Cops and Robbers (1951 film)

Guardie e ladri
Italian film poster
Directed by	Steno Mario Monicelli
Produced by	Carlo Ponti Dino De Laurentiis
Written by	Vitaliano Brancati Ennio Flaiano Aldo Fabrizi Mario Monicelli Ruggero Maccari Steno
Starring	Totò Aldo Fabrizi Ave Ninchi Rossana Podestà
Music by	Alessandro Cicognini
Cinematography	Mario Bava
Edited by	Adriana Novelli
Release date	21 October 1951 (1951-10-21)
Running time	109 minutes
Country	Italy
Language	Italian

Cops and Robbers (Italian: Guardie e ladri) is a 1951 Italian cult comedy film directed by Steno and Mario Monicelli. It stars the famous comedian Totò, and the cinematographer was the future film director Mario Bava. It was produced by Dino De Laurentiis and Carlo Ponti.

Its style is close to Italian neorealism. Released in Italian cinemas in November 1951 and shown in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 1952, earned the award for Piero Tellini the script and Totò the Nastro d'Argento. It had trouble with the censor because it portrayed clumsy police and smart thieves, but it was a great success. The film was a huge success and an unexpected liking by critics. Cops and robbers represented a real turning point in the career of Totò, so that for the first time his film was exclusively positive reviews, and its interpretation is considered one of the best of his career.

In 2008 the film was selected to enter the list of the 100 Italian films to be saved.

It was shown as part of a retrospective on Italian comedy at the 67th Venice International Film Festival.

The film is set in Rome during the Marshall Plan. Ferdinando Esposito (Totò) is a small villain who tries to support his family with his tricks. With his accomplice Amilcare (Aldo Giuffrè) pretends to have found an ancient coin in the Roman Forum and an American tourist cheats: Mr. Locuzzo that, unfortunately for him, is the chairman of a committee of the American charity. During the distribution of some gift-packs, also Esposito, these recognize and denounce the spot.