Atoning for an Indiscretion: The Impact of Reception, Publicity, and Censorship on the Re-editing of Stazione Termini

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis essay evaluates how negative publicity, mixed reception, and censorship regulations impacted the re-editing of Stazione Termini (1953) and its re-release in the United States in April of 1954 as the newly titled, and much shorter, Indiscretion of an American Wife. The primary archival documents used include correspondences to and from producer David O. Selznick, surveys of negative audience reactions during test screenings in Berkeley and Palo Alto in late 1953, and mixed reviews of both versions from various press outlets. Particular attention is paid to the translations and reporting of the reception of Italian audiences, who did not seem to be able to reconcile the film’s neorealist expressions with the melodramatic plot of the end of a love affair. Overall, this essay argues that Selznick’s editing should be contextualized with the perceived mixed reception of Stazione Termini in Italy, the poor reception from test audiences, the foundational flaws in the story, the negative publicity surrounding the American release, and American censorship standards that conflicted with – though they did not completely curb – some of the sexual content.