Train operator Andrea Marcocci has to witness the suicide of a desperate man who jumps in front of his train. Under the influence of this shock he starts making mistakes. A check up by a doctor reveals that he's at the brink of becoming an alcoholic. Due to this evaluation he is degraded and must accept a salary cut.
An old woman finds a baby in her cabbage patch and raises him. After her death, the boy grows up in an orphanage and later joins the homeless in post-war Milan, helping them build a shanty town. When they discover oil, he receives a magical dove from a vision of his adoptive mother that grants wishes.
A Milanese shop assistant becomes an overnight film sensation when fate lands her the leading role in a prominent producer's romantic drama.
Henri Faust, retiring after 50 years as a professor in a circa-1700 French university, despairs at the ravages of old age ... whereupon Mephistopheles, agent of Lucifer, appears as a virile, handsome young man and exchanges bodies with him to induce Faust to sign a pact to exchange his soul for renewed youth, riches and power. But though the "new" Faust is attracted by the material improvements in his life, he remains wary of signing, while Mephistopheles, now posing as the aged professor whose body he inhabits, must find a way to trick him into signing the pact - and dissuade him from the love of a gypsy girl who prays for his soul - or find himself damned by his own Master...
Hyacinth, a former matador who lives miserably with his nephew Pepote, receives a letter reminding him that, as agreed a few days before, he must participate in a bullfight to be held that same afternoon.
A family man travelling for work, Paolo Bianchi, meets on a train a lonely girl, Maria. He sees her again on a bus and she reveals him that she's in troubles: she's pregnant, her baby's father has left her and she doesn't know how to tell to her parents that she's not married. She asks Paolo to play the role of her husband and he accepts....
A professor was appointed member of the jury of a beauty contest and falls for a beautiful contestant. In order to get the girl he must win the "Tour of Italy", so professor sells his soul to the devil to get the winning and the girl.
A story of the Second Punic Wars, beginning with Scipio's futile pleas to the Roman Senate to build an army to battle Hannibal, that climaxes with the battle of Zama.
A crime novel writer is experiencing writer's block while writing his latest book. Then a woman is murdered in his home, and this crime gives him inspiration to finish his novel. Without noticing, he even founds the real culprit.
In the kingdom of Kindaor, traitor Sedesmondo kills his brother, the King of Kindaor, and becomes the tyrant of kingdom. He abandons the prince Arminio to beasts in the woods, but lions don't kill him and breed him as one of them.
Ignazio Panizza goes from one failure to the other until he meets a singer, Caterina, provided with an exceptional voice.
Ukraine, 1942. Italian troops are fighting against the Soviet Union. A military chaplain volunteers to stay behind with a badly wounded Italian soldier, even though this means certain capture.
Carlo Rutelli falls in love with the beautiful variety singer Yvonne la Nuit, but his father opposes the wedding. World War I breaks out and Carlo is killed while Yvonne has a son, but on orders from Carlo's father, she is told he is dead. Her career descends and only Nino, an art partner, remains close to her and helps her earn her living by singing in taverns.
This is the (funny) story of four agents of Roma traffic police in the '50s. Their life are crossed in affairs that often retire from mere job relationships. 'Guardia scelta' (special agent) Giuseppe tries to be a composer, he wants to write the anthem for the roman traffic police. 'Guardia'(agent) Alberto Randolfi has a too strong inclination to fine everyone and is dreaming about learning French. 'Brigadiere' (sergeant) Pietro Spaziali is busy looking at his little son Tonino and daughter Maria who is going to marry a boxer. The 'Maresciallo' (Marshal) tries to manage and solve all the troubles they often do.
Shy, clumsy and petulant, Alberto tries in every way to impress Margherita. With the hope of winning the first prize, he participates in a race.
The owner of a lottery store refuses to pay a large sum won by one of his workers that he hates, because that man received the winning numbers in a dream.
Peppino, a fishmonger on Campo de' Fiori, a famous Roman marketplace, works alongside Elide, a greengrocer, who has a soft spot for him, despite the fact they argue all day long... But neither Peppino, nor his friend Aurelio, the barber, are interested in getting married. Until he meets the beautiful Elsa...
In post-war Italy, some pilots of the Air Force, despite the difficulties in which they are forced to operate, manage to form an acrobatic squadron. From the dedication of these men will be born the "Frecce Tricolori", the Italian Air Force's acrobatic squadron.
A former prostitute and a little Polish girl are survivors of a train crash. The woman wishes to adopt the child, but her past makes that difficult.
Directed by Mario Camerini.
