It's a great story but not a great film. It is typically Neapolitan with all the necessary music, the romances, the complications of relationships, the jealousy and the hopeless passions. Mastroianni is a seaman from Naples, who when he stops there between his journeys he visits his brother and meets his fiancée, the beautiful Maria Raneri, who is also a singer who wins prizes. There is love at first sight, but the brother Sandro is crazy about her and will not let her go and knows nothing about Marcello's sudden great intimacy with her. Things get complicated, Sandro kills a suspected suitor of hers by accident out of mad jealousy, Marcello thinks she has killed the fellow and to protect her leaves the country to join the Foreign Legion in France. After five years he returns to Naples, and that is where the film begins. The story is told by flashbacks, Marcello Mastroianni is very young and fresh here and acts convincingly, and so does his brother Sandro (Marco Vicario, who actually gives the most interesting Performance here). Maria is played by Gianna Maria Canale, she is not another Yvonne Sanson but a fair Neapolitan copy. The story and its conclusion is a heart-wringer, and you will love it if you have any involvement with Italy. It's a great story, and they make the best of it out of a small budget.
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