Big Deal on Madonna Street
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| Big Deal on Madonna Street | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Mario Monicelli |
| Produced by | Franco Cristaldi |
| Written by | Furio Scarpelli Renato Salvatori Suso Cecchi d'Amico |
| Starring | Vittorio Gassman Totò Claudia Cardinale Marcello Mastroianni |
| Release date(s) | June 30, 1958 (Italy) November 22, 1960 (U.S.) |
| Running time | 111 minutes |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | Italian |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Big Deal on Madonna Street (Italian: I soliti ignoti, also released as Persons Unknown in the UK) is a 1958 Italian crime film, directed by Mario Monicelli. Its title translates as "the usual unknown persons". "Unknown persons" is a bureaucratic phrase for unidentified criminals. The film is a comedy about a group of small-time thieves and ne'er-do-wells who bungle an attempt to burglarize a state-run pawn shop called Monte di Pieta'. The main roles are played by Marcello Mastroianni, Vittorio Gassman Mario Salvatori, Carlo Pisacane and Tiberio Murgia. Both the careers of Gassman and Mastroianni were considerably helped by the film's success, especially Gassman's since up until then he was not deemed fit for comedic roles. Claudia Cardinale, featured in a minor role, started to build some fame from there.
The production was very skeptical about the movie, the original poster testifies this by featuring the then-famous comedian Totò (who actually had very brief screen time) at its center, suggesting a main role for him, and a titillating swimsuit depiction of Claudia Cardinale for added effect, while in the movie she plays the role of a black-clad sicilian girl, almost held prisoner at home by her overbearing brother Tiberio Murgia.
The film is currently distributed in Region 1 by The Criterion Collection and for the Italian market in Region 2 by 20th Century Fox.
[edit] Sequels and remakes
A sequel directed by Nanni Loy followed in 1960, reuniting the entire cast aside from Totò and Mastroianni, entitled Audace colpo dei soliti ignoti (released in English as Hold-up à la Milanaise).
Louis Malle directed an American remake called Crackers (1984).
A further sequel was directed by Amanzio Todini titled I Soliti ignoti vent'anni dopo (1987). It was released on DVD in the United States as Big Deal On Madonna Street - 20 Years Later by Koch Lorber.
[edit] External links
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