This was the first feature film by the director who would later give us "Il sorpasso" and of large number of very good comedies and dramas, often with the best of Italian performers. Before this movie, Dino Risi had made only documentary shorts, "Vacanze col gangster" brings together a group of young boys on a mission, to rescue a man from prison because they know he is innocent of the crime for which he has been convicted. The man is known simply as prisoner number 5823 and is played by a virtually wordless Lamberto Maggiorani, the actor who had portrayed the father in De Sica's landmark "Bicycle Thief"/"Bicycle Thieves." The leader of the little gang of five is Gianni, played by Mario Girotti, better known as an adult as Terence Hill, who developed a cult following from spaghetti westerns. The movie is intended for a youthful audience, and despite all its improbabilities, including secret tunnels, a note sent to the prisoner via a baked cake, it is really a lot of fun, and it reminded me of a similar young-gang-of-friends film called "Gli angeli del quartiere," and even of the American movie "The Goonies." Some of the plan goes awry, and when the boys succeed in extricating a prisoner from jail, it turns out to be the wrong man, an actual hardened criminal, the "gangster" of the title. How all of this turns into a salubrious conclusion and improved luck for the real innocent, Mr. 5823, is given to us in a contrived finale. In short, this is a cute film of no particular consequence, but with some pleasant moments involving the young cast who are on screen most of the time. I enjoyed seeing it.
Review of Vacanze col gangster
