Tag Archives: Giuseppe De Santis

A tragic story based on true events, Giuseppe De Santis’ 1952 “Roma ore 11” (Rome 11:00) follows several young women in post-WWII Rome as they answer a single job listing for a typist. When 200 women are in line on one staircase spanning several floors, a crack leads to the collapse of the entire staircase. Dozens were injured, and one person was killed. The tragedy spoke to the poverty and desperation of so many Italians in the early 1950s before the ’58 industrial boom began. The prolific screenwriter Cesare Zavattini contributed to the script, which was based on testimonials. Filmmaker …