Il Bidone is the story of an old and tired con man, who one day, when it's too late, finds himself transformed after he's gone through a redemption of sorts. One of Fellini's least seen films, and unfortunately for viewers in the US, a cut version has been the only one available since its initial release. Even still, it's an amazing film. As I remember it was Truffault who said of Il Bidone, 'I could watch Broderick Crawford die for hours!' And he was very right. Crawford tended to be such a hack in the vast majority of his work for films and TV, but Fellini got an extraordinary performance out of him. Makes you wonder if he was capable of things like this all the time - if so - what a sad loss for us. He was a really bad alcoholic and Fellini kept having to change the script, but later in life said it turned out better that way. If you cry while watching La Strada and Le Notti di Cabiria, Il Bidone will make you cry much more. A forgotten and neglected classic. Proof again of Fellini's astonishing love and compassion for all humanity.
Review of The Swindle
