In many ways, comparing the roles of Vivien Leigh as Libby in “Sidewalks of London” and Giulietta Masina as Gelsomina in “La Strada” is a task that is as different as comparing apples and oranges. While some of the aspects of the roles the women play and the plots in which those roles develop are similar, Leigh and Giulietta Masina, both as characters and as actresses, are quite unique from one another. Furthermore, the effects that their distinct personalities have on the viewing audiences are also different. The way in which Vivien Leigh in the film “Sidewalks of London”  and Giulietta Masina in the film “La Strada” are similar, however, is that each woman plays the role that she occupies effectively in order to render a character type that causes the viewer, in the case of Leigh, to reflect upon the social roles available to women in the 1930s and the possibility of challenging them, and in the case of Giulietta Masina, to reflect upon the very art of acting itself.

The film starring Vivien Leigh, “Sidewalks of London,” released in Europe under the title of “St. Martin’s Lane,” came to the big screen in 1938, and was the role that first brought Vivien Leigh critical acclaim as an actress; it was also the performance that would earn her the offer of the role of her career, that of the dramatic and compelling character of Scarlett O’Hara in the wildly popular 1941 movie, “Gone with the Wind” (Shafer 131). When the viewer meets Leigh in “Sidewalks of London,” she is a skillful street pickpocketer, a role that initially seems incongruent with Leigh’s beautiful and charming looks.

 In fact, Leigh would, in this movie and in her subsequent films, become known as much for her great beauty as for her acting skills. It is her beauty, however, that is key to Leigh playing the role of Liberty, better known as Libby, successfully. Libby in the film “Sidewalks of London” played by Vivian Leigh is no ordinary street girl, and she does not let anyone think otherwise. She is fully aware of her beauty, and she uses it to both distract and exploit her unaware victims, generally men who would be unlikely to think of her as a thief and a petty criminal. Her long and sleek black hair, her smooth, creamy skin, and her big saucer-sized eyes with their fluttering lids all serve to captivate men who cast their eyes upon her, and it is, in large part, her beauty that will be responsible for transforming her role form street urchin to a minor superstar.

Although Libby in the film “Sidewalks of London” starring Vivian Leigh  is wholly cognizant of her beauty and uses it to her advantage time and again, she does not rely upon her good looks alone. Rather, she has several skills that she has developed quite well, skills that impress most people who come to know her, even when those skills are maladaptive or criminal. When the viewer first meets Libby in the film “Sidewalks of London”, she is slipping coins out of a street performer’s cup, a criminal act she commits with speed, grace, and clever stealth. No one is the wiser at first, until the quick-witted Charlie spies Libby pilfering the money he has earned as a street busker. Though angry about the theft, he is immediately captivated by Libby, and his fascination with her increases substantially when he follows her to an empty mansion, where he sees her dancing. She has broken into the mansion, of course, demonstrating still more criminal aptitude, but Charlie dismisses Libby’s criminal tendencies because he is entranced by her dancing; it is this skill which will prove even more critical to Libby’s future than her ability to survive on the streets by filching others’ coins, wallets, and silver cigarette cases.