Bidone, Il
Director: Federico Fellini
Year Released: 1955
Rating: 2.5
Broderick Crawford and his mates concoct schemes to steal from the poor, the poorer, the simple and the good-natured so that they can dress nicely for decadent parties and drink champagne and pamper themselves. When Fellini throws an extra factor into the film, Crawford's daughter, to make him feel guilty about not spoiling her, Crawford decides to steal from the poorer to give to her ... yet Fellini seems to miss the inherent problem with this scenario, since the unfortunate farmers and cripples are still the gullible losers. I'm sure this is supposed to be one of those "crime doesn't pay" films, yet most of the criminals don't pay, and the movie's almost arguing that you could and should try to get away with anything as long as you're smart about it.
