Sindacati cinematografici italiani e majors nel dopoguerra,tra pratica del conflitto e tendenze neocorporativiste

The essay examines the relationships between Italian film unions and American majors in the postwar period, highlighting how the influx of U.S. capital transforms bargain-ing practices, labor policies, and ideological balances within the industry. Through the analysis of key moments and emblematic cases such as Quo Vadis (Mervyn LeRoy, 1951) and Ben Hur (William Wyler, 1959), the article shows how U.S. pressures con-tribute to the fragmentation of the film workers’ united front and to the emergence of neocorporatist models in which the “free” unions mediate between collaboration and conflict. In this perspective, the Italian film industry emerges as a privileged lab-oratory for observing the interplay between cultural diplomacy, industrial policy, and transformations of labor unionism in the context of the Cold War.