Skurken

In The Swindler we move in criminal circles, among racketeers who rip people off by dressing up as priests and serving them cock-and-bull stories about buried bodies and treasure in the poor people's fields. The small time crooks get by on insignificant sums of money, while the criminal high society makes a packet through cocaine dealing. These are the circles where the middle-aged has-been Augusto moves. We get to follow him through aspiration and ambition, failure and decline, along the road of the only life he feels capable of living. The Swindler is not so much about crime and buried treasures as it is about a lonely and very human fifty-year-old who feels rootless and lost. The film takes its obvious place in the evolution of Fellini's work all the way up to La Dolce Vita, 8 1/2 and Juliet of the Spirits. The Critics:''The way in which Fellini depicts the New Yeal' orgy at the cocaine dealer's a myriad of details, deftly sketched supporting characters and a riveting collage - puts him at the top amongst contemporary directors.'' (Robin Hood, Stockholmstidningen 1959) ''The Swindler is a film that captivates and confuses.'' (Vecko Revyn 1957)''The Swindler is not a film to lecture us about its social and radical agenda. Instead it tells its tale with a friendly eye and humourous irony ...'' Dagens Nyheter 1957 ''The Swindler is a bitter and hard film.'' Aftonbladet '' a brilliant depiction of the South Italian setting and excellent performances.'' (Expressen 1989)

Orig. titel
IL BIDONE: Medverkande
Broderick Crawford, Giulietta Masina, Richard Basehart: Producent
Mario Derecchi: Manus
Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano: Foto
Otello MartelliIni: Musik
Nino Rota: Talat språk
Italian