Variety Lights story
Variety Lights (Italian: Luci del varietà) is a 1950 Italian romantic drama film produced and directed by Federico Fellini and Alberto Lattuada and starring Peppino De Filippo, Carla Del Poggio, and Giulietta Masina. The film is about a beautiful and ambitious young woman who joins a traveling troupe of third-rate vaudevillians and inadvertently causes jealousy and emotional crises. A collaboration with Alberto Lattuada in production, direction, and writing, Variety Lights launched Fellini's directorial career. Prior to this film, Fellini worked primarily as a screenwriter, most notably working on Roberto Rossellini’s Rome, Open City.
16 total · 2 choice · 9 major · 5 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| struggling artist character | choice | The main characters were poor artists struggling to make it in the world. Checco tried to form a successful troupe. Liliana wanted to become a famous dancer. |
| the entertainment industry | choice | The story concerned a traveling troupe of third-rate vaudevillians ad their travails. |
| facing financial ruin | major | Checco spent mos of the story being one step from destitute. |
| humans in group | major | The story concerned the various interpersonal relationships in several theater groups. |
| infatuation | major | Checco eventually fell for Liliana. |
| love triangle | major | Checco, Melina, Liliana. |
| man and mistress | major | Checco Dal Monte and Melina Amour. Checco Dal Monte and Liliana. |
| promiscuity | major | A central theme of the story was how Checco made a fool of himself over Leliana, lost Melina, won Melina back, and then seemed about to repeat the cycle with another young girl. He also bragged to Leliana about the more than 30 other women he had been together with. |
| romantic jealousy | major | Checco at other men over Leliana. Melina briefly at Leliana over Checco. |
| soap opera | major | The White Sheik was a photo strip soap opera. |