Lo Sceicco Bianco (aka The White Sheik) (1952)

A provincial couple arrive in Rome for their honeymoon. While the groom (Leopoldo Trieste) plans a big day including a papal visit with his relatives, his wife (Brunella Bovo) sneaks off to find the dashing soap opera hero (Alberto Sordi) of her fantasies. Directed by Federico Fellini in his solo directorial debut (he co-directed VARIETY LIGHTS). This charming romantic comedy is a rare foray into the genre by Fellini. His later work would never again display such a whimsical light touch. He is able to satirize (but with affection, not condescendingly) the romantic fantasies of the bourgeois young girls and housewives who devoured the then popular photo strip magazines (a forerunner of the graphic novel?). In a small role, Giulietta Masina plays the prostitute Cabiria who Fellini would later expand into a full length film as NIGHTS OF CABIRIA. The plot was "borrowed" by Woody Allen for TO ROME WITH LOVE. With Lilia Landi, Ernesto Almirante and Ugo Attanasio.