I Vitelloni is a 1953 Italian
comedy-drama directed by
Federico Fellini from a screenplay by Fellini,
Ennio Flaiano and
Tullio Pinelli. The film launched the career of
Alberto Sordi, one of post-war Italy's most significant and popular comedians, who stars with
Franco Fabrizi and
Franco Interlenghi in a story of five young Italian men at crucial turning points in their small town lives. Recognized as a pivotal work in the director's artistic evolution, the film has distinct autobiographical elements that mirror important societal changes in 1950s Italy. Recipient of both the
Venice Film Festival Silver Lion in 1953, and an Academy Award nomination for Best Writing in 1958, the film's success restored Fellini's reputation after the commercial failure of
The White Sheik (1952).