Like many European nations after World War II, Italy was shaken to its core and in a state of reconstruction in the mid-1940s. While for countries like France or England, being on the winners’ side of the conflict made it much easier to go back to what was deemed as normality, for the Third Reich’s main ally through half of the war, the aftermath left the entire nation questioning itself.

Cinema was no exception to this. In the years prior and during the war, Italian cinema was consumed by the so-called Telefono Bianchi (White Telephones) films. These were an imitation of American comedies of the time. These motion pictures featured lavish and expensive Art Deco set design, inhabited by bourgeois characters. They promoted conservative values, respect for authority, and a rigid class hierarchy that went in line with the fascist regime.