Avanzi di galera

Vittorio Cottafavi 's most known movies are his cheap sword and sandals , which , unlike some french critics'opinions who go as far as to write they transcend the peplum ,are dreadful stuff :Cleopatra, Hercules,Messalina, and plenty of gladiators are summoned for stories which could have been written by a twelve year old.

"Avanzi di galera "(=prison leftovers)is a film made out of sketches ,generally the Italians' forte ,but it takes a great director such as Dino Risi ,Ettore Scola.....

The three sketches deal with ex-convicts just out of jail ,none of which is really satisfying

1)Richard Basehart, Valentina Cortese: the story of an alcoholic physician,who causes one of his patients' death (but he attempted the impossible to save him :all his colleagues had ducked out of it) .He wants to resume his work ,but he's exposed to his colleagues ' doubts and his dead patients' wife 's hatred ;fortunately ,so to speak , his wife meets with an accident ,and who do you think she wants as a surgeon?

2)Eddie Constantine : the umpteenth story of the thief who got a six-year sentence and did not give his accomplices away to the police. Now that he is released,they want to know where their loot his hidden;but,you will not guess it,he's not prepared to accept it ,for he paid for the whole gang .

3)Walter Chiari ,Antonella Lualdi An ex-convict claims that he is totally innocent,but no one believes him ,his lawyer has a scornful smile (it's the same old song with all my clients);only a nurse cheers him up when she says 'perhaps you weren't'; Lualdi, the metteur en scene does not seem to direct ,plays like a zombie and it takes a lot of imagination to believe she can save the situation;but she's so beautiful......