Stazione Termini (1953)

Director:

Vittorio De Sica

Writers:

Truman Capote (dialogue)
Luigi Chiarini (writer)

Release Date:

10 May 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A married American woman has gotten involved with another man while visiting relatives in Rome. She...

Plot Keywords:

Child | Philadelphia Pennsylvania | Nephew | Guilt | Affair

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Jennifer Jones	...	Mary Forbes
Montgomery Clift	...	Giovanni Doria
Gino Cervi	...	Police commissioner
Richard Beymer	...	Paul (as Dick Beymer)

Also Known As:

Indiscretion (UK)
Indiscretion of an American Wife (USA)
Station Terminus (International: English title)
Terminal Station
Terminal Station Indiscretion (International: English title)
Terminus Station (International: English title)

Runtime:

72 min | Italy:87 min | 90 min | USA:63 min

Country:

Italy | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Finland:S | Spain:18 | Sweden:Btl | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (video rating) (1996) | USA:Approved (PCA #16463, General Audience) | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Biography: Jennifer Jones: Portrait of a Lady" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Indiscretion

Cul- de- sac.

Coming after "ladri di biciclette"(1946)"miracolo a Milano"(1950) and the absorbing and rather unrecognized "Umberto D"(probably De Sica's masterpiece,1952),"Stazione Termini" cannot be put on a par with these former works.It is an interesting effort though.

Montgomery Clift and Jennifer Jones are par excellence the romantic couple ,but in an Italian environment,they look like extra-terrestrials.Do not get me wrong,I do enjoy these two actors' talent ,but I wonder why De Sica ,one of the neorealism high priests, has chosen Hollywood stars whereas ,for instance,he refused to engage Cary Grant for the "ladri di biciclette" lead,and he used rather obscure actors for "Umberto D".Besides,I wonder whether both Jones and Clift are dubbed (or not?) in Italian.I wonder too whether this actress was not influenced by Ingrid Bergman's coming to Italy.When she buys chocolate for the children and when she wants to help the poor family,Jones' character makes me think of Bergman's in Rossellini's "Europa 51" (1951) for a very short while

The plot is banal and the railway station becomes the star of the film.De Sica completely succeeds in showing the life of this hive,with its travelers,its priests,its soldiers,its poor families packed into 3rd class waiting rooms,its trains heading for darkness .The lovers' faces are nicely filmed as if they were the only lights of this obscure world.