vain that it would be shown, but the film was branded as an example of "paranoid cinema". Breakthrough Always with his friend Alberto Mondadori, he released the silent film I ragazzi della Via Paal (an adaptation of the novel The Paul Street Boys), which was an award-winner in the Venice Film Festival. The award earned Monicelli the opportunity to work in the production of a professional film. He was therefore able to skip the various stages of professional training and was sent, together with Mondadori, to work as a camera assistant in the production of Gustav Machatý's film "Ballerine". After that he found work, as a camera assistant again, in Augusto Genina's film Lo squadrone bianco and The Castiglioni Brothers by Corrado D'Errico. There he met Giacomo Gentilomo, who hired him as an assistant director and co-writer for Short Circuit, considered as a possible precursor to the giallo genre. In 1937, under the pseudonym of Michele Badiek, he wrote and directed the amateur film Pioggia d'estate ("Summer Rain") The film was attended by many friends and fellow citizens. Monicelli said that this experience was important for his training as he learned to From 1939–42, he produced up to 40 numerous screenplays, and worked as an assistant director. In 1940 Monicelli enlisted in the cavalry, hoping that this choice could avoid him being sent to Russia or to Africa. When the army broke up in 1943, he fled to Rome, where he remained hidden until the summer of 1944. In 1946 his father Tomaso committed suicide. Being a journalist and a literary critic, Tomaso Monicelli had dared to criticise the fascist regime especially after the murder of Giacomo Matteotti in 1924. He was blacklisted and boycotted for his writings and endured a series of failures. Later on, Monicelli said he could understand his father's decision Comedy Italian Style Monicelli made his official debut as a director in 1949 along with Steno, with the film Totò cerca casa starring the comedy genius Totò. From the very beginning of his career Monicelli's cinematic style had a remarkable flow to it. The duo produced eight successful movies in four years, including the cult film Cops and Robbers (1951) and Totò a colori (1952). From 1953 onwards Monicelli worked alone, without leaving his role as a writer of screenplays. Monicelli's career includes some of the masterpieces of Italian cinema. In I soliti ignoti (Big Deal