Francesco Maselli (9 December 1930 – 21 March 2023), also known as Citto Maselli , was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Born into a well educated family (his father was an art critic) originally from the Molise region, Maselli graduated from the Italian National Film School in 1949 and began his career as an assistant and assistant director for Luigi Chiarini , Michelangelo Antonioni , and Luchino Visconti. After directing several short documentary and fiction films, he gave his feature film debut with the World War II drama Abandoned (1955), which premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Following a series of minor films, Maselli had greater success with Silver Spoon Set (1960, also titled The Dolphins ) and Time of Indifference (1964), an adaptation of a novel by Alberto Moravia.