A woman from the lower class desperately tries to get her daughter into the movies.

Film director Blasetti is looking for a little girl for his new movie. Along with other mothers, Maddelena takes her daughter to Cinecittà, hoping she'll be selected and become a star. She is ready to sacrifice anything for little Maria, even if her husband would prefer they save their little money for the rent instead of paying teachers, hairdressers, or bribes for her illusions.—Yepok

From the slums of Rome, Maddalena Cecconi, a struggling working-class mother with aspirations of catapulting her five-year-old daughter Maria to the dazzling world of the silver screen, descends to the famous studios of Cinecittà after a casting call by director Blasetti for Rome's most beautiful girl. Determined to help her daughter stand out from the hordes of the ambitious contestants, the worried mother willingly becomes the prey of a motley crew of teachers and expert professionals who all guarantee her positive results--for the right amount of money, of course. Before long, the family's scant savings has been squandered here and there. Is a pot of gold really at the end of the rainbow for La Bellissima?—Nick Riganas