An extended battle with the censors was involved in bringing Vitaliano Brancati's controversial novel to the screen. The screenplay, co-written with Gino Visentini, was Pasolini's fourth for director Mauro Bolognini. Marcello Mastroianni was highly praised for his performance as “the handsome Antonio,” a victim of Italian machismo who fulfills all too well the dual expectations of his native Sicily--parading his sexual prowess with women of the people, and protecting the virginity of the high-born, which, unfortunately includes his own wife. When his domestic impotence becomes known throughout the town, “handsome Antonio” becomes the object of derision. Cinematographer Armando Nannuzzi's attention to details of the Sicilian interiors and landscapes combines with the scriptwriters' open treatment of the subject matter, alternating between irony and tragedy, to portray Sicilian life and attitudes with grace and authenticity.