Its style is close to Italian neorealism. Released in Italian cinemas in November 1951 and shown in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 1952, earned the award for Piero Tellini the script and Totò the Nastro d'Argento. It had trouble with the censor because it portrayed clumsy police and smart thieves, but it was a great success. The film was a huge success and an unexpected liking by critics. "Cops and robbers" represented a real turning point in the career of Totò, so that for the first time his film was exclusively positive reviews, and its interpretation is considered one of the best of his career.