[T]his Golden Lion-winning feature-one of [Roberto] Rossellini's few popular successes-is more than a mere curiosity.

Although the film's second half tends to drift toward the stagy and sermonic, Bardone's transformation from a petty chameleon-charlatan to the moral hero and man of conscience is moving and potent, in no small way thanks to De Sica's carefully modulated p

A fascinating crossroads in Rossellini's career.

[General Della Rovere] is beautifully organised. The double-crosses change shape like a cat's-cradle, and pull out finally with one swift tug. The failure in the film is simply that it is very dully acted and made.