The Swindle
The Swindle

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Augusto, Carlo, and Roberto are scam artists who often work together. Middle-age divorced Augusto is the oldest, most seasoned in the business, and the trio's spiritual leader. They either are immune to the notion that most of their victims are not wealthy--most uneducated, rural peasants--or don't care that they make at most a few hundred thousand lira at a time. Each of the three is at a different stage of life, which makes Carlo and Augusto examine what they're doing more ... (Full plot summary below)

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Actors in The Swindle:

Broderick Crawford
Giulietta Masina
Richard Basehart
Franco Fabrizi
Sue Ellen Blake
Irene Cefaro

Full Plot Details

Augusto, Carlo, and Roberto are scam artists who often work together. Middle-age divorced Augusto is the oldest, most seasoned in the business, and the trio's spiritual leader. They either are immune to the notion that most of their victims are not wealthy--most uneducated, rural peasants--or don't care that they make at most a few hundred thousand lira at a time. Each of the three is at a different stage of life, which makes Carlo and Augusto examine what they're doing more critically, each stemming from a specific incident. Roberto, the youngest, still lives solely for the here-and-now and will take any money willingly. Carlo would like to make a living as an artist, hence his nickname of Picasso, if only it would support him, his loyal wife Iris, and their adolescent daughter Silvania. Carlo has told Iris that his frequent absences is in his work as a traveling salesman with Augusto, but she can no longer bury her head in the sand about what he's doing upon a last-minute social evening out with his associates on New Year's Eve. Augusto's examination of his life begins upon a chance encounter with his young-adult daughter Patrizia, whom he had not seen in years and didn't even recognize. Augusto is torn between what his money can afford in getting Patrizia on her feet as she contemplates extending her expensive education, versus being a role model to her.

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Movie Reviews

Chicago Reader - 10/10 by Dave KehrThe most obscure film of the highly visible Federico Fellini.
CinePassion - 9/10 by Fernando F. CroceThe progression from comedy to tragedy signals Fellini's most religious work
New York Times - 6/10 by Bosley CrowtherAn obvious cheap-crime picture, very much on the sentimental side, and therefore thematically inferior to the two films it fell between. But it contains some very strong Fellini phases and accumulations of moods that make it well worth seeing.
User Review - 10/10 by Benoît RThe Swindle (Il Bidone) 1955 I have lately been watching Fellini's older films some of which were not available even on vhs. My first Fellini film (1973) at the ripe age of 19 was Satryicon at the Texas Tech Student Center Movie Theater. I was shocked to say the least and understand the film more now than then. Though about a swindle the film is more about the swindler's (plural). This film introduces us to Felliniâ??s excesses and long interest in flamboyance and grotesque no matter if you are rich or poor. Also the film delves into his interests in the Rich their costumes and material possessions and how they flaunt themselves in public arenas. It was between "La Strada" (1954), and "Nights of Cabiria," (1957), "Il Bidone" (1955) is less known but powerful, humorous, heartbreaking, and poignant film. Broderick Crawford gives a compelling performance as Augusto, an aging con man, a leader of a trio of small time crooks who take advantage of poor and uneducated Italians in both country side and poor quarters of Rome. Augusto realizes at the age of 48 that his life of selfishness, greed, and wrongdoings only made his existence meaningless. Once in his life, he decided to con the con men in order to help his daughter whom he rarely sees but deeply loves with fulfilling her dreams of better life but a swindle gone wrong leads Augusto to the final scene of pain, both physical and mental, to loneliness and desperation. It is similar to Nights of Cabriria which is an even more powerful film. Here the movie is very spare, the cons not particularly interesting as cons, but very weighty in symbolism. Augustoâ??s meeting with his estranged daughter his working his way back towards humanity costs him dearly. Shows us the awakening and demise of Augusto - not as a lesson in morals, but as one in storytelling. Guilietta Masina (Mrs. Fellini) as Iris, appears as a devoted wife of Carlos. This DVD from a complete restoration Criterion DVD release a few years back. Very interesting and powerful neo-realistic film. . Really I have grown to prefer his earlier films.
User Review - 10/10 by dfw fThe Swindle (Il Bidone) 1955 I have lately been watching Fellini's older films some of which were not available even on vhs. My first Fellini film (1973) at the ripe age of 19 was Satryicon at the Texas Tech Student Center Movie Theater. I was shocked to say the least and understand the film more now than then. Though about a swindle the film is more about the swindler's (plural). This film introduces us to Felliniâ??s excesses and long interest in flamboyance and grotesque no matter if you are rich or poor. Also the film delves into his interests in the Rich their costumes and material possessions and how they flaunt themselves in public arenas. It was between "La Strada" (1954), and "Nights of Cabiria," (1957), "Il Bidone" (1955) is less known but powerful, humorous, heartbreaking, and poignant film. Broderick Crawford gives a compelling performance as Augusto, an aging con man, a leader of a trio of small time crooks who take advantage of poor and uneducated Italians in both country side and poor quarters of Rome. Augusto realizes at the age of 48 that his life of selfishness, greed, and wrongdoings only made his existence meaningless. Once in his life, he decided to con the con men in order to help his daughter whom he rarely sees but deeply loves with fulfilling her dreams of better life but a swindle gone wrong leads Augusto to the final scene of pain, both physical and mental, to loneliness and desperation. It is similar to Nights of Cabriria which is an even more powerful film. Here the movie is very spare, the cons not particularly interesting as cons, but very weighty in symbolism. Augustoâ??s meeting with his estranged daughter his working his way back towards humanity costs him dearly. Shows us the awakening and demise of Augusto - not as a lesson in morals, but as one in storytelling. Guilietta Masina (Mrs. Fellini) as Iris, appears as a devoted wife of Carlos. This DVD from a complete restoration Criterion DVD release a few years back. Very interesting and powerful neo-realistic film. . Really I have grown to prefer his earlier films. This is not a "lesser" fellini film. This is a powerful flim.
User Review - 10/10 by Budge B"Il Bidone" ('The Swindle') is the second in Fellini's so-called trilogy of loneliness ('La Strada' and 'Le Notti di Cabiria' are the other two). Often dismissed as one of Fellini's lesser works, "Il Bidone" is a thoroughly engaging gangster film with a moral. Shot in black and white and released in 1955, its opening nevertheless captures the feel and texture of a 1930's Cagney or Edward G. Robinson movie. The setting is clearly post-war Italy, undergoing the economic uncertainty of reconstruction, but the 1930's echoes establish a timelessness to the story. Broderick Crawford, an American actor who appeared in numerous 'B' movies before making his name in the television series, 'Highway Patrol', plays Augusto, a middle aged conman who preys upon the gullibility of the peasants and urban poor. Dressed as a Church dignitary, or playing the part of an a rich man or a State functionary, he dupes the poor of their savings as Fellini makes the obvious point about the victimisation of the poor by Church, State, and aristocracy. But Augusto is troubled. He appreciates the emptiness of his life ... or at least his vulnerability. He has no savings, no real home, no friends he can trust. He can only envy others. He has no pension plan, no savings, no prospects of any way of life other than duplicity and conning others out of their money. His prospects seem restricted to imprisonment and death in poverty. He tries to delude himself that he is happy, that he is in control; he lives a life of bonhomie, drinking and carousing all night, constantly searching for the next trick by which to rob the poor. Then his daughter re-enters his life, bringing into perspective the emptiness and loneliness of his existence. Fellini contrasts the decadence and materialism of the upper classes, the amoral hedonism of the underworld, and the gullible honesty and backbreaking work of the peasants and industrial classes. Augusto is a parasite, but no more so than the Church or State or decaying nobility. Is change possible? Can the conman find redemption? He can certainly recognise the idealism and hope portrayed by Richard Basehart as his co-conspirator, Carlo, a man who aspires to be an artist. But Augusto can also recognise that the world he inhabits is morally bankrupt, and he frankly lacks the skills or experience to change, to find his own salvation. Crawford and Basehart had their lines dubbed in Italian, but they both deliver charismatic performances. Fellini apparently struggled to manage Crawford, whose drinking caused daily problems on set. But the performance is directed with compassion and energy as Broderick Crawford portrays a big man whose age and emotions leave him vulnerable and exposed. He warns Carlo that he must choose between crime and family life, warns him not to make the mistakes he has. Is Carlo the Augusto of twenty years ago? A man with ideals, a man with an imagined future? But the Augusto of today must paint his future with a very limited palette. He watches his other criminal colleague, Roberto, a man with no morals and a hedonistic pleasure in duping and robbing others, and he recognises that he is not like this any more. The scene is set for epiphany ... but Fellini delivers us enigma. Is Augusto finally able to deliver up a selfless act ... or is it wholly self-centred and motivated by his own delusions that he can con anyone? A commentary on the morality of Roman society, a generous tribute to American gangster movies, and a wonderfully observed, humanistic study of loneliness and disillusion, this is a well-plotted, evenly paced film in which the character of Augusto is ruthlessly exposed and dissected. Not normally recognised as one of Fellini's major works, "Il Bidone" is nevertheless a thoroughly engaging and entertaining film which deserves better respect and attention than it has received. Highly recommended!
User Review - 10/10 by Nicolas AFederico Fellini did it again, with this superb masterpiece of one of my favorite subjects. Also his second movie of his trilogy of redemption, after La strada and before Nights of Cabiria. Directing: A marvelous masterpiece of Fellini, who made another classic with his great directing style. There's not really much to say about it because it was all nearly perfect. Acting: Broderick Crawford had probaly the best performance in this movie as the aging con-man Augusto. But i did expected more of actress Giuletta Masina. The rest of the acting cast where all very good to.
User Review - 10/10 by Private UA lesser film by Fellini during his neorealist period, but still an underrated gem. Broderick Crawford convincingly portrays a disillusioned lowlife who realizes he had lived a worthless life and decides to make something out of what's left of it. It's a sore but powerful story about redemption and the inner goodness of the human soul.
User Review - 10/10 by Pavandeep SI personally thought this was a fascinating tale. A basic tale on what mankind protects the most first, himself, then his family, then his frieds, then everything else. A moody tale, of suffering and evil and the torment it incurs, for one to go through everything and still be courageous enough to do evil, for something, contemptuous evil too.
User Review - 10/10 by Dylan S[indent]This is a richly poetic film, a stark portrait of three con-men who make their living by swindling the poor out of what little money they have. The film moves back and forth between the scams they pull in the countryside and their lives in the city between jobs. The group's leader is Augusto, played expressively by the great Broderick Crawford. The other two con men are Roberto (Fabrizi), a lady chaser and risk-taker, and Picasso (Basehart), a family man and painter. Picasso's wife Iris is played by the great Giulietta Masina. Crawford (who won an Oscar for "All the King's Men," a film I need to see) is really excellent as Augusto, who begins addressing the matter of his conscience when by chance he runs into the daughter he has abandoned. The party and dance scenes in the film's first half are really fantastic and crazy, full of men and women dancing to Nino Rota's music, crazy situations and fights arising, lots of drinking, lots of people looking at the camera (including a photographer who bounces up from the bottom of the frame, takes a picture, and kneels back down out of sight?that's typical Fellini there). For all of the fun that's present in this film, it takes some very moving and sad turns...and the amazing thing is how Fellini balances something funny and surreal to something truly heartbreaking (the film's final 15 minutes are stunningly touching). Nino Rota's score is, as always, marvelous and really nails the feel and tone of the film. There are many themes, including a somber theme for Augusto's daughter, a really eccentric circus march theme, and lastly a terrific emotional theme that especially pulls into sharp effect in the film's closing moment. All of his themes are cleverly adapted in many variations bouncing between different styles of music- from mambo to wildly eccentric dance to rather Arabian to his typical circus-like music to just as often something very dramatic and emotional. This great score was released by CAM records just a couple years ago, it includes most of the music that's in the film, and is a great listen for Rota fans. `Il Bidone' is the most ignored and overlooked film in Fellini's body of work, which is unfortunate. It's truly unforgettable how it depicts struggle, loneliness, and utmost guilt in the loveliest and most poignant ways imaginable. [/indent]

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