Gender Roles, the Church and the Allure of Modernity in American and Italian Films

The aim of this chapter is to examine the most successful Italian and American fi lms, in terms of box offi ce intakes, during the period 1945-1960 (according to fi gures from the Borsa Film1). These were either recommended by the Vatican through the Segnalazioni of the Centro Cattolico Cinematografi co, or not approved by it and therefore excluded from the circuit of parish cinemas.