| A Pilot Returns | |
| Director: | Roberto Rossellini |
| Starring: | Massimo Girotti Michela Belmonte Piero Lulli Gaetano Masier |
| Studio: | Alleanza Cinematografica Italiana |
| Distributor: | Alleanza Cinematografica Italiana |
| Runtime: | 87 minutes |
| Country: | Italy |
A Pilot Returns (Italian: Un pilota ritorna) is a 1942 Italian war film directed by Roberto Rossellini and starring Massimo Girotti, Michela Belmonte and Piero Lulli. The film forms part of Rossellini's "Fascist trilogy" along with The White Ship (1941) and The Man with a Cross (1943). It was made with the co-operation of the Italian Air Force.[1] The film's sets were designed by the architect Virgilio Marchi.
During the 1940-1941 Italian invasion of Greece, an Italian pilot is shot down and captured by British forces who place him in a prisoner-of-war camp run by the Greek Army. While there he meets and falls in love with a young Italian woman who has volunteered to care for the prisoners. After escaping from the Greeks, he manages to steal a plane and return to Italy for further duty. On his arrival he learns that Greece has been successfully conquered by the Axis Powers.