Through a comparative approach of current theories developed on ideology and an analysis of official documents from the Vatican and the United States Department of State, the book investigates the decisive role that American production companies played in the development of the Italian film industry and their links to the Vatican. This analysis evaluates how the Italian production and distribution industries satisfied the American political and economic interests. American political and cultural ideology of the post-1945 era, is compared with the Roman Catholic ideology in order to assess their cultural propaganda. This is followed by studies of the roles played by key individuals, such as Giulio Andreotti, and institutions such as ANICA and A.G.I.S. involved in formulating the policies and regulations that affected the production and distribution of American and Italian films in the post-1945 era, as well as the involvement of the Roman Catholic Church in this process.

This book, first published in 1972, examines the tumultuous period between Mussolini’s dismissal and the German occupation of Rome 45 days later. Double-dealing, treachery, vindictiveness, cowardliness, contradictory orders are the hallmarks of this time, and the protagonists include Mussolini, Hitler, Eisenhower, Maxwell Taylor, the Italian King, Churchill and Badoglio. Its was then that Italy arranged a virtually meaningless armistice with the Allies, the terms of which were never clear to anyone. This book reconstructs these days with a clear and thorough analysis, using new evidence not previously available to researchers.