Variety Lights (1950) User Reviews (16)

Early Fellini

[jhclues · 7/10 · 29 April 2001]

A young woman pursuing her dream of being on the stage, aligns herself with a traveling variety show band of performers in `Variety Lights,' directed by Federico Fellini (and assisted by Alberto Lattuada). Veteran comic actor Checco Dal Monte (Peppino De Filippo) and his troupe of performers are struggling to get by, living from hand to mouth and show to show, but it doesn't deter Liliana Antonelli (Carla Del Poggio), blinded perhaps by the stars in her eyes, from approaching Checco about joining his show. He turns her down-- they simply have no openings, and certainly no money-- but circumstances soon prevail on her behalf, and much to the chagrin of many of the other performers, she joins the troupe. The effect she will have on the show, and how it will influence her own life, remains to be seen at this point; but with Fellini at the helm, you know it's going to be an interesting ride. And it is.

Fellini, a true visionary, is known for filling the screen with vivid images born of his own imagination, especially in his later films. But beyond the sometimes bizarre appearances, there is always an engaging story to be found at the heart of his films, and this one (his first) is no exception. And, though devoid of the surrealism he would use later on, in Checco's company there is something of the carnival motif present that Fellini would return to time and again during the course of his career, and of course, there's the story, presented with that unique Fellini touch and laced with his insight into the human condition, which at it's core is the real strength of the film.

No matter what the subject matter, Fellini always had his finger on the emotional pulse of the material and had the innate ability to transfer what he felt to the screen. Very simply, he knew what worked and how to use it; within the images he presents, there can always be found a reflection of reality-- even amid the surreal-- and it's in his characters. Physically and emotionally, these are real people who run the entire gamut of human existence. Beyond his astounding visuals, it's his ability to cultivate that depth of his characters that makes Fellini special; the way they interact with, and relate to one another or the situations in which they find themselves. And by drawing out his actors, he always gives his audience someone with whom to identify on one level or another.

As Checco, Filippo successfully taps into the humanity of the character, this aging performer with hopes and aspirations beyond his means or capabilities. He's a character with whom you can sympathize, but only to a point-- for you soon recognize his flaws and transgressions. But even then, you are still able to at least understand him. Most importantly, his performance is believable, and his Checco comes across as a very real person.

Del Poggio gives a notable performance as well, as this young woman who makes the most of the opportunity with which she is presented. And as the story unfolds she develops her character extremely well; by the end of the film you know exactly who `Lily' is and what motivates her.

In a memorable supporting role, it's the young Giulietta Masina, however, who steals the show as Melina Amour, Checco's girlfriend. She creates the one character in the film with whom you can truly empathize, and she does it with style. Masina has such a radiant, charismatic screen presence, that whenever she appears the eye is instinctively drawn to her. A gifted actress, she is exceptionally adept at expressing her emotions-- often by merely shifting her eyes-- and communicating with the audience. Few actors can say more or convey as much with their eyes or with a simple expression as Masina. And, sparse as it is, her performance here is alone worth the price of admission.

The supporting cast includes Folco Lulli (Adelmo), John Kitzmiller (Johnny), Dante Maggio (Remo), Carlo Romano (Enzo) and Gina Mascetti (Valeria del Sole). Well crafted and delivered, `Variety Lights' is an engaging story, told in the same straightforward manner Fellini would later use in `La Strada' and `Nights of Cabiria.' The basic elements of the story may be familiar, but it's an entertaining film, and worth seeing, as it prophesies the triumphs of an artist who would soon be recognized as one of the world's master filmmakers: Fellini. I rate this one 7/10.

Fellini's debut (as co director) is sweet and sad and mostly terrific

[Quinoa1984 · 7/10 · 30 September 2020]

What starts off for around the first /25 minutes seeming like it could be a, well, Neo-Realist Showgirls, with in place of a gaudy Vegas show a ragtag bunch of traveling end-of-the-line Vaudeville performers and the Elizabeth Berkley here a doe-eyed young woman named Liliana who sees a performance one night and looks to join up and do anything she can - maybe looking to usurp the Gina Gershon star of the show (here a fiery and beautiful Giulietta Masina as Melina) soon turns much more into Fellini's riff on the Blue Angel. Both of these "this reminds me of" is largely meant as sincere compliments; Variety Lights is a mostly sad, bittersweet comedy of the bad times that come when ambition and the ideals of something greater take over and poison the good-will well for a tight knit group.

But even here the comparisons stop superficially; already here, and I don't know how much or little Latuada contributed as director of if it was a total collaboration, Fellini's "I love them, despite everything, even to an extent the selfish Antonelli" attention and embrace of the Low-Rent Performer and the ideal of what the crowd does to someone in general makes for come captivating viewing. I thought at first the male lead was too one note to latch on to, that he would be only a gruff uptight dickweed, but he deepened as the story got him into more desperate straits and his world turns him into a vulnerable puddle.

There are hints of what may come some day with the more Fellini Unchained productions, like a dinner party that features about forty five absorbingly disgusting seconds of the troupe eating a big dinner with the mastication on another wild plane of existence (the only time this was done without it being obnoxious in a film was The Dark Crystal, and that was because they were Muppets, ok as good a digression ill make this week), and dancing and interactions that feel so much like what we've seen so often in Fellini's films that he knew what he wanted from the beginning as far as freewheeling party sequences. But Variety Lights is a film that is richest as a melodrama that gives a wealth of its time to showing these faces, of the performers in action, the crowd as they know what they don't want and get enthralled by cheap thrills (there goes her skirt!) It's also a kind of absurd tragedy of ego and losing oneself in more misplsced ego.

In other words, a very good start to one career, and a nice little discovery at the same time by the director of Mafioso.

A strong debut for Federico Fellini

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 29 August 2012]

Lights of Variety is not one of Fellini's(co-directing with Alberto Lattuada) best, there is a slight sense that he was yet to find his feet and style, which was understandable considering that it was his first film. This said, he does delight in revealing human faces behind social masks while breaking with the neorealist tradition of the location of characters within the environment they're in. So there are some interesting touches without falling into self-indulgence yet not as ambitious as some of his middling efforts. The story is a simple one detailing love and desire within show-business but told very movingly, while Lights of Variety is also beautifully filmed, powerfully written and scored with bright exuberance. The characters are not detached yet are identifiable(if not so much as Ginger and Fred, La Strada and Nights of Cabiria) and you do relate to their plights. Peppino De Filippo, Carla Del Poggio and Giulietta Masina give top notch performances. All in all, a strong debut from Fellini even if he went on to even better things. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Fascinating foreshadowing of Fellini to come

[rzajac · 14 August 2003]

I just saw this for the first time, after sampling much of Fellini's later work over many years.

The most surprising thing to me was the sense that Variety Lights (VL) foreshadows Fellini's later "indulgent" work. Here, he bathes the viewer with genuinely warm, almost disconnected bits of life in all its spendor. The fine editing makes it all work; I laughed and sighed out loud through much of this movie, and the first 10 minutes hooked me. A little later in his career, Fellini (with help from other fine story people) showcased straight-up storytelling in La Strada and Cabiria. Subsequent to that, he began exploring "story space" in alinear, character-focused ways, from La Dolce Vita and beyond.

The point of all of this is to express my surprise that Fellini appears to have ended his career somewhat as he started it. VL is almost a "throwback" to the directions he took later in abandoning more traditional storytelling methods. Maybe it'd be better to put it this way: When he began diverging from a more conventional narrative style, he was actually taking a step *back* to the style we see in VL. A very good comparison is against his "Fred and Ginger," which explores story space in a studiedly chaotic way, then bowls you over by tying things together with a profoundly touching moment at the end. In "Fred and Ginger," Fellini gracefully brings together his old and new styles. In VL, he seems to bring these together before the new even happened!

The tremendous abilities of the actors and actresses are delightful in VL. Something conspicuous in post 8-1/2 Fellini is the purposeful lack of traditional acting craft; Fellini talked about this repeatedly in interviews. In VL (as in La Strada and Cabiria), Fellini shows that he was perfectly capable of directing actors who are plying their skills.

Because VL seems to cover the strengths of most of Fellini's career, it is a very fine example of the best he could do. Check it out.

Straight forward and charming

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 2 August 2007]

This film was co-directed by Fellini and is one of his earliest works (his first directing, though he'd written some scripts for earlier films). Most of his films through the 1950s were very straight forward dramas and many of them were extremely touching and unforgettable. This movie fits in very nicely with these films such as THE WHITE SHEIK, I VITELLONI and LA STRADA. If you are looking for the symbolic Fellini like in 8 1/2 or the weird Fellini such as in SATYRICON or CASSANOVA, then this movie might just leave you flat because it is such a "normal" film. As for me, this is NOT a bad thing, as I have long preferred his earlier directorial work. It's not as complicated or confusing as his later films but also shows amazing style and grace--as well as a great ability to create touching characters.

This simple film is about a 4th-rate traveling variety show. They are perpetually broke and most of this is due to the group's distinct lack of talent. Despite this, they have a certain pride in their work and some see themselves as artists--though their audiences thought otherwise. Into this rather bleak existence comes a young and seemingly naive young woman (Lily) who wants to be a star. Unlike the audience, Lily is captivated by the actors and longs to join them. The only one in the group who seems interested in having her join them, though, is the troop's director--and it's only because the lady is so young and shapely. Despite the lady's lack of experience, when she does make her debut it is a success--mostly because the men in the audience liked to see her in various stages of undress.

Since the group is now a success, the director sees his new ingénue as his ticket to fame and he no longer pays attention to his long-time girlfriend (played by Fellini's wife, Giulietta Masina). He puts all his creative energy into marketing Lily and his efforts are pretty much wasted--as Lily is much better in marketing herself since men go mad when they see her on stage. Eventually, and not surprisingly, Lily outgrows the silly old director and he's left with no one, as his traveling troop left him because they were tired of being ignored. What happens next you'll have to see for yourself, but the film is an excellent and interesting character study--not so much of Lily, but of the foolish director.

Well acted, interesting and fascinating--this is a lovely film worth your time.

Reassuringly simple story of love, destiny...show business?

[shinolah · 6/10 · 11 June 1999]

In approaching any film of Fellini's, it is important not to clump his style in the same field of other European 'arthouse' filmmakers such as Bergman, Godard, Antonioni or even Tarkovsky.

From what I understand after viewing a few of his films [namely 'La Strada', 'La Dolce Vita', 'Nights of Cabiria' and now 'Variety Lights'] Fellini draws deceptively simple metaphors and contexts from banal characters often at times, for instance Quinn as the strongman in "La Strada" who exploits the resources and emotions of a simple-minded farm girl and then finds his life imbued with a terrible guilt upon hearing of her death. He knows now that physical strength can no longer be a shield that he wields when life throws him the challenge of reaching out and caring. This is all delicately displayed by Fellini who basically draws these characters with very modest lives and shows their gradual moral breakdown. Unlike Bergman who will use intense, ambiguous and overtly intellectual dialogue showing a couples' slow disintegration, or Antonioni who will use a pantomimed tennis match to illustrate the uncertainty of an artist's future, Fellini simply gives us a glimpse into a common person's vocation and relates it to a much broader social and existential complex. I consider his early work to be representative of modern day filmmakers with a similar style such as Hal Hartley and Jim Jarmusch.

In "Variety Lights" we are given a tale of small-time musicians, dancers, singers, and one naive but well-meaning owner who will do anything to get ahead in life and make his troupe of entertainers an instant success, eventually turning to the wrong people for assistance. This is all basically the back-drop of the owner's floundering marriage, which basically comes to a screeching halt near the end when he begs her for money to take another stab at the show once he's broke. The wife becomes less an endearing necessity of one man's livelihood and more an impetulant cashcow of sorts.

The story is brilliantly written and touching and not overwrought in pretentious 'arthouse' silliness. This is why Antonioni ran out of steam shortly after "Blowup", he began to choke on his own tedious style. "Variety Lights" is not among Fellini's best films but there is nothing shameful about this, his directorial debut.

Apparently Fellini fell into the mix of more ambiguous tones toward the mid-60's, which is fine. I'm all for experimentation so long as it maintains the delicate balance between art and bloated ambiguity.

Good start

[Cosmoeticadotcom · 7/10 · 23 September 2008]

If you have ever wondered why Federico Fellini's film 8½ was called 8½, the reason is simple. It was the eighth full film he had directed, till that point, along with a ½ film credit, which was his debut effort, 1950's co-direction in the 97 minute long black and white film Variety Lights (Luci Del Varietà), along with Neo-Realist film directing veteran Alberto Lattuada. The film's story and screenplay, however, were both penned by Fellini, and the most manifest thing about the film is its similarity to the Hollywood film All About Eve, released the same year- albeit it is a bit grittier, more realistic and less melodramatically star-driven, and its influence on Fellini's own later La Strada, as well as presaging many Fellini trademarks and tics. It is not a great film, but a thoroughly enjoying light bit of entertainment. Before this film, Fellini had mostly worked as a screenplay writer and script doctor. His most well known contribution prior to this film was on Roberto Rossellini's Open City….despite their poverty and idiocy, selfishness and ill manners, the characters in Variety Lights are lovable and utterly human. They are not the grotesques and caricatures that would become Fellini's stock in trade in later years. They merely have to clutch to a goose, shrug an eyebrow, or yawn lazily on a divan, and the sense is that these are real people, not mere fictive characters. Even the camera lingers on them in soft hues, suggesting the empathy of the filmmakers'. The insider knowledge the film displays is classic Fellini territory, and despite being an ensemble film it is really the stellar acting of Peppino De Filippo that raises this film above mere schmaltz, which it could have become rather easily. No, it's not as deep nor poignant as Charlie Chaplin's Limelight, released two tears later- a film with similar themes and backgrounds, but it is a worthwhile film, and one that stands up to repeated viewings.

10/10

[Samual-M · 10/10 · 3 March 2021]

Good first effort from Fellini exemplifying the lust for love in both partner & work.

Promising and rough

[davidmvining · 6/10 · 21 December 2020]

Based on my reading of the production of Variety Lights, co-director Alberto Lattuada was in charge of the technical aspects of production, but co-director Federico Fellini was everything else. Knowing what I know of Fellini's later career walking into this first viewing of Fellini's first credited directing job, it's easy to see some of the dual contradictions that would pepper his later work in embryonic form here. There's the complicated relationship with women, first and foremost, along with a carnivalesque atmosphere populated by a cadre of interesting and distinctive characters. This being that first foray, though, there's a lack of command of story that sees ideas picked up and dropped swiftly in quick succession, keeping the overall feel more staccato than it should have been. I've certainly seen worse first efforts, though.

The story follows Checco, a long-time veteran of the small stages throughout Italy, providing small comic performances (called avanspettacoli)in live shows before features in movie houses (which was a thing, apparently). He talks big about his greatness with his long-term fiancée, Melina (played by Fellini's real wife Giulietta Masina), backing him up along the way, but he gets fewer laughs than he'd ever care to admit from the audience. One night, in a packed house, sits Liliana, a young woman with great legs and big dreams of making it in showbusiness. Caught between the loyal, hardworking woman Melina and the younger, more attractive Liliana, Checco choses Liliana, a relationship based on utility rather than love and affection, and he ends up unhappy for it. She makes it, becoming a showgirl through his meager connections, but he, despite his big dreams of starting his own variety show, ends up right back where he started, with Melina who ends up taking him back with a smile (after a few fights along the way).

This movie is brilliant...in parts. When Lilian has her big breakout performance in a small town where he skirt accidentally fell off during a dance, showing her legs to the crowd and the theater manager, knowing a good thing when he sees it, forces Checco off stage and Lilian back on, she gains the attention of a prominent local lawyer who invites the entire troupe up to his eight bedroom house for dinner and a night to stay. The parade up takes longer than anyone expected, and the train of walking performers feels like the sort of carnivalesque procession that would become a Fellini mainstay, and it just naturally happens. The dinner is a display of the grotesque (as every player stuffs their face greedily and without end and a later event as the lawyer tries to take advantage of the drunk and incapacitated Lilian) but countered by Checco's underlying sense of hurt and justice. He wants Lilian for his own, so he's defending her honor because he both believes that the lawyer shouldn't be taking advantage but also because he wishes it was he doing it himself. At the heart of this big sequence seems to be the question of the relationship of traveling performers and a permanent home, as reflected in an earlier line of dialogue from Melina to Lilian about how Lilian should go back home while she still has one, something Melina wishes she had for herself. Suddenly, Lilian could have an even better home and Melina is happy for her, and it's an interesting question for these characters to be exploring, but then they get kicked out, go to Rome, and the question never really comes up again.

The breakup between Checco and Melina is handled in a handful of shots as they walk away from the palatial estate with Checco choosing to act as Lilian's pillow with her head on his shoulder instead of looking back when Melina stops to help her father who has fallen (and I hadn't known was her father until she called him "father"). This is either fantastic cinematic storytelling or the ensuing permanence of the break wasn't really sold in the shot which didn't feel that permanent at the time. I'm not quite sure. But, break they do with Checco spending all of his time in Rome with Lilian as he tries to introduce her to people he says he knows but really doesn't. Despite his protestations of his fame, he's never been more than a third-tier comic, and Lilian can't do much more than use him as far as he will go. When Checco gets a break and meets an old friend who does work for a well-connected producer, Lilian begins to peel away from Checco, leaving him behind as she dashes off to parties.

Checco's dream of starting his new act dominates a large section of the final third of the film, and I would be happier with it if the movie had felt like that's what it was working towards. That first half, dominated by questions of domicile life that the performers can't have doesn't really flow that well into the second half quest for fame. They're both parts of what it might be to be a travelling performer, but I don't think they're connected as well thematically and cinematically as they could be. They feel more like two different stories involving the same characters rather than a single story with two large parts.

Anyway, unable to convince his former fellow performers in the old troupe to join him with no pay, he brings together some homeless artists, begs for money from Melina, who gives it to him, and hires some help to put on a great show with Lilian at the center, but Lilian has been using Checco as much as he used her. She got her break, becoming a showgirl, and she doesn't need Checco anymore. Checco has nothing, and he ends up with Melina on the next train out of Rome.

Another hole in the film is Melina's decision to take Checco back. It just happens. In one scene, she's tearfully ran off having just given Checco all of her money for his show, demanding that he never see her again, and in the next she's happily sitting next to him on a train as they get ready to go to the next tiny Italian town that might throw them a few lira. It feels like there's a cut scene where Melina gracefully accepts Checco back, happy to have her flawed man back.

I was ready to like this movie more than I did. By the halfway point, I was convinced that I loved it and that it was an underrated gem from Fellini's early filmography, but that second half just doesn't work as well as the first and it doesn't really flow from the first all that well. That was disappointing, but there is still so much to enjoy in the film. Giulietta Masina was a wonderful performer, with her open face and winning smile, and watching her as Melina, it's obvious why Federico loved her. Peppino De Filippo plays Checco as a pompous gasbag and sad sack well. Alberto Lattuada's wife, Carla del Poggio, plays Lilian, and she's certainly pretty, though she doesn't have that much to do in the role. Her big moment is when she frustratingly throws Ceccho out of her room when he barges in (with a trumpet player and sharpshooter) as she tries to sleep, and it's a fine little scene.

There's certainly promise here, but there are also rough edges that needed sanding down.

Nice. Not great, but nice.

[zetes · 8/10 · 6 January 2001]

If you enjoy Fellini's earlier films, Nights of Cabiria and La Strada, specifically, Variety Lights will please you. A sweet-hearted film not much in the vain of Italian Neorealism (Nights of Cabiria and La Strada were more like the neorealistic classics), but more like the poetic realism of 1930s French cinema, Variety lights is straightforward, unlike Fellini's later films, for instance, La Dolce Vita, and very enjoyable. It never impresses as deeply as most of Fellini's masterpiece, but, hey, it was his earliest directorial effort. You also have to see it, Fellini lovers, for Giulietta Masina's supporting role; it gives you a hint of her later masterful roles. 8/10

First movie Fellini directed

[steiner-sam · 6/10 · 17 June 2021]

It's set in early postwar Italy and notable primarily because it's the first movie Fellini directed.

Checco Dal Monte (Peppino De Filippo) is an older manager of a fading vaudeville troupe. He has a mistress within the troupe, Melina Amour (Giulietta Masina, who was Fellini's wife). About 10 others are in the troupe, including dancers, a singer, a magician, etc. After a successful performance in a small town, their pay is withheld because of outstanding bills. However, they have been watched by a beautiful young aspiring actress, Liliana "Lily" Antonelli (Carla Del Poggio). She wants to join the troupe as a dancer but is rejected because they don't want to further split the meager income.

Lily follows them on the train to the next town and catches Checco's lustful eye. The theater manager at the next town insists Lily be included, so she joins the dancers in their number before an audience that has been quite critical. However, her skirt comes off while dancing, and suddenly she is very popular with the male-dominated crowd. Lily gets larger roles the following two nights as the crowds increase.

The film then follows Checco and Lily and their relationship as he tries to create a company based on Lily's good looks. Melina is devastated. The troupe ends up overnight at a lawyer's house after a performance, and the lawyer makes a move on Lily, which Checco intercepts. The lawyer throws the whole troupe out, and they go to Rome, where Checco tries to find a backer for his new troupe. However, a potential backer ends up stealing Lily away for his own troupe, and Checco is left with the old troupe and reconnects with Melina, though his wandering eye falls another young beauty.

This was a fun hour-and-a-half introduction to early Fellini. Some of the cultural nuances escaped me, but it was interesting to see.

Glory dreaming, show performing... and rude awakenings... Fellini's debut is Fellini in a nutschell... almost...

[ElMaruecan82 · 8/10 · 8 August 2021]

I started my review of Fellini's "White Sheikh" by correcting the personal assumption that he debuted with neo-realism but after experiencing "Variety Lights" his first directorial and producing debut with the collaboration of Alberto Lattuada, it's like the titular light hitting me. I realized these terms of reference don't amount to a hill of 'penne' when it came to the story's hidden depths covered by the flashy apparatus of the music-hall world.

I think Fellini has never been 'realistic' in the strict sense of the term and was closer in spirit to the French poetic realism of the 30s where stories' real backdrops unearthed a certain poetry about life, a capability to sublimate humans' flaws for the sake of art. Fellini and Lattuada's exposition of the struggles of a third-rate Vaudevillian troop might shed a spotlight on the difficult life of mountebanks but it says much more about ambition, love, passion jealousy, forgiveness and ultimately human nature.

But the show must go on so let's get back to the film.

First of all, I want to say that I thoroughly enjoyed "Variety Lights" and if I have one piece of advice, it's this: don't let yourself get fooled by the term 'debut', the film is a complete and well-done achievement that wouldn't make you suspect this is a first film, maybe because Lattuada was already an experienced film-maker... still, I was hooked from the start and I suspect that several viewings would convince anyone that this has the makings of a classic masterpiece. I mean it.

There's another advice, it's very tempting to look for signs of Fellini's usual trademarks, the first glaring one is the little troop of performers, going from town to town, foreshadowing "La Strada", the pivotal use of music (except for the absence of Nino Rota) and the overarching effects on lust and passion. We can also see the obligatory deserted areas, the streets at night and a gallery of 'faces' craving for fun or providing it... but these considerations are rather superficial and might even cloud your appreciation on a pure storytelling level.

The film opens with a show, as flashy, catchy and enrapturing as one would expect, Peppino de Filippo is Checco de la Monte, singer and head of the troop and among the dancers, there's a young Giuletta Masina as Mellina Amour, his mistress, also the voluptuous Gina Masceti (she was the jealous abusive wife in "The White Sheikh") and a few other colorful characters. The shows ends on a spectacular finale only spoiled by the disappearance of the money that contained the troop's wages.

The merit of this opening sequence is to set the tone by showing the show through the mesmerized eyes of Liliana, played by Carla Del Poggio, who was Lattuada's wife. She's so hooked that she embodies the effect the music-hall has on people, making it as pivotal as art or food, something that pleases the eyes, soothes the soul and exorcise the devil of boredome. That was the early 50s, where entertainment consisted of American exports: jazz music, mambo and frivolity. But there's more in Lilian's look.

After the show, she joins the troop and asks if they need another dancer. The artists are so busy and desperate about the money they don't even care about her credentials. She boards the same train that take them to the next town (some hide in the toilet to avoid paying the fare) and asks Checco to give him a job. He's first titillated by the beauty and the nerve of the young lady and try some moves she immediately dismisses wishing she could be taken seriously, Checco falls immediately in love.

The following show meets a more hostile crowd where audience members spare no effort to heckle every single number. Then it all changes when Liliana accidentally lets her skirt slip during a Hula dance and the public -mainly masculine- goes all bananas about it, the sleazy manager knows what the audience wants: naked women and sensual dances. The performances are repeated and Lilianna's career takes off until the whole troop is invited to the mansion of a wealthy man named Duke (Giacomo Furio).

What goes during the dinner is perhaps a masterpiece of 'silent' comedy: without words, we can only heard the slurping and chewing sounds of the guests gluttonously eating chicken while the women try to maintain their composure. That scene says a lot about how 'hungry' they are, literally and figuratively, symbolizing the tacit hunger for fame and glory. The evening is ruined when Checco prevents the man from taking advantage from Liliana and at that point he decides to form his own troop with her and abandon the poor Amelia, Masina plays once again a strong character whose life seems destined for chagrin.

The journey goes on with its shares of ups and downs and encounters in the middle of the night and some that can make or break an artist's career. It is a wonderful tribute to the peculiar laws of entertainment by Fellini and Lattuada, two artists who cast their own wives to minimize the costs, embodying the travelling-troop mentality. Their depiction is so bold and sincere, especially men's less-than-honorable motives it's as if Fellini was also foreshadowing his own infidelities, suffered by Masina all through her life..

It's a comment on talent, luck, and a sort of faith in success that is drawn here by two maestri, the film didn't work at the box-office but it set Fellini's first foot behind the camera after his screenwriting collaboration with Roberto Rossellini, little did he know that 3 years after, he would meet success with "I Vitelloni" and the face of Italian cinema would never be the same.

Fellini's career mirrors the fate of Liliana in "Luce del Varieta", proving once again that reality can be as strange -and poetic- as fiction.

First small masterpiece of great Fellini

[RodrigAndrisan · 9 April 2017]

Very good after so many years, like an old good wine. Probably the best role of Peppino De Filippo. A beneficial "workout" for a very young Giulietta Masina, before becoming Gelsomina in "La Strada" and Maria 'Cabiria' Ceccarelli in "The Nights of Cabiria", directed by the same huge Fellini. For Fellini, is the first film he directs, together with Alberto Lattuada. The beautiful Carla Del Poggio, Lattuada's wife in real life, stands in the role Liliana 'Lily' Antonelli. All the actors, although not big names of the Italian cinema, are very talented. The music is not signed yet by Nino Rota, but by Felice Lattuada. A very good film, to be seen at any time, again and again. Watch for a very young Vittorio Caprioli in the role of The Night Club Comic.

A circus rides through Italy.

[treywillwest · 8/10 · 12 February 2012]

I admit it: I struggle more with Fellini than any other "master" of the cinematic cannon. If you recall the annoying guy in the movie line behind Alvy Singer and Annie Hall, I'm afraid to say that I agree with most everything he said about Fellini. Having said that, this, his first work as a (co-) director, is quite delightful. Here, the things that would get the master excited throughout his career- the circus, the city, night and delirium- are ecstatically expounded, but without the brooding insistence on metaphorical significance that would take over from "La Dolce Vita" on. Watching this, I simply felt myself to be on a wild ride, and there were even moments that made Fellini's signature elements feel as mystical as the director would later "command" his audiences to feel them. But here, the mysticism came naturally, and therefore seemed much more legitimately profound and unexpected.

What's there to say...it's a Fellini

[christophaskell · 14 September 2003]

Master storyteller Fellini tried out his directing chops for the first time with ‘Luci del Varieta'. Creating a memorable cast of characters and memorable situations along the way, I think it's safe to say it was a very good first effort. Checco (Peppino De Filippo) is a frustrating man that thinks with everything except his head. An optimist first, the realities of his intentions are just short of ridiculous. Overall, Fellini handles the film with such a delicate humor, the actors are provided with every opportunity to flesh out their characters and make each one very unique. A simple story told well by the man who would go on to telling amazing stories. Rating: 28/40

First Fellini --- not bad.

[nnad · 3 April 2002]

Variety Lights is Fellini's debut film. The film consists of ideas and motifs that would succeedingly appear in movies like 8 1/2 and The Clowns. However, these traits are still undeveloped but we can see how they would be used as personal metaphors for the director. Running under an hour, the film is shown in black and white with legible subtitles and moving at a smooth pace. The story follows a variety show troupe and an female audience member who is so inspired by one of their performances that she asks to join their group. We are then presented with the rise of the performer's act and how mistakes like having her dress fall off soon attracts the attention of the audience. Soon the variety show begins displaying a more racy repertory all which is fronted by sexy novice. Some images in the film like large behinds and women in bikinis may have been provocative for its time in America --although Italy's standards tended to be more shocking. Nevertheless, as discussed in the documentary Rated X, Fellini's movies was generally restricted to Adult theaters due to subject matter, although much more provocation was soon to come. Variety Lights features Masina, Fellini's wife, in a supporting role as a dancer with few scenes, although she still gives a good performance nevertheless. Masina would soon gather more attention to her acting in succeeding Fellini films like Night of Cabaria and La Strata. However, the focus of this film is directed at De Filippo for his role as the impresario and Poggio as the desperate actress. Veriety Lights is not the best Fellini production but still worth a look.