The Scopone Game

Every year in Rome, an aging American millionaire arrives with her driver to test her fortune at a quiet card game. The target of her ritual is Peppino, a struggling husband, and his wife Antonia, who live on the edge of the city's ordinary dreams. As the matches unfold in back rooms and cramped stairwells, the stakes stretch beyond money. The gatherings become a window on class and aspiration, where luck sways and personalities collide, and old nerves surface under the glow of the card table. The film blends humor with quiet sadness, keeping the human heartbeat at its center. The tone wavers between light comedy and quiet drama, with Sordi delivering dry humor and Mangano bringing warmth. Antonia's loyalties and Peppino's pride complicate each hand, revealing how a simple pastime exposes wider questions of dignity and aspiration.

Directed by Luigi Comencini from Rodolfo Sonego's material, this 1972 film blends social satire with gentle character study. It features Alberto Sordi as Peppino, Silvana Mangano as Antonia, Joseph Cotten as George, Bette Davis as A vecchia, and Mario Carotenuto as Il Professore.

Box office data for The Scopone Game is not widely reported, and international numbers are scarce for this 1970s Italian comedy drama. It enjoyed steady, local interest upon release in Italy but did not become a major international hit.

The film stands as a witty social portrait where a simple card game doubles as a commentary on luck, money, and social distance in Rome. Its brisk humor and strong performances helped anchor Sordi's screen presence across genres, from farce to drama. The setting of urban apartments and markets makes everyday life feel cinematic.

Critics praised the balance of warmth and irony, the lively exchanges between the leads, and the film's humane gaze on people outside the city's wealth. It treats luck not as a lottery but as a social force that reveals character and builds uneasy, human connections.