''It Happened in the Park'' ( it, Villa Borghese) is a

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yugosl ...

film directed by

Gianni Franciolini Gianni Franciolini (1 June 1910 – 1 January 1960) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed 19 films between 1939 and 1959. Life and career Born in Florence, in 1929 he moved to Paris to study journalism; there he came in ...

. The film consists of six vignettes set in the

Villa Borghese gardens Villa Borghese is a landscape garden in Rome, containing a number of buildings, museums (see Galleria Borghese) and attractions. It is the third largest public park in Rome (80 hectares or 197.7 acres) after the ones of the Villa Doria Pamphili a ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Plot

The story shows the lives of various people from different parts of society who, on one particular day, stroll through the park.

Servants and soldiers

First morning. A group of Venetian waitresses meets in Piazza di Siena, where they take the children of the families they work for to play. One of them, Lidia, reunites with the group after a while, and she explains that she attempted suicide due to a love disappointment suffered by a soldier; another, Marietta, claims that she would be very ready to kill herself if a man made fun of her. She too is dating a Neapolitan soldier, who takes her aside and invites her to a night meeting in the park. After disdainfully refusing, and seeing the soldier engaged in courting a Swedish nanny, the girl disappears. Her friends look for her frantically, thinking that she may have thrown herself off the cliff of the Muro Torto; her fears vanish when she finds her again as she quietly watches a puppet show.

Greek

Late morning. Some classical high school students have come up with a trick to avoid an almost certain failure. One of them, Anna Maria, made an appointment with the Greek teacher at the Sea Horse Fountain; she the girl has to pretend that she is in love with him and kiss him suddenly, so that the other classmates can secretly photograph the kiss and then use the photo to blackmail the teacher and get the promotion. The teacher introduces himself, and tells Anna Maria her sad story about her: after the end of the school year she will have to leave teaching because she is losing her sight. The student, moved, hugs him, but at the same time tries to cover his face so that the blackmail photo fails.

Cast

Maurizio Arena Maurizio Arena (26 December 1933 – 21 November 1979) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 70 films between 1952 and 1978. Life and career Born in Rome as Maurizio Di Lorenzo, Arena made his film debut at nineteen years old, ...

- Virginia's boyfriend * Margherita Autuori - Fanny *

Eloisa Cianni Eloisa Cianni (born 21 June 1932) is an Italian actress, model and beauty pageant winner. Ciani was born in Rome as Aloisa Stukin, with the surname derived from her Polish adoptive father Stanislaus Stukin, who had married her mother Ida Furnace ...

- Antonietta *

Eduardo De Filippo Eduardo De Filippo (; 24 May 1900 – 31 October 1984), also known simply as ''Eduardo'', was an Italian actor, director, screenwriter and playwright, best known for his Neapolitan works ''Filumena Marturano'' and '' Napoli Milionaria''. Consid ...

- Fanny's father *

Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the Italian neorealism, neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Shoeshine (film), Sciuscià ...

- Lawyer Cavazzuti *

Anna Maria Ferrero Anna Maria Ferrero (18 February 1935 – 21 May 2018) was an Italian actress. Early life and career Born Anna Maria Guerra, she changed her last name to Ferrero in honor of the composer Willy Ferrero. Her film debut came at the age of 15 in '' ...

- Anna Maria, the student *

Aldo Giuffrè Aldo Giuffrè (10 April 1924 – 26 June 2010) was an Italian film actor and comedian who appeared in over 90 films between 1948 and 2001. He was born in Naples and was the brother of actor Carlo Giuffrè. He is known for his roles in '' The ...

- Attilio Scandacci *

Leda Gloria Leda may refer to: Mythology * Leda (mythology), queen of Sparta and mother of Helen of Troy in Greek mythology Places * Leda, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia * Leda makeshift settlement, Bangladesh, a refugee camp ...

- Fanny's mother *

Germana Paolieri Germana Paolieri (29 August 1906 – 8 August 1998) was an Italian actress. During the 1930s she became a leading lady of Italian cinema appearing in major films such as the 1938 biopic ''Giuseppe Verdi''. Selected filmography * '' The Opera ...

- The traffic policewoman *

François Périer François Périer (born François Pillu; 10 November 1919 – 29 June 2002), was a French actor renowned for his expressiveness and diversity of roles. He made over 110 film and TV appearances between 1938 and 1996, with notable excursion into ...

- The professor *

Gérard Philipe Gérard Philipe (born Gérard Albert Philip, 4 December 1922 – 25 November 1959) was a prominent French actor who appeared in 32 films between 1944 and 1959. Active in both theatre and cinema, he was, until his early death, one of the main ...

- Carlo, Valeria's lover * Micheline Presle - Valeria *

Giovanna Ralli Giovanna Ralli, (born 2 January 1935), is an Italian stage, film and television actress. Life and career Born in Rome, Ralli debuted as a child actress at 7; at 13 she made her theatrical debut, entering the stage company of Peppino De Filip ...

- Virginia *

Franca Valeri Alma Franca Maria Norsa (31 July 1920 – 9 August 2020), known professionally as Franca Valeri, was an Italian actress, playwright, screenwriter, author, and theatre director. Life and career Born in Milan as Alma Franca Maria Norsa, she manage ...

- Elvira

References

External links

* * 1953 films 1950s Italian-language films 1953 drama films Italian black-and-white films Films directed by Gianni Franciolini Films scored by Mario Nascimbene Films set in Rome Films shot in Rome Italian drama films 1950s Italian films {{1950s-Italy-film-stub