Besides the great and renowned auteurs, the history of Italian cinema includes also a number of peculiar, lesser-known but very interesting filmmakers. Their artistic trajectories were unorthodox and sometimes plagued by economic and productive issues, and their works were original and thought-provoking. The book examines eight Italian “mavericks” who were active from the late 1940s onwards: Pier Carpi, Alberto Cavallone, Riccardo Ghione, Giulio Questi, Brunello Rondi, Paolo Spinola, Augusto Tretti, and Nello Vegezzi. Their life and works are discussed with an abundance of previously unpublished production information drawn from official papers and original scripts.

These filmmakers brought to their films their experience in different fields—such as poetry, playwriting, advertising, literature, comics—and a nonconformist, sometimes antagonistic attitude. Their bodies of work are ripe for a rediscovery and a proper critical and historical analysis. Furthermore, they allow us to better understand the cultural milieu and the productive dynamics of the Italian film industry from the early post-WWII years to the new millennium.