Un giorno da leoni (1961)

In Rome, after September 8, 1943, Danilo, a lackadaisical university student, avoids the compulsory enlistment order by having himself admitted to a sanatorium, urged on by his worried parents, who fear what will happen to him if he is sent to fight. But he leaves the clinic to go to the home of his friend Michele, a timid young accountant. Michele had already boarded a northbound train with other employees from his ministry, but fled and managed to return to Rome, where he had left his fiancée, Ida. Back at the large apartment building where he lives, he meets Danilo, who has been hiding in the stairwell. Overcome by fear, however, he joins Danilo in trying to cross the Gustav Line and enlist in the army fighting the Nazis and Fascists. By chance, they meet Gino, who joins the two friends when the train they are traveling on, on the Rome–Fiuggi–Alatri railway, is stopped by the Germans, who forcibly load the other men onto trucks. After a frantic dash through the countryside, the three find shelter in a village cellar that has been turned into a “hideout” by a group of former soldiers under the command of Orlando. The soldiers are then joined by the partisan Edoardo, who gives them the task of blowing up a bridge used by German troops to receive supplies. After obtaining the explosives needed for the sabotage, however, the group breaks up when news arrives that the Germans have captured Edoardo. Orlando returns to his wife and son. Danilo, Michele, and Gino return to Rome. Michele goes to watch Ida perform, but then sees her get into a German’s car and tries to make her get out, while she denies knowing him. He is arrested, but saved by the same German, whom Ida has asked for a favor just as Michele is about to tell the police commissioner about the plan. Back at the hideout, Michele learns of Edoardo’s death. At the funeral, they meet Orlando again, and learn from the priest that Edoardo’s last words were that they must complete the mission. Deeply changed by their experiences, the three young protagonists decide to return to the bridge and finish the job. They plant the charges, but a mishap causes the train to stop short of the ideal position. Meanwhile, dawn is approaching, and the Germans would spot the charges. As they draw lots to decide who must go onto the bridge and signal the train to move forward far enough to cause the greatest possible damage, Michele decides to sacrifice himself and goes to do the job. Unfortunately, he is discovered and loses his life, redeeming a life lived in terror with an act of true heroism. The fuse is lit and the bridge is blown up, killing all the Germans on the train and on the ground. At the end of the film, a radio broadcast says that the Germans will blame the attack on the Americans, denying the possibility that groups of Italians could exist who are fighting against them.