''It Happened in the Park'' () is a

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

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 Pamphi ...

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, ...

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; 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 his sad story: after the end of the school year he will have to leave teaching because he is losing his 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 (23 June 1932 – 27 May 2022) was an Italian actress, model and beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, bea ...

- Antonietta *

Eduardo De Filippo Eduardo De Filippo OMRI (; 26 May 1900 – 31 October 1984), also known simply as ''Eduardo'', was an Italian actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright, best known for his Neapolitan language, Neapolitan works ''Filumena Marturano'' and ...

- 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 neorealist movement. Widely considered one of the most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, four of the fil ...

- 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 the brother of actor Carlo Giuffrè. He is known for his roles in '' The Four Days of Naples'', ...

- Attilio Scandacci *

Leda Gloria Leda Gloria (30 August 1908 – 16 March 1997) was an Italian film actress. She appeared in 66 films between 1929 and 1965. During the expansion of Italian cinema of the Fascist era of the 1930s and early 1940s she appeared in starring roles, l ...

- 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 – 28 June 2002) was a French actor renowned for his expressiveness and diversity of roles. Career He made over 110 film and TV appearances from 1938 to 1996, with notable excursi ...

- 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. He came to prominence during the later period of the poetic realism movement o ...

- Carlo, Valeria's lover *

Micheline Presle Micheline Presle (; born Micheline Nicole Julia Émilienne Chassagne; 22 August 1922 – 21 February 2024) was a French actress. She was sometimes billed as Micheline Prelle. Starting her career in 1937, she starred or appeared in over 150 films ...

- 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 Fili ...

- Virginia *

Franca Valeri Alma Franca Maria Norsa (31 July 1920 – 9 August 2020), known professionally as Franca Valeri, was an Italian actress, author, and screenwriter. Life and career Born in Milan as Alma Franca Maria Norsa, she managed to survive the Holocaust in ...

- 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