Blasetti's 1943 effort bears strong resemblance to American melodramas of the forties, but veers off by laying the foundation for Italian Neo-realism. A young married salesman, Paolo, meets a pretty girl, Maria, on a bus. She is pregnant and has been abandoned by the man she loves. She persuades Paolo to accompany her to her parents' farm and pretend to be her husband. There, he hopes to remain only a few hours, but becomes so overwhelmed by his surroundings that he spends the night. Their rural charade has its jocular moments, the two "newlyweds" fighting over the nuptial bed, and its blistering moments, when Paolo's ruse is revealed. Four Steps in the Clouds backlights young Paolo with a dreary urban existence, aggravated by a bitter, nagging wife. Contrasted with this is the country, authentic, fresh and healing-even Maria's raging father soon accepts his fallen daughter back into the fold. Equating simple virtues with redemption, Blasetti also equates the oppression of the urban worker with that of the peasant farmer, a well-worn road connecting the city to the country. Fresh humor, realistic characters and attention to everyday Italian life made Four Steps in the Clouds a welcome departure from the heroics of wartime cinema. Stephen Harvey is co-organizer of Cinecittà: Fifty Years and assistant curator, Department of Film, Museum of Modern Art.