gets fed up with this and takes the baby and runs away.

Fausto and the other guys go on a desperate search across the countryside for her. In the end, Fausto is reunited with his wife and child, and all is well.

As this is going on, the other members of the group are involved in various other activities: Moraldo, Sandra's brother, uncomfortably observes Fausto's womanizing as he ponders his own existence; Alberto has some difficulties at home with his sister, Olga, who is dating a married man; and Leopoldo writes a play which he discusses with Sergio Natali, an eccentric favourite actor of his.

Background

At the end of the film, when Moraldo is saying good-bye to the young boy from the train, his line, "Good-bye, Guido" is actually the dubbed voice of Fellini. It is believed that he did this to emphasize the fact that the film was autobiographical.

Fellini had to fight with the producers in order to cast Alberto Sordi in this film. After The White Sheik it was believed that the general public had no interest in this actor, and that his face on the posters would be bad for ticket sales. Fellini also had to fight with Alberto Sordi himself since the actor had decided to leave movies altogether and pursue his stage career instead. After I vitelloni was released the audience fell in love with his performance and from there began the career of one of post-war Italy's most significant and popular comedians.

Title

According to Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle, the film's title literally translates to "big calves", in reference to the protagonists, who, although thirty-somethings, and therefore old enough to be considered "oxen", still haven't settled down nor found a job nor have any intention of doing so, and therefore still act like very old (or "big") "calves".

However, the filmmakers also intended a pun on vudellone, meaning "large intestine". In a 1971 letter, Ennio Flaiano, who co-wrote the screenplay with Fellini and Tullio Pinelli, wrote, "I believe the term is a corruption of the word vudellone, the big intestine, or a person who eats a lot. It was a way of describing the family son who only ate but never 'produced' - like an intestine, waiting to be filled." This explanation was confirmed by Tullio Pinelli in a 2001 filmed research interview for the documentary, Fellini: I'm a Born Liar (2002); Pinelli explained that the "dialectical neologism 'vitellone' was based on 'vudellone' which meant a 'large intestine' in Pescara, Flaiano's hometown."

Cast

• Franco Interlenghi as Moraldo Rubini
• Alberto Sordi as Alberto
• Franco Fabrizi as Fausto Moretti
• Leopoldo Trieste as Leopoldo Vannucci
• Riccardo Fellini as Riccardo
• Leonora Ruffo as Sandra Rubini
• Jean Brochard as Il signore Francesco Moretti, padre di Fausto
• Claude Farell as Olga, sorella di Alberto
• Carlo Romano as Il signore Michele Curti
• Enrico Viarisio as Il signore Rubini, padre di Moraldo e Sandra
• Paola Borboni as La signora Rubini, madre di Moraldo e Sandra
• Lída Baarová as La signora Giulia Curti
• Arlette Sauvage as La sconosciuta del cinema
• Vira Silenti as Gisella, la 'cinesina'
• Maja Nipora as Caterina, la soubrette

Critical reception

When the film was re-released in 2003 a slew of critics once again reviewed the film. Mick LaSalle, who writes for the San Francisco Chronicle, said, "It's a film of sensitivity, observation and humor - a must-see for Fellini enthusiasts and a worthwhile investment for everyone else. Those less taken by the maestro may find I vitelloni to be a favorite among his works." The Chicago Tribune's critic Michael Wilmington was happy the film had been re-released, and wrote, "In Italy, this remains one of Fellini's most consistently loved movies. It should be in America as well - a mistake one hopes will be rectified by the newly restored re-release by Kino International opening Friday at the Music Box. If you still remember that terrific drunk scene, Alberto Sordi's pre-Some Like It Hot drag tango or the way the little boy balances on the train track at the end, you should know that this picture plays as strongly now as it did in 1956 or whenever you first saw it. I know I had a ball watching I vitelloni again. It reminded me of the old gang."

Distribution

The film was first presented at the Venice Film Festival on August 26, 1953. It opened wide in the country on September 17, 1953. In France it opened on April 23, 1954.

In the United States it opened wide on November 7, 1956. The picture was re-released in various countries in mid 2003.

Awards

Wins

• Venice Film Festival: Silver Lion; Federico Fellini; 1953.
• Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists: Silver Ribbon; Best Director, Federico Fellini; Best Producer; Best Supporting Actor, Alberto Sordi; 1954.

Nominations

• Venice Film Festival: Golden Lion; Federico Fellini; 1953.
• Academy Awards: Oscar; Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen, Federico Fellini (screenplay/story), Ennio Flaiano (screenplay/story) and Tullio Pinelli (story); 1958.