''The City Stands Trial'' () is a 1952 Italian

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

drama film directed by

Luigi Zampa Luigi Zampa (2 January 1905 – 16 August 1991) was an Italian film director. Biography Son of a worker, Zampa studied filmmaking from 1932 to 1937 at the Italian film school in Rome. He directed several Italian neorealism films in the 1940 ...

and starring

Amedeo Nazzari Amedeo Nazzari (10 December 1907 – 5 November 1979) was an Italian actor. Nazzari was one of the leading figures of Italian classic cinema, often considered a local variant of the Australian–American star Errol Flynn. Although he emerged as ...

Silvana Pampanini Silvana Pampanini (25 September 1925 – 6 January 2016) was an Italian film actress, director and singer. She was also the niece of the soprano of the golden era of opera, Dame Rosetta Pampanini. Silvana Pampanini caused a sensation when she t ...

and

Paolo Stoppa Paolo Stoppa (6 June 1906 – 1 May 1988) was an Italian actor. Biography Paolo Stoppa was born in Rome into a family of a ministerial official, Luigi Stoppa, and Adriana De Antonis. He began as a stage actor in 1927 in the theater in Rome ...

. It is based on a revisiting of the Cuocolo murders and the struggle for control of

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

by the

Camorra The Camorra (; ) is an Italian Mafia-typeMafia and Mafia-type orga ...

in the early 1900s. It is considered to be Zampa's most accomplished film.Moliterno, '' The A to Z of Italian Cinema''
p. 342
/ref> It was shot at the

Cinecittà Studios Cinecittà Studios (; Italian for Cinema City) is a large film studio in Rome, Italy. With an area of 400,000 square metres (99 acres), it is the largest film studio in Europe, and is considered the hub of Italian cinema. The studios were constru ...

in Rome and on location in Naples. It was entered into the

3rd Berlin International Film Festival The 3rd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 18 to 28 June 1953. The Golden Bear was awarded to ''The Wages of Fear'' by the audience vote. Since 1952, the FIAPF had prohibit the festival from awarding any prizes by an offic ...

Synopsis

In Naples at the beginning of the twentieth century a double murder of husband and wife appears to be the work of the

Camorra The Camorra (; ) is an Italian Mafia-typeMafia and Mafia-type orga ...

. A crusading young judge takes on the case but faces a number of threats and obstacles, and his investigation turns much of the population against him.

Cast

as Judge Spicacci *

as Liliana Ferrari *

as Perrone *

Dante Maggio Dante Maggio (2 March 1909 – 3 March 1992) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 115 films between 1940 and 1975. Born in Naples into a family of actors, Maggio had a turbulent adolescence that led his father to send him in an institute f ...

as Armando Capezzuto *

Franco Interlenghi Franco Interlenghi (29 October 1931 – 10 September 2015) was an Italian actor. He made his acting debut at 15 in Vittorio De Sica's 1946 Neorealist film '' Sciuscià''. He worked with great directors such as Alessandro Blasetti in '' Fabiola' ...

as Luigi Esposito *

Irène Galter Irène Galter (16 September 1931 – 7 June 2018) was an Italian actress. Life and career Born in Merano as Irene Patuzzi, during the first half of the 1950s Galter was called the "ideal girlfriend" of Italians. She was casually discovered in ...

as Nunziata *

Gualtiero Tumiati Gualtiero Tumiati ( 8 May 1876 – 23 April 1971) was an Italian actor and stage director. Life and career Born in Ferrara, Tumiati studied at the College of the Oaks in Florence and there he attended the acting courses held by Luigi Rasi. He ...

as Consigliere Capo *

Rino Genovese Rino Genovese (1905–1967) was an Italian film actor.Pruzzo & Lancia p.129 Selected filmography * ''Naples of Former Days'' (1938) * '' Malaspina'' (1947) * '' Madunnella'' (1948) * ''The City Stands Trial'' (1952) * ''Perdonami!'' (1953) * ''A ...

as Mimì *

Eduardo Ciannelli Eduardo Ciannelli (30 August 1888 – 8 October 1969) was an Italian baritone and character actor with a long career in American films, mostly playing gangsters and criminals. He was sometimes credited as Edward Ciannelli. Early life Ciannelli ...

as Alfonso Navona *

Tina Pica Tina Pica (31 March 1884 – 15 August 1968) was an Italian supporting actress who played character roles on stage. Her film debut came in 1935 with '' The Three-Cornered Hat''. In the 1950s, she became a celebrity thanks to her role as Caram ...

as Restaurant's cook *

Turi Pandolfini Turi Pandolfini (1 November 1883 – 6 March 1962) was an Italian stage and film character actor. He appeared in 46 films between 1917 and 1961. Life and career Born in Catania, Sicily as Salvatore Pandolfini, the nephew of the actor Ange ...

as Don Filippetti *

Mariella Lotti Mariella Lotti (born Maria Camilla Pianotti; 17 November 1919 – 18 December 2004) was an Italian film actress. Lotti made her film debut in 1939, and played leading ladies in a number of Fascist era and post-war films. She was one of many act ...

as Elena *

Franca Tamantini Franca Tamantini (24 August 1931 – 11 August 2014) was an Italian film, television and stage actress. Life and career Born in Rome, since young age Tamantini studied piano, singing and classical dance at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma. In 194 ...

as Carmela *

Bella Starace Sainati Bella Starace Sainati (June 2, 1878 – August 4, 1958) was an Italian stage and film actress.Goble p.190 Selected filmography * ''The Two Mothers'' (1938) * ''Naples Will Never Die'' (1939) * '' Goodbye Youth'' (1940) * ''Inspector Vargas'' ( ...

as The Porter at Ruotolo's *

Agostino Salvietti Agostino Salvietti (28 August 1882 - 2 December 1967) was an Italian actor. He appeared in more than forty films from 1924 to 1964. Filmography References External links * 1882 births 1967 deaths Italian male film actors {{It ...

as Brigadiere Mastellone * Mimì Ferrari as Don Salvatore * Viviane Vallé as Maria * Vittorio André as Amedeo Contursi * Tina Castigliano as Amalia Tortorella * Vittoria Crispo as Neighbour of Ruotolos * Lino Crispo as Gennarino 'nzisto * Vittoria Donato as Adelina Leonardi * Mario Laurentino as The Jeweller De Nicola * Arturo Maghizzano as Mezarecchia *

Pasquale Martino Pasquale is a masculine Italian given name and a surname found all over Italy. It is a cognate of the French name Pascal, the Spanish Pascual, the Portuguese Pascoal and the Catalan Pasqual. Pasquale derives from the Latin ''paschalis'' or ...

as Brigadiere Luigi Cifariello *

Mario Passante Mario (; ) is a character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Japanese video game company Nintendo. M ...

as The Man Whom Filippetti Hands Ledgers * Nino Veglia as Maria's Pimp *

Nino Vingelli Nino Vingelli (4 June 1912 – 26 March 2003) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1941 and 2000. Selected filmography * ''I mariti (Tempesta d'anime)'' (1941) * '' The Betrothed'' (1941) - (uncredited) * ' ...

as Pasqualino 'o 17 *

Carlo Pisacane Carlo Pisacane, Duke of San Giovanni (1818–1857) was an Italian patriot and one of the first Italian socialist thinkers. He was an early advocate of propaganda by deed, arguing that violence was necessary not only to draw attention to, or gen ...

as Don Rosario *

Ada Colangeli Ada Colangeli (5 March 1913 – 29 February 1992) was an Italian character actress. Life and career Born on 5 March 1913 in Rome, Colangeli began acting in the early 1940s, and she was mainly cast in roles of women from a low social class. Acti ...

as The Maid at Tortorella's *

Ugo D'Alessio Ugo D'Alessio (26 August 1909 – 16 February 1979) was an Italian film actor.Goble p.113 Selected filmography * '' Malaspina'' (1947) - Nicola * '' Madunnella'' (1948) - Il ragionere, padre di Maria * '' Assunta Spina'' (1948) - Epanimonda Pe ...

as Gennaro Ruotolo

References

Bibliography

* Moliterno, Gino (2008).
The A to Z of Italian Cinema
', Plymouth: Scarecrow Press

External links

* 1952 films 1950s Italian-language films 1952 drama films 1952 crime films Italian crime films 1950s historical films Italian historical films Films set in Naples Italian black-and-white films Films about the Camorra Films directed by Luigi Zampa Films with screenplays by Suso Cecchi d'Amico Italian drama films 1950s Italian films Films shot at Cinecittà Studios Films shot in Naples Films set in the 1900s {{1950s-Italy-film-stub