''The Facts of Murder'' () is a 1959 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 ...

mystery film A mystery film is a film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, ...

directed by and starring

Pietro Germi Pietro Germi (; 14 September 1914 – 5 December 1974) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor, noted for his development of the Italian neorealism, neorealist and genres. His 1961 film ''Divorce Italian Style'' earned him a Ac ...

with

Claudia Cardinale Claude Joséphine Rose Cardinale (; born 15 April 1938), known as Claudia Cardinale (), is an Italian actress. Born and raised in La Goulette, a neighbourhood of Tunis, Cardinale won the "Most Beautiful Italian Girl in Tunisia" competition ...

. The film is based on the 1957 novel '' That Awful Mess on Via Merulana'' by Carlo Emilio Gadda. The sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Carlo Egidi. It was restored and re-released in 1999 both in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Plot

A disguised

bandit Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, kidnapping, and murder, e ...

steals valuable

jewellery Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...

from Commendatore Anzaloni's apartment and flees, leaving Anzaloni unharmed. Inspector Ingravallo investigates and finds that the robbery is suspicious in that the robber was able to find valuables too quickly. A neighbour, Liliana Banducci, employs a

servant A domestic worker is a person who works within a residence and performs a variety of household services for an individual, from providing cleaning and household maintenance, or cooking, laundry and ironing, or care for children and elderly ...

girl, Assuntina. Her

fiancé An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''f ...

, Diomede, tries to escape when he sees

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

tailing Assuntina. But Diomede has an alibi. Liliana's cousin, Dr. Valdarena, pays her a visit, only to find her corpse on the floor. But before calling police, Valdarena removes an

envelope An envelope is a common packaging item, usually made of thin, flat material. It is designed to contain a flat object, such as a letter (message), letter or Greeting card, card. Traditional envelopes are made from sheets of paper cut to one o ...

addressed to him from the

sideboard A sideboard, also called a buffet, is an item of furniture traditionally used in the dining room for serving food, for displaying serving dishes, and for storage. It usually consists of a set of cabinets, or cupboards, and one or more drawers ...

. Liliana's husband Remo was away from

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

at the time of the murder, but he is very surprised to hear that Liliana had changed her

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

only one week earlier.

Cast

as Inspector Ciccio Ingravallo *

as Assuntina * Franco Fabrizi as Valdarena * Cristina Gaioni as Virginia * Claudio Gora as Remo Banducci * Eleonora Rossi Drago as Liliana Banducci * Saro Urzì as Detective Saro *

Nino Castelnuovo Francesco "Nino" Castelnuovo (28 October 1936 – 6 September 2021) was an Italian actor of film, stage and television, best known for his starring role as Guy Foucher in the French musical film ''The Umbrellas of Cherbourg'' (1964). Castelnu ...

as Diomede *Ildebrando Santafe as Anzaloni *Peppino De Martino as Dr. Fumi *Silla Bettini as Oreste *Rosolino Bua as parish priest *Loretta Capitoli as Camilla *Nanda De Santis as Zamira *Attilio Martella as Marchetti * Gianni Musy as Retalli * Toni Ucci as Er Patata * Vincenzo Tocci as Filone * Pietro Tordi as Director Motel "Verbania" * Antonio Acqua as General Pomilia * Maria Saccenti as Mrs. Pomilia * April Hennessy as American Girl * Rina Mascetti as Cashier Banducci * Antonio Gradoli as Marshal Mariano * Grazia Spadaro as Old Woman

Awards

* Mar de Plata Film Festival : Best Director *

Nastro d'Argento The (plural: ''Nastri d'Argento''; English: Silver Ribbon) is an Italian film award, held since 1946 by the ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani'' (Italian National Union of Film Journalists). Awards are given annually in ...

: Best Script, Best Supporting Actor (Claudio Gora ).

References

Bibliography

* Moliterno, Gino. ''A to Z of Italian Cinema''. Scarecrow Press, 2009.

External links

* 1959 films 1950s Italian-language films Italian black-and-white films Films set in Italy Italian heist films 1959 crime films 1950s mystery films Films directed by Pietro Germi Films scored by Carlo Rustichelli 1950s heist films 1950s Italian films {{1950s-crime-film-stub