I picked this movie because I wanted to see Giulietta Masina outside a Fellini film. It was a good choice, even though the role of Giulietta is not a major one, but the movie convinces as a film noir with elements of neorealismo.
Should not there be an antihero in a film noir, you may want to ask. Well, what about the main protagonist, the lawyer Roberto Marini, who may not be the classical cynical antihero, but his motives to take over the case are not really noble ones and on top he starts from being convinced of the poor being guilty and untruthful just because of their living conditions.
Unlike Masina's flawless performance Massimo Girotti's acting as Roberte Marini often appeared a bit stiff to me but being a former sport star he was often casted primarily because of his good looks. The lovely Marina Berti as his assistant, however, makes up ground in the acting respect.
I also liked the good illustration of the suburbia lifes of the poor, which is the neorealismo part of the movie. Especially the scenes next to the river with the 3 homeless men (one of them being a suspect) are quite memorable.
Overall, I do recommend the movie, but it should be obvious that a film from the 50's is in black and white and that the quality of picture and sound are not today's state of the art.
