The White Sheik

The White Sheik
Theatrical release poster
Directed byFederico Fellini
Screenplay byFederico Fellini
Tullio Pinelli
Ennio Flaiano
Story byMichelangelo Antonioni
Federico Fellini
Tullio Pinelli
Produced byLuigi Rovere
StarringAlberto Sordi
Leopoldo Trieste
Brunella Bovo
Giulietta Masina
CinematographyArturo Gallea
Edited byRolando Benedetti
Music byNino Rota
Production
company
Release dates
  • 6 September 1952 (1952-09-06) (VFF)
  • 20 September 1952 (1952-09-20) (Italy)
  • 25 April 1956 (1956-04-25) (U.S.)
Running time
83 minutes
CountryItaly
LanguageItalian
Box office$50,850[1]

The White Sheik (Italian: Lo sceicco bianco) is a 1952 Italian romantic comedy film directed by Federico Fellini and starring Alberto Sordi, Leopoldo Trieste, Brunella Bovo and Giulietta Masina. Written by Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano and Michelangelo Antonioni, the film is about a man who brings his new bride to Rome for their honeymoon, to have an audience with the Pope, and to present his wife to his family. When the young woman sneaks away to find the hero of her romance photonovels, the man is forced to spend hour after hour making excuses to his eager family who want to meet his missing bride.[2] The White Sheik was filmed on location in Fregene, Rome, Spoleto and Vatican City.[3]

In 2008, the film was included on the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage’s 100 Italian films to be saved, a list of 100 films that "have changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978."[4]

  1. ^ "The White Sheik (2019 re-release)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Archived from the original on November 4, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  2. ^ "The White Sheik". Internet Movie Database. Archived from the original on 31 October 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
  3. ^ "Filming locations for The White Sheik". Internet Movie Database. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
  4. ^ "Ecco i cento film italiani da salvare Corriere della Sera". www.corriere.it. Retrieved 2021-03-11.