The Pigeon That Took Rome

A little bird tells on the U.S. Army during WWII in this farcical comedy. In 1944, during the last stages of the war in Europe, American officers Capt. Paul MacDougall (Charlton Heston) and Sgt. Joseph Contini (Harry Guardino) are sent to Italy to act as spies for the Allies, even though they have no experience in espionage. Working with Partisan resistance solider Ciccio Massimo (Salvatore Baccaloni), MacDougall and Contini send regular reports to their superiors by carrier pigeon. Contini also finds himself falling in love with Massimo's pregnant daughter Rosalba (Gabriella Pallotta), while her sister Antonella (Elsa Martinelli) has her eye on MacDougall. Contini proposes to Rosalba, and Ciccio prepares a feast to celebrate his daughter's upcoming wedding. However, Ciccio prepares squab for the occasion, killing all but one of the carrier pigeons. Ciccio scrambles to replace them, but the new pigeons he finds are German, and they deliver MacDougall and Contini's messages directly into enemy hands. The Pigeon That Took Rome's art direction earned the film an Academy Award nomination.