IMDb RATING
7.7/10
3.7K
YOUR RATING
Bardone, a petty con man, is arrested by the Gestapo and coerced into impersonating a partisan leader in order to expose another resistance organizer.Bardone, a petty con man, is arrested by the Gestapo and coerced into impersonating a partisan leader in order to expose another resistance organizer.Bardone, a petty con man, is arrested by the Gestapo and coerced into impersonating a partisan leader in order to expose another resistance organizer.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 12 wins & 7 nominations total
Bernardo Menicacci
- Prison guard
- (as Bernardino Menicacci)
Armando Annuale
- Bit part
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDuring an interview to the Italian public television, Vittorio De Sica stated that the movie was shot in 33 days and edited in 10. Producer Moris Ergas wanted it ready for the Venice Film Festival in August. It won the award as "Best Picture".
- GoofsThroughout the film, S.S. Colonel Mueller is addressed as ' Herr Obersturmbannführer' (Lieutenant Colonel) but his rank, as indicated by the collar patches on his uniform, is that of a 'Standartenführer' (Colonel).
- Quotes
S.S. Colonel Mueller: Chaplains are not allowed in the political section. I don't trust priests. They're all spies.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Una vita violenta (1962)
Featured review
Uneven
Vittorio de Sica stars as a petty gambler and con artist near the end of the Second World War. His gambling losses are so bad that he has to swindle friends for money; oftentimes he does so with the promise of freeing imprisoned loved ones (and sometimes he even succeeds at doing so). One swindle goes wrong, and the victim informs the Nazis of what De Sica is doing. Instead of simply imprisoning him, they make a deal: if in prison he poses as General della Rovere, who was killed in an escape attempt, and root out a certain partisan leader, they will pay him off and ship him to Switzerland. De Sica is no great man, but he is also no spy. But, initially, he does what the Nazis tell him to do. This film should probably be much better than it is, but it just lacks the passion of Rossellini's earlier films. Sure, they were overly melodramatic, but I don't think the way to fix them is flatten out all the emotions of the film. Rossellini did make a nearly perfect film after his strictly neorealistic period in Stromboli, and General della Rovere, a decade later, is a huge step in the wrong direction. There are a few excellent scenes, but nowhere near enough. It helps that it ends so well. It certainly hinders the project that the whole swindling part of the film lasts for almost half the film, at around an hour. De Sica's character isn't very consistent between the two halves, either. Blame that on the script, though, because De Sica is generally great throughout the entire film. Sandra Milo, who would later co-star in Fellini's 8½ and Juliette of the Spirits, has a small role. 6/10.
helpful•1132
- zetes
- Jul 21, 2002
- How long is General Della Rovere?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Der falsche General
- Filming locations
- 495 Via Flaminia, Rome, Lazio, Italy(German Komandantur in Genoa)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime2 hours 9 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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