The Organizer

The Organizer
Italian theatrical release poster
Directed by	Mario Monicelli
Produced by	Franco Cristaldi
Written by	Mario Monicelli Age & Scarpelli
Starring	Marcello Mastroianni Renato Salvatori Annie Girardot Folco Lulli Gabriella Giorgelli Raffaella Carrà
Music by	Carlo Rustichelli
Cinematography	Giuseppe Rotunno
Edited by	Ruggero Mastroianni
Release date	October 25, 1963 (1963-10-25)
Running time	128 minutes
Country	Italy
Language	Italian

The Organizer (Italian: I compagni) is a 1963 Italian-French-Yugoslavian-produceddrama film written by Mario Monicelli and Age & Scarpelli, and directed by Mario Monicelli. Set in Turin at the end of the 19th century, it stars Marcello Mastroianni as a labor activist who becomes involved with a group of textile factory workers who go on strike.

The film had its premiere at the 35th Congress of the Italian Socialist Party. The script was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 37th Academy Awards.

The film is set in Turin at the end of the 19th century and opens with a scene showing workers of all ages, including young teenager Omero (Franco Ciolli), rising at 5:30 in the morning before heading to a textile factory where they work until 8:30 in the evening.

Towards the end of the day, fatigue starts taking its toll and disaster strikes when the hand of a drowsy worker is mangled by a machine. Workers Pautasso (Folco Lulli), Martinetti (Bernard Blier), and Cesarina (Elvira Tonelli) decide to form an ad hoc committee and speak to management and state their case that the 14-hour work day needs to be shortened by one hour to avoid accidents arising from exhaustion. Their request is ignored and they only admonishments to be more careful. Moreover, a subsequent attempt by the workers to emphasize their grievances by staging a walkout an hour early on the next evening results in a humiliating defeat when they lose their nerve and stay until the usual time.

Professor Sinigaglia (Marcello Mastroianni), a labor activist on the run from the police in Genoa, hops off a freight train and comes to hide in the neighborhood. There, he runs into a meeting where the undeterred workers discuss the idea of all coming to work an hour late to make their point. The bookish-looking, unassuming Sinigaglia becomes involved, and in a burst of fiery rhetoric persuades the workers to escalate their struggle by not coming to work at all and going on strike instead. Drawing on his own experience, he also helps them to prepare effectively by building up a stock of supplies. The workers committee expresses its gratitude by assigning Sinigaglia as a guest to Raoul, a bitter worker who is skeptical about the others' determination as well as the movement's chances of success, and is displeased with this arrangement.