The White Sheik
Encyclopedia
The White Sheik is a 1952
film by Federico Fellini
starring Leopoldo Trieste
, Alberto Sordi
, and Brunella Bovo.
), arrive in Rome
for their honeymoon
. Wanda is obsessed with the "White Sheik" (Alberto Sordi
), the hero of a soap opera
photo strip and sneaks off to find him, leaving her conventional, petit bourgeois husband in hysterics as he tries to hide his wife's disappearance from his strait-laced relatives who are waiting to go with them to visit the Pope.
in 1950 with Alberto Lattuada
.
Originally the treatment for The White Sheik was written by Michelangelo Antonioni
. Carlo Ponti
commissioned Fellini and Tullio Pinelli to develop the treatment. It was satirical in nature, targeting the trashy fotoromanzi comic strips that were extremely popular in Italy when the film was made.
The male lead, Leopoldo Trieste
, a playwright who did not consider himself an actor, reluctantly auditioned for Fellini. During the audition Fellini asked him to compose a sonnet that the lead character would have written to his wife. The poem which begins "She is graceful, sweet and teeny..." was included in the film.
Appearing briefly as the prostitute Cabiria, Giulietta Masina
would later return to this role in Nights of Cabiria
. Her short scene inspired Fellini to write the screenplay and also convinced producers that Giulietta was ready for the leading role.
1952 in film
The year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
film by Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century...
starring Leopoldo Trieste
Leopoldo Trieste
Leopoldo Trieste was an Italian actor, film director and script writer.Trieste was born in Reggio Calabria...
, Alberto Sordi
Alberto Sordi
Alberto Sordi, also known as Albertone, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian actor. He was also a film director and the dubbing voice of Oliver Hardy in the Italian version of the Laurel & Hardy films....
, and Brunella Bovo.
Plot
Two young newlyweds from a provincial town, Wanda (Brunella Bovo) and Ivan Cavalli (Leopoldo TriesteLeopoldo Trieste
Leopoldo Trieste was an Italian actor, film director and script writer.Trieste was born in Reggio Calabria...
), arrive in 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...
for their honeymoon
Honeymoon
-History:One early reference to a honeymoon is in Deuteronomy 24:5 “When a man is newly wed, he need not go out on a military expedition, nor shall any public duty be imposed on him...
. Wanda is obsessed with the "White Sheik" (Alberto Sordi
Alberto Sordi
Alberto Sordi, also known as Albertone, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian actor. He was also a film director and the dubbing voice of Oliver Hardy in the Italian version of the Laurel & Hardy films....
), the hero of a soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
photo strip and sneaks off to find him, leaving her conventional, petit bourgeois husband in hysterics as he tries to hide his wife's disappearance from his strait-laced relatives who are waiting to go with them to visit the Pope.
Production history
The White Sheik was Fellini's first solo effort as a director. He had previously co-directed Variety LightsVariety Lights
Variety Lights is a 1950 Italian film directed and produced by Federico Fellini and Alberto LattuadaThe film launched Fellini's directorial career, but was a collaboration with Alberto Lattuada...
in 1950 with Alberto Lattuada
Alberto Lattuada
Alberto Lattuada was an Italian film director.Lattuada was born in Milan, the son of composer Felice Lattuada...
.
Originally the treatment for The White Sheik was written by Michelangelo Antonioni
Michelangelo Antonioni
Michelangelo Antonioni, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian modernist film director, screenwriter, editor and short story writer.- Personal life :...
. Carlo Ponti
Carlo Ponti
Carlo Ponti was an Italian film producer with over 140 production credits, and the husband of Italian movie star Sophia Loren.-Career:...
commissioned Fellini and Tullio Pinelli to develop the treatment. It was satirical in nature, targeting the trashy fotoromanzi comic strips that were extremely popular in Italy when the film was made.
The male lead, Leopoldo Trieste
Leopoldo Trieste
Leopoldo Trieste was an Italian actor, film director and script writer.Trieste was born in Reggio Calabria...
, a playwright who did not consider himself an actor, reluctantly auditioned for Fellini. During the audition Fellini asked him to compose a sonnet that the lead character would have written to his wife. The poem which begins "She is graceful, sweet and teeny..." was included in the film.
Appearing briefly as the prostitute Cabiria, Giulietta Masina
Giulietta Masina
Giulietta Masina was an Italian film and stage actress. She starred in La Strada and Nights of Cabiria, both winners of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, in 1956 and 1957, respectively...
would later return to this role in Nights of Cabiria
Nights of Cabiria
Nights of Cabiria is a 1957 Italian film directed by Federico Fellini. Fellini's wife, Giulietta Masina, plays Cabiria Ceccarelli, a feisty but naive prostitute in Ostia, then a seedy section of Rome...
. Her short scene inspired Fellini to write the screenplay and also convinced producers that Giulietta was ready for the leading role.
Critical reception
Italian film critic Giulio Cesare Castello, writing for Cinema V, argued that Fellini's past as a successful gag writer made him a natural choice as the film's director: "Fellini was undoubtedly the best qualified and for two reasons: firstly, his experience as a gag writer and consequently his familiarity with the secrets and intrigues of the world he was about to bring to the screen; secondly, his gift for sarcastic comment and delight in satirizing tradition... The result is unusual and stimulating but derives more from the failure to establish a basic mood or tone rather than from any direct intention. Fellini should find this tone in future works if he is to avoid the discontinuity we found here."Further reading
Aristarco, Guido. Lo sceicco bianco, in: "Cinema Nuovo", n° 1, Novembre 1952.- Burke, Frank M. "Variety Lights, The White Sheik, and Italian Neorealism". In Film Criticism, Winter 1978, Volume 3, no. 2, p. 53-66.