The film is set during the Allied invasion of Italy in 1943. It is one of the most famous films of the Commedia all'italiana genre. It also belongs to a large genre of Italian films about Italy during the chaos after the invasion and double occupation of September 1943 - others include "Rome, Open City", "Paisan", "General Della Rovere", "Violent Summer", "Long Night in 1943", "Escape by Night", "Two Women", "The Fascist", "The Abandoned", "The Four Days of Naples", and "Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom".