l'homme de nulle part (1937)

mattia pascal is a serene and calm man, but since he married he lives an existence of hell, bullied by his mother-in-law and his wife. after the death of his mother, the man tries to escape from this dramatic existence and with little money in his pocket he goes to montecarlo, winning a colossal fortune at the casino in a few hours. back in the village he discovers that he is considered dead since a tramp drowned in the river was mistaken for him, and therefore he feels free. he thus assumes a new identity with the name of adriano meis, settles in rome in a boarding house and, having known the daughter of the owner, falls in love with him, even if the girl is engaged to a shady individual. he guesses some secrets in the man and tries to trap him, but mattia returns to the village, finds his wife remarried to a municipal employee and, to his great joy, blackmails him to receive a document certifying his new identity. feeling himself in good standing, he returns to rome to marry the beloved girl.