Greatest Film Scenes
and Moments



Umberto D. (1952)

 



Written by Tim Dirks

Title Screen
Movie Title/Year and Scene Descriptions
Screenshots

Umberto D. (1952, It.)

In Vittorio De Sica's classic Italian New Wave tearjerker:

  • the melodramatic plight of elderly retired pensioner Umberto Domenico Ferrari (Carlo Battisti), whose slashed monthly pension caused his heartless and tyrannical landlady (Lina Gennari) to evict him to rent out his room to prostitutes and their johns
  • the close-knit, dependent relationship between Umberto and his faithful dog Flike
  • Umberto's touching relationship with caring young pregnant house-maid Maria (Maria-Pia Casilio) - with the transcendent scene of her morning routine in the kitchen making coffee
  • the tearjerking, ambiguous ending in which Umberto, unable to give away his dog, contemplated suicide by stepping in front of a speeding train near a park while holding Flike -- the dog yelped and squirmed away before Umberto could step in front of the train, and for the first time, ran away in abject fear from his beloved master
  • Umberto coaxing the forgiving Flike back to him by having the dog perform tricks with a pine cone
  • the sequence of playing with his dog in a long shot as the film ended, despite having no place to stay and no income




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