Vittorio Gassman, popularly known as Il Mattatore, was an Italian actor, director, and screenwriter.
Vittorio Gassman
Gassman, Giovanna Ralli and Alberto Lattuada awarded at the 1957 Grolla d'oro
Vittorio Gassman in Bitter Rice (1948)
Gassman in War and Peace (1956)
Bitter Rice is a 1949 Italian neorealist crime drama film directed and co-written by Giuseppe De Santis, produced by Dino De Laurentiis, and starring Vittorio Gassman, Doris Dowling, Silvana Mangano, and Raf Vallone. The story follows a pair of fugitives, who hide among the rice fields of northern Italy. The Italian title of the film is based on a pun; since the Italian word riso can mean either "rice" or "laughter", riso amaro can be taken to mean either "bitter laughter" or "bitter rice".
Original theatrical poster
U.S theatrical advertisement, 9 February 1951