I Soliti Ignoti [Persons Unknown] ***** (1958, Vittorio Gassman, Renato Salvatori, Totò, Carlo Pisacane, Tiberio Murgia, Marcello Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinale) – Classic Movie Review 11,410

Bumbling robbers plot a heist on a pawn shop in Rome via a supposedly vacant next-door apartment, in director Mario Monicelli’s hugely engaging and charming Italian 1958 comedy caper thriller I Soliti Ignoti [Persons Unknown] [Big Deal on Madonna Street]. Cast, plot, script, direction and score are just great in a rare case of a parody being as tremendous as a brilliant original.

It stars Vittorio Gassman, Renato Salvatori, Marcello Mastroianni, Totò, Memmo Carotenuto, Claudia Cardinale, Tiberio Murgia, Carla Gravina and Rosanna Rory. The careers of Gassman and Mastroianni were boosted by the film’s unexpected success and acclaim, but Cardinale has only a minor role as a chaste Sicilian girl, held near prisoner at home by her over-protective brother (Murgia).

The five small-time thieves who plot and then bungle an attempt at burglary on a pawn shop in Rome are played by Vittorio Gassman, Renato Salvatori, Carlo Pisacane, Tiberio Murgia and Marcello Mastroianni.

The highlight is the Rififi-style supposedly meticulously planned robbery where everything that could go wrong does go wrong. The first thing that goes wrong is that the supposedly vacant apartment is actually occupied by two spinsters and a young attractive maid called Nicoletta (Carla Gravina), whom one of the gang, Peppe (Vittorio Gassman), starts to court.

But Monicelli’s film has more to offer than just a parody of Rififi: the crooks’ characterisations are delightfully vivid, from Memmo Carotenuto’s small-time Roman crook Cosimo, Vittorio Gassman’s inept boxer Peppe, Marcello Mastroianni’s photographer Tiberio, Renato Salvatori’s young petty thief Mario, Tiberio Murgia’s Sicilian crook Michele, and Carlo Pisacane’s elderly little pickpocket Capannelle to the majestic Totò as genteel local safecracker Dante Cruciani, conducting a comedy safecracking masterclass on a windy rooftop. It is super-rich in oddball characters.

[Spoiler alert] Dante does not intend join the caper to protect his parole but provides basic tools and gives the gang a burglary primer. Mario has fallen for Michele’s sister, Carmelina (Claudia Cardinale), and quits the heist at the last minutes in case he would get caught and shame his mother.

The film is also notable for its upbeat jazz score by Piero Umiliani and the very striking neorealist visuals by cinematographer Gianni di Venanzo, which add a big deal to the film. The inventively handled use of local locations throughout Rome is also vital to the film’s success.

Two US remakes: the 1984 Crackers by Louis Malle (set in San Francisco) and the 2002 Welcome to Collinwood (set in Cleveland).

Two sequels: Audace colpo dei soliti ignoti followed in 1960 reuniting the entire main cast apart from Totò and Mastroianni, and in 1985 I Soliti ignoti vent’anni dopo.

The Italian title I Soliti Ignoti translates as ‘the usual unknown ones’, equivalent to ‘the usual suspects’. The Italian name of the fictional Roman street where the midnight to early morning burglary takes place is the Via delle Madonne (Street of the Madonnas). The real Roman street where the scene was filmed is the Via delle tre cannelle (The Street of the Three Spouts).

It was released in the UK as Persons Unknown.

A pre-stardom Cardinale has a minor role as Carmelina, a chaste, black-clad Sicilian girl, with an overbearing brother, Michele aka Ferribotte (Tiberio Murgia).

It is written by Age Scarpelli, Suso Cecchi d’Amico and Mario Monicelli.

I Soliti Ignoti filming site in Rome.

Monicelli said the film was intended as a parody of neorealism and of Rififi. It was shot in ten weeks on locations throughout Rome. ‘Even most of the interiors were on location,’ Monicelli said. ‘The film has a dramatic side in that it is about poor people. So it’s a comedy but with death. Which was something new at the time. It was rare to find death and failure in a comedy. To make people laugh with a story that was dramatic rather than comic. But seen with a comic eye.’

Monicelli and cinematographer Gianni di Venanzo agreed on a photographic tone that was ‘harsh and dramatic’. There is death in the story, and a harsh photographic look, but the film’s tone is relentlessly light-hearted, and often slapstick daft. The conflicting elements of the mix work surprisingly well. It has an Ealing comedy feel about it, as long as we are talking about The Ladykillers.

Bob Fosse created a 1986 Broadway musical titled Big Deal based on the film. Fosse won a Tony Award for his choreography.

Famous comedian Totò was highlighted on the original poster to attract audiences, though his minor character Dante Cruciani is only a consultant to the heist gang and does not join it. Cruciani is keen not to violate his parole, but advises them and supplies tools. Antonio Griffo Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno Porfirogenito Gagliardi de Curtis di Bisanzio (15 February 1898 – 15 April 1967) shortened his name a little for his stage name Totò.

Mario Monicelli (16 May 1915 – 29 November 2010), one of the masters of the Commedia all’Italiana (Comedy Italian style), was nominated six times for an Oscar.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,410

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