Cops and Robbers is a 1951  Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 cult comedy film directed by Steno

Stefano Vanzina

Steno, the artistic name of Stefano Vanzina was an Italian film director, screenwriter and cinematographer...

 and Mario Monicelli

Mario Monicelli

Mario Monicelli was an Italian director and screenwriter and one of the masters of the Commedia all'Italiana , three times nominated for Oscar.-Biography:...

. It stars a famous comedian Totó, and it was cinematographied by future film director Mario Bava

Mario Bava

Mario Bava was an Italian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer remembered as one of the greatest names from the "golden age" of Italian horror films.-Biography:Mario Bava was born in San Remo, Liguria, Italy...

. Its style is close to Italian neorealism

Italian neorealism

Italian neorealism is a style of film characterized by stories set amongst the poor and working class, filmed on location, frequently using nonprofessional actors...

. It had troubles with censorship because its view of clumsy police and smart thieves, but it was a great success. It was shown as part of a retrospective on Italian comedy at the 67th Venice International Film Festival

67th Venice International Film Festival

The 67th annual Venice Film Festival held in Venice, Italy, took place from September 1 to September 11, 2010. American film director and screenwriter Quentin Tarantino was head of the Jury. John Woo was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement prior to the start of the Festival...

.

Plot

In post World War II Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, the United States is helping Italy rebuild with the implementation of the Marshall Plan

Marshall Plan

The Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948...

. A thief, Ferdinando Esposito (Totò

Totò

Prince Antonio Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno De Curtis di Bisanzio Gagliardi, best known by his stage name Totò and nicknamed il principe della risata was an Italian comedian, film and theatre actor, writer, singer and songwriter...

), makes the life of a policeman, Brigadiere Bottoni (Aldo Fabrizi

Aldo Fabrizi

Aldo Fabrizi was an Italian actor and cinema and theatre director.-Actor Filmography:* Avanti, c'è posto... by Mario Bonnard...

), difficult. The cop must chase the thief if he wants to keep his job. But this is complicated by the fact that both of their families have now become intimate friends.

Cast

• Totò
  Totò
  Prince Antonio Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno De Curtis di Bisanzio Gagliardi, best known by his stage name Totò and nicknamed il principe della risata was an Italian comedian, film and theatre actor, writer, singer and songwriter...
  
   - Ferdinando Esposito
• Aldo Alimonti
• Ernesto Almirante - Il padre di Esposito
• Riccardo Antolini
• Giulio Calì
  Giulio Calì
  Giulio Calì was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 64 films between 1941 and 1966.-Selected filmography:* La porta del cielo * Variety Lights * Cops and Robbers...
  
  
• Alida Cappellini
• Pietro Carloni - Commissario
• Mario Castellani - Amilcare
• Rocco D'Assunta
• Carlo Delle Piane
  Carlo Delle Piane
  Carlo delle Piane is an Italian film actor. He has appeared in 104 films since 1948. He was born in Rome, Italy.-Selected filmography:* Cuore * Vogliamoci bene * Io sono il capataz...
  
   - Libero Esposito
• Aldo Fabrizi
  Aldo Fabrizi
  Aldo Fabrizi was an Italian actor and cinema and theatre director.-Actor Filmography:* Avanti, c'è posto... by Mario Bonnard...
  
   - Brigadiere Bottoni
• Aldo Giuffrè
  Aldo Giuffrè
  Aldo Giuffrè was an Italian film actor and comedian who appeared in over 90 films between 1948 and 2001. He was born in Naples....
  
   - Socio di Esposito
• Armando Guarnieri
• Ettore Jannetti
• Gino Leurini - Il cognato di Esposito
• Paolo Modugno
• Ave Ninchi
  Ave Ninchi
  Ave Ninchi was an Italian supporting actress who played character roles on stage, television, and in over 98 feature films that included Tomorrow Is Too Late and Louis Malle's Lacombe Lucien . She has worked with some of Italy's top movie stars, including Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni,...
  
   - Giovanna
• Pina Piovani - Donata Esposito
• Rossana Podestà
  Rossana Podestà
  Rossana Podestà is a former Italian actress.-Life:She was born in the Italian colony of Libya, where she spent her first years in Tripoli and later moved to Rome after World War II...
  
   - La figlia di Bottoni
• Gino Scotti
• William Tubbs - Mr. Locuzzo