The Assassin (1961 film)

1961 Italian–French film

The Assassin

Directed by| Elio Petri
Screenplay by|

* Tonino Guerra
* Elio Petri
* Pasquale Festa Campanile
* Massimo Franciosa

Story by|

* Tonino Guerra
* Elio Petri

Produced by| Franco Cristaldi
Starring| Marcello Mastroianni
Cinematography| Carlo Di Palma
Edited by| Ruggero Mastroianni
Music by| Piero Piccioni

Production
companies

* Titanus
* Vides Cinematografica
* Société Générale de Cinématographie[1]

Distributed by| Titanus (Italy)

Release dates

* 1 April 1961 (1961-04-01) (Italy)[2]
* July 1964 (1964-07) (France)[2]

Running time

| 106 minutes
Country| Italy
Language| Italian

The Assassin (Italian: L'assassino) is a 1961 Italian-French crime drama film directed by Elio Petri starring Marcello Mastroianni.[1][2][3] It was Petri's feature film debut as a director.

## Plot[edit]

Antiques dealer Alfredo returns to his exclusive apartment in Rome in the early morning hours. When his fiancée Nicoletta rings him up on the phone, he pretends that he had spent the whole night at home. Shortly after, the police arrive and arrest Alfredo, as his former mistress Adalgisa, with whom he had spent the last night, has been found murdered in her hotel at the seaside. Also, Nicoletta has suddenly disappeared. While Alfredo is kept in custody, the police research his past and uncover an egotistical, ruthless careerist who uses the people around him to climb the social ladder at any cost, selling fake antiques, having his mistress pay for his expenses and dropping her at the prospect of marrying Nicoletta, the daughter of a rich industrialist. When Nicoletta shows up again and the true murderer is convicted, the police release Alfredo. Showing remorse for his past behaviour at first, he soon falls back into his previous patterns.

## Cast[edit]

* Marcello Mastroianni as Alfredo Martelli
* Micheline Presle as Adalgisa de Matteis
* Cristina Gaioni as Nicoletta Nogara
* Salvo Randone as Commissario Palumbo
* Andrea Checchi as Morello, Adalgisa's husband
* Francesco Grandjacquet as the old gentleman
* Marco Mariani as Commissario Margiotta
* Franco Ressel as Doctor Francesconi
* Mac Ronay as the suicide
* Toni Ucci as Toni
* Max Cartier as Bruno
* Bruno Scipioni
* Giovanna Gagliardo as Rosetta
* Liana Ferri
* Carlo Egidi as the friend of Alfredo
* Eugenio Maggi
* Ubaldo Micacchi
* Silvio Bastianelli
* Paolo Panelli as Paolo

## Release[edit]

The Assassin was released in Italy on 1 April 1961, distributed by Titanus.[2] It was shown in competition at the 11th Berlin International Film Festival June–July the same year and released in France in July 1964.[2]

## Legacy[edit]

The film was restored in 2011 by the Cineteca di Bologna.[3] The restored version was screened at the same year's 64th Cannes Film Festival in the "Cannes Classics" section.[4]

## Awards[edit]

* Nastro d'argento for Best Supporting Actor Salvo Randone[3]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b "L'assassino". Ciné-Ressources (in French). Retrieved 18 December 2023.
2. ^ a b c d e Curti, Roberto (2021). Eltio Petri: Investigation of a Filmmaker. McFarland. ISBN 9781476680347.
3. ^ a b c "L'assassino". Cinematografo (in Italian). Retrieved 18 December 2023.
4. ^ "L'assassino". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved 18 December 2023.

## External links[edit]

* The Assassin at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Elio Petri filmography

Films directed|

* The Assassin (1961)
* His Days Are Numbered (1962)
* The Teacher from Vigevano (1963)
* High Infidelity (segment "Peccato nel pomeriggio", 1964)
* The 10th Victim (1965)
* We Still Kill the Old Way (1967)
* A Quiet Place in the Country (1968)
* Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970)
* The Working Class Goes to Heaven (1971)
* Property Is No Longer a Theft (1973)
* Todo modo (1976)
* Good News (1979)

Written only|

* A Husband for Anna (1953)
* Angels of Darkness (1954)
* Days of Love (1954)
* Sunset in Naples (1955)
* The Wolves (1957)
* The Road a Year Long (1958)
* Train Without a Timetable (1959)
* The Employee (1960)
* Vento del sud (1960)
* La garçonnière (1960)
* I mostri (1963)

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