Il Bidone (The Swindle) (The Swindlers) (1955)

100% of critics liked it
(6 reviews)
77% of users liked it
(866 ratings)

Swindle and The Swindlers are both English-language titles for 1955's Il Bidone, a lesser-known effort from Federico Fellini. Broderick Crawford, Richard Basehart, and Franco Fabrizi play a trio of con artists who victimize the Italian bourgeoisie (who are shown to be no better than the crooks).… More Swindle and The Swindlers are both English-language titles for 1955's Il Bidone, a lesser-known effort from Federico Fellini. Broderick Crawford, Richard Basehart, and Franco Fabrizi play a trio of con artists who victimize the Italian bourgeoisie (who are shown to be no better than the crooks). Giueletta Masina (Fellini's wife), who had previously costarred with Richard Basehart in La Strada, here plays Basehart's wife. Humphrey Bogart had been intended for the role played by Broderick Crawford; one wonders how Crawford's self-deprecating curtain speech about the hollowness of his existence would have played in Bogart's hands. Swindle was not released to the US until nine years after its completion. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 32 min.
Directed By: Federico Fellini
Genres: Drama, Art House & International, Comedy

In Theaters: Sep 9, 1955 Wide
On DVD: Jul 18, 2000
Studio: Prima Film

Critic Reviews

Bosley Crowther, New York Times
An obvious cheap-crime picture, very much on the sentimental side, and therefore thematically inferior to the two films it fell between. But it contains some very strong Fellini phases and accumulations of moods that make it well worth seeing.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
The most obscure film of the highly visible Federico Fellini.
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
The progression from comedy to tragedy signals Fellini's most religious work
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
A very dark vision that isn't always pleasant to look at but is nonetheless fascinating.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
It's an unforgettable treasure.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Eric B

One of Fellini's least remembered films, "Il Bidone" is a wobbly tale about three con men who pursue some truly appalling schemes to bilk peasants out of their slim savings. Augusto (Broderick Crawford) feels uneasy about still scrambling for small-time games at his… More
One of Fellini's least remembered films, "Il Bidone" is a wobbly tale about three con men who pursue some truly appalling schemes to bilk peasants out of their slim savings. Augusto (Broderick Crawford) feels uneasy about still scrambling for small-time games at his advanced age, and has a soft spot for a teen daughter whom he rarely sees. "Picasso" (Richard Basehart) has a good wife (the always wonderful Giulietta Masina) and dreams of becoming a painter, but is not as talented as he thinks. And Roberto (Franco Fabrizi) hopes to become a singer like his idol Johnny Ray. Their shenanigans include selling phony apartment reservations to slum-dwellers, exchanging shoddy coats for gas and an elaborate scheme which involves posing as priests and planting a worthless buried treasure on someone's property. Essentially, they pull the typical move of exploiting others' greed, and getting them to hand over money based on false promises of a bigger payoff later. The three are on shaky ground, however, and even their underworld peers don't always respect them. This is memorably shown in a scene at a richer criminal's posh party, where Roberto breaks rank to swipe a gold cigarette case and gets his whole group ostracized as a result. This incident somewhat foreshadows the film's depressing climax, where Augusto faces what could be his ultimate crisis of conscience. The script poorly wraps up its dangling threads, casually dropping Picasso and and Roberto from the story before the final act. And yes, Nino Rota composed the score as usual, but it's fairly humdrum beyond the opening theme. For an early Fellini film about regional seediness, you're better off choosing "Nights of Cabiria" or "I Vitelloni."
Joey N

don't feel like writing about it.