La Macchina Ammazzacattivi (aka The Machine To Kill Bad People) (1952)

Set in a small coastal village in Italy, a struggling photographer (Gennaro Pisano) is given the power to kill the bad people of his village by taking their picture. But as he uncovers evil, greed and cruelty in the town, will anyone be left alive when he's done? Directed by Roberto Rossellini (STROMBOLI), this whimsical comedic fantasy is unlike anything he's ever done. At least that I've seen. When one thinks of Rossellini, one doesn't think of whimsical comedies. If it were a bit more irreverent, I would have compared it to some of Bunuel's comic pieces. It's a slight concoction, a one joke premise that promises to run out of steam but Rossellini smartly ends it before it does. It's a morality tale whose moral is pretty obvious but that doesn't preclude an enjoyable journey with bits and pieces of charm and a surprise at the end. With Giovanni Amato, Clara Bindi, Giacomo Furia and Marilyn Buferd (Miss America 1946).