Evening star., 1952-09-06

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IS what Mr.. De Sica has created
out Of this inspection of the un-
fortunate and impoverished. From
realism he has turned to frolic-
some fantasy. He has let his
Joy Cormody, droma editor Of The
StGr, whose column oppeors here dolly.
Is on voeotion.
imagination roam and his comedy
takes on variety of moods from
utter nonsense to sharply sig
nificant irony.
Miracle in Milan" is something
more than sheer fantasy. 1t also
is a comedy with meaning and it
inevitably invites comparison with
Chaplin and Rene Clair, a couple
of other fellows who have done
well with this sort of thing.
It also may remind you now
and then Of Jean Cocteau. There
are moments when it seems COM
pletely out of hand. This feeling
stems, no doubt, from the fact
that De Sica has wisely not both
cred to translate to English sub
titles all Of the Italian dialogue.
This, all things considered, was a
wise move, but the film does give
you an occasional feeling that you
have missed the point of some
thing. or are just about to.
Miracle in Milan" was adapted
for the screen by Cesare Zavat-
tint from his novel. Toto, II
Buono." Toto the Good is an
orphan. found in a cabbage patch
when an infant by a little old
lady who is almost too cute to
escape being shot. For five years
or so she lavishes on him kind
ness and multiplication tables in
approximately equal doses. She
dies and Toto is packed of to an
orphanage.
Several years later he emerges.
full Of love for people, the world
and life in general. In short
order he is taking over a hobo
jungle on the outskirts of Milan
and De Sica is playing the fan
taSy with all stops out.
Toto spreads good cheer all over
the place. He 'SuperviseS the
building of shacks, the laying out
OF roadways and the installing of
Impoverished squatterS in their
new homes. He even has time for
a small. innocent romantic idyll
with a little slavey named Edvige.
The villain in the lives of these
dnfortunates is tycoon who buys
the land when oil is found on it
and moves to dislodge with force
his non-paying tenants. He is
tended of only by heavenly in
tervention. Toto's deceased foster
mother comes zooming down out
OF the blue and hands him a dove
which will. she says, grant his
every wish.
It does, too. The only drawback
Is that pair of angels keep turn
ing up to snatch back the dove
just when Toto needs a miracle
badly. Even so. it is quite a fas-
cinating battle before Signor Mob
bi gets his land and Toto's un-
fortunates ride Off aStride brooms
toward a kingdom where Good
Morning really means Good
Morning."
This bare outline doesn't re-
create much of the spirit of the
original; maybe not any of it.
It should make it plain. though.
that De Sica has created the sort
Of thing In which you can find
your own meaning. Many are
sure to find many different things
In it.
There will be those who will dis
cover something political, who will
hint darkly that it is significant
that the ruthless villain is a
capitalist. De Sica. himself. says
he Is no political propagandist.
Miracle in Milan" he once told
an interviewer, expresses the
artistic credo and moral convic-
tionS from which he has never
deviated-namely. Love thy
neighbor as thyself."
There is this in Miracle in
Milan" all right. If you take
De Sica at his word you can,
unless you are an unrecon-
structed realist, enjoy most of his
latest film.
X
Many Of the comic sequences
which he has spread through the
picture have no particular sig
nificance, as a matter of fact, be-
yond being just plain fun. An
outstanding one occurs when
Mobbi brings up his troops to dis