Editing Vittorio De Sica (section)

== Career ==

=== Theatre ===
De Sica was laureated in 1923. Described as strikingly handsome, already in the early 1920s he began his career as a [[theatre]] [[actor]] and joined [[Tatyana Pavlova|Tatiana Pavlova]]'s theatre company in 1923.{{sfn|Curle|Snyder|2000|p=8-9}} With Pavlova he worked for two years and toured [[South America]]. In 1925, he joined the company of [[Italia Almirante Manzini]] and was soon referred to as the second-best in her troupe. Two years later he joined the company of [[Luigi Almirante]], [[Sergio Tofano]] and [[Giuditta Rissone]]. De Sica debuted as a romantic protagonist in [[Ferenc Molnár]]'s ''Gli occhi azzurri dell'imperatore''. During that period he met [[Umberto Melnati]], an actor from [[Livorno]], with whom formed a successful comic duo and collaborated in many films and theatre plays.<ref>{{cite web
| url =https://nuovavenezia.gelocal.it/venezia/cronaca/2015/07/22/news/era-figlio-di-un-attore-umberto-melnati-famoso-per-i-duetti-con-vittorio-de-sica-1.11821336
| title =Era figlio di un attore, Umberto Melnati famoso per i duetti con Vittorio De Sica
| date =2015-07-22
| publisher = La Nuova
| access-date =2024-05-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| url =https://www.teche.rai.it/2015/07/brani-da-suicidio-di-un-poeta-maledetto-di-achille-campanile/
| title =Brani da 'Suicidio di un poeta maledetto' di Achille Campanile
| date =6 July 2015
| publisher = RAI
| access-date =2024-05-14}}</ref> On 3 October 1930, they premiered in [[Teatro Manzoni]] with ''L'isola meravigliosa'' based on [[Ugo Betti]]'s play. They were soon spotted by [[Mario Mattoli]] who was then an impresario in Teatro Mazoni. Mattoli was impressed by the quality of their rehearsals and offered to join his company ''Za-Bum''. With ''Za-Bum'', De Sica, Rissone and Melnati played in ''Una segretaria per tutti'', ''Un cattivo soggetto'', ''Il signore desidera?'', ''Lisetta'', and many other [[revue]]s written by Mattoli and Luciano Ramo. The duo became famous on the national level after the success of radio sketch ''Düra minga, dura no'' and a popular song ''Lodovico sei dolce come un fico'' sang by De Sica.{{sfn|Mallozzi|2021}}

In 1933, De Sica, Rissone, and Tofano founded their own company.<ref name=marilyn>{{cite web
| url =https://marilyn.corriere.it/2021/06/02/vittorio-de-sica-story-ieri-oggi-e-domani/
| title =Vittorio De Sica story. Ieri, oggi e domani
| last =Morosi
| first =Silvia
| date =2021-06-02
| publisher = Corriere
| access-date =2024-05-14}}</ref> The period of Tofano-Rissone-De Sica was notable also due to De Sica's acquaintance to [[Aldo De Benedetti]] and [[Gherardo Gherardi]], the screenwriters with whom he had a long and fruitful collaboration. Tofano-Rissone-De Sica performed mostly light [[comedy|comedies]], but they also staged plays by [[Beaumarchais]] and worked with famous directors like [[Luchino Visconti]]. In 1936, the company was reformed into Rissone-De Sica-Melnati, and eventually disbanded in 1939. The play ''Due dozzine di rose scarlatte'', written by Aldo De Benedetti, premiered on 11 March 1936, in Teatro Argentina. It is considered the best Italian comedy of the 1930s.{{sfn|Cardullo|2002|p=29}}

In 1937, De Sica married Giuditta Rissone, around that time the duo with Melnati was ended. In 1940, the spouses reconciled with Tofano and founded the mutual company again, where all the management tasks were taken over by Tofano. Together they released a series of successful plays: ''La scuola della maldicenza'' (based on [[Richard Brinsley Sheridan]]), ''Ma non è una cosa seria'' written by [[Luigi Pirandello]], ''Il paese delle vacanze'' by [[Ugo Betti]], ''Liolà'', etc.{{sfn|Curle|Snyder|2000}}

In 1945-46, he played in two spectacles directed by [[Alessandro Blasetti]]: ''Il tempo e la famiglia Conway'' written by [[John Boynton Priestley]] and ''Ma non è una cosa seria'' by [[Luigi Pirandello]]. During the season 1945-46 he spent playing in ''[[The Marriage of Figaro (play)|The Marriage of Figaro]]'' and collaborated with [[Luchino Visconti]], Vivi Gioi and [[Nino Besozzi]]. In 1948-49 he acted in two new plays: ''[[The Time of Your Life (film)|The Time of Your Life]]'' and ''[[The Magnificent Cuckold]]'' written by [[Fernand Crommelynck]] and adapted by [[Mario Chiari]]. ''The Magnificent Cuckold'' became De Sica's last theatre performance after which he concentrated fully on cinema and TV projects. Between 1923 and 1949 De Sica took part in over 120 theatre performances.<ref>{{cite web
| url =https://www.ilmamilio.it/c/news/55509-vittorio-de-sica-il-sogno-e-la-realta-del-cinema.html
| title =Vittorio De Sica, il sogno e la realtà del grande Cinema
| publisher = Il Mamilio
| access-date =2024-05-16}}</ref>

=== Cinema ===
In the early years, De Sica combined his theatre and cinema careers: in the summer months, he was engaged in filmmaking and spent the winters performing on stage.{{sfn|Mallozzi|2021}} In cinema, his first notable role was in 1932 ''Gli uomini, che mascalzoni'' directed by [[Mario Camerini]]. The song ''[[Parlami d'amore Mariù]]'' became a hit and remained his signature song for many years.<ref name=marilyn/>{{sfn|Marrone|2007|p=621}} In the 1930s his credits included many notable performances such as in ''[[I'll Give a Million (1935 film)|I'll Give a Million]]'' (1935), ''[[Il signor Max]]'' (1937), ''[[Department Store (1939 film)|Department Store]]'' (1939), ''[[Manon Lescaut (1940 film)|Manon Lescaut]]''. Between 1931 and 1940, he starred in and directed 23 productions.{{sfn|Curle|Snyder|2000|p=9}}

During 1934 in Verona, De Sica first met screenwriter [[Cesare Zavattini]], for many years they would become inseparable collaborators and created some of the most celebrated films of the [[Italian neorealism|neorealistic age]], like ''[[Sciuscià]]'' (''Shoeshine'') and ''[[Bicycle Thieves]]'' (released as ''The Bicycle Thief'' in America), both directed by De Sica.{{sfn|Cardullo|2002|pp=128, 164}}{{sfn|Brancaleone|2021}}

In 1940, supported by producer Giuseppe Amato, De Sica debuted as a director and created ''[[Red Roses (film)|Rose scarlatte]]''.<ref name=marilyn/>{{sfn|Curle|Snyder|2000|p=10}}

In 1944, De Sica received an invitation from [[Joseph Goebbels|Goebbels]] to make a film in [[Prague]], but refused, using an offer from the Catholic Film Centre in Rome as an excuse.{{sfn|Curle|Snyder|2000|p=10-11}}

De Sica's 1946 drama ''[[Shoeshine (film)|Sciuscià]]'' won the [[Academy Award for Best International Feature Film|Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film]] in 1947. Despite the film's critical success, it failed in the Italian box office because the public craved easier films and mostly went to comedies.{{cn|date=July 2024}} It was also heavily criticized by the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Correction. This alienation by the Italian authorities made it difficult for De Sica to finance his subsequent projects. To produce ''[[Bicycle Thieves]]'', De Sica had to invest own money and rely on the support of several Italian businessmen. The film brought De Sica his second Oscar as well as multiple other awards and accolades, however, again the success in Italian box office was tepid. The relationship with the government remained bad, after the release of ''[[Umberto D.]]'' prime minister [[Giulio Andreotti]] sent De Sica a letter accusing him of 'rendering bad service for the country'.{{sfn|Curle|Snyder|2000|p=10-13}}

In 1951, De Sica co-authored (with [[Alberto Sordi]]) and played in ''[[Mamma Mia, What an Impression!]]''<ref>{{cite web
| url =https://www.raiplay.it/programmi/mammamiacheimpressione
| title =Mamma mia, che impressione!
| publisher = Rai Play
| access-date =2024-05-16}}</ref> In 1952, he played along [[Gina Lollobrigida]] in ''[[In Olden Days]]'' and then again in 1953 in the comedy ''[[Bread, Love and Dreams]]''. De Sica's character, Marshal Antonio Carotenuto, immediately became the public's favourite. The film was an enormous success, it was nominated for Academy Awards and won the Silver Bear at Berlinale. It was followed with three sequels: ''[[Bread, Love and Jealousy]]'' (1954), ''[[Scandal in Sorrento]]'' (1955), and ''[[Bread, Love and Andalusia]]'' (1958).<ref>{{cite web
| url =https://titanus.it/en/progetto/cinema/bread-love-and-dreams/
| title =Bread, Love and dreams
| publisher = Titanus
| access-date =2024-05-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| url =https://www.filmlinc.org/films/bread-love-and-dreams/
| title =Bread, Love and Dreams
| publisher = Film at Lincoln Center
| access-date =2024-05-16}}</ref>

In 1959, De Sica appeared in the British television series ''[[The Four Just Men (TV series)|The Four Just Men]]''. In 1961, he starred in ''[[The Two Marshals]]'' alongside ''[[Totò]]''.{{sfn|Curle|Snyder|2000|p=12}}