A woman is murdered in the outskirts of the city among hovels and provisional building sites, where vagabonds live, and one of them has seen something. A man who was seen on the location is arrested, and there is a mass of circumstantial evidence pointing against him, while he insists he is innocent. Only his young wife (Giulietta Masina) with a baby believes and knows he is innocent. The attorney who is assigned his case can't believe he is innocent, but a friend of the young wife comes to terms with the attorney and gradually changes his mind. There are some terrific scenes, at the stadium when the police chases the escaped suspect, and in the later half in the shanty town with lots of spectators present for the final settlement, it is not a great film but very predictable, but it is worth watching for these scenes and for Giulietta Masina. The court proceedings are tedious, there is no real suspense, the action is rather commonplace, but the atmosphere and the environment settings are hauntingly fascinating, especially for the sake of the old tramp who plays on a saw, who actually becomes crucial for the drama.
