Anita Ekberg Movies

In one of the most widely seen and acclaimed European movies of the 1960s, Federico Fellini featured Marcello Mastrioanni as gossip columnist Marcello Rubini. Having left his dreary provincial existence behind, Marcello wanders through an ultra-modern, ultra-sophisticated, ultra-decadent Rome. He yearns to write seriously, but his inconsequential newspaper pieces bring in more money, and he's too lazy to argue with this setup. He attaches himself to a bored socialite (Anouk Aimée), whose search for thrills brings them in contact with a bisexual prostitute. The next day, Marcello juggles a personal tragedy (the attempted suicide of his mistress (Yvonne Furneaux)) with the demands of his profession (an interview with none-too-deep film star Anita Ekberg). Throughout his adventures, Marcello's dreams, fantasies, and nightmares are mirrored by the hedonism around him. With a shrug, he concludes that, while his lifestyle is shallow and ultimately pointless, there's nothing he can do to change it and so he might as well enjoy it. Fellini's hallucinatory, circus-like depictions of modern life first earned the adjective "Felliniesque" in this celebrated movie, which also traded on the idea of Rome as a hotbed of sex and decadence. A huge worldwide success, La Dolce Vita won several awards, including a New York Film Critics CIrcle award for Best Foreign Film and the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The search of the mythical Glass Sphinx, said to contain an elixir of immortality, provides the action in this adventure. The hunt is lead by a renowned archaeologist who travels to Egypt. He is accompanied by his secretary, who, unbeknownst to him is involved with a gang that also wants the potion. They also want to kill the archaeologist. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Frank Gruber's novel The Lock and the Key was adapted for the big screen by Burt Kennedy as The Man in the Vault. William Campbell stars as a locksmith who is forced to work for a gang of thieves. The bad guys want Campbell to make duplicates of the keys to a safety deposit box containing nearly a quarter of a million dollars. As if this wasn't enough for our hero to worry about, he has to choose between his mercenary sweetheart Karen Sharpe and gang moll Anita Ekberg (poor fellow!) The film benefits from its on-location photography in and around Beverly Hills. Man in the Vault was produced by John Wayne's Batjac company, and directed by one of the Duke's favorite coworkers, Andrew V. McLaglen (son of frequent Wayne costar Victor McLaglen). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A trio of disparate thieves attempt to steal a precious Korean sword in this caper adventure. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this gritty western, a former soldier from the recently ended Civil War returns to discover that his sister was raped and murdered by thieves. Without hesitation, he rides out to get his revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Two years before Hitchcock terrified audiences with the shower scene from Psycho, audiences recoiled at the shower scene in this dark and decidedly twisted psychological thriller. The tale of terror centers on an exotic dancer (Anita Ekberg) who is terrorized by a knife-wielding homicidal maniac. She is cut up but not seriously hurt as her step brother bursts into the bathroom and shoots the killer before he finishes. Unfortunately, the slasher escapes. Time passes, and while the physical wounds, heal, the psychic wounds continue to haunt the poor dancer, who must go to a psychiatrist for help. When a reporter hears about the case, he suspects the work of a serial killer and starts investigating. He finds that each of the killer's victims are given a horrifying sculpture of a woman screaming. Meanwhile, the girl's doctor finds himself falling in love with her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Vittorio De Sica directs the 1967 episodic sex comedy Sette Volte Donna (Woman Times Seven), consisting of seven short stories each starring Shirley MacLaine. In "Funeral Possession," she plays opposite Peter Sellers as a widow at her husband's funeral. In "Amateur Night," she's a wife who's driven to prostitiution to get revenge on her adulterous husband (Rossano Brazzi). In "Two Against One," she plays an interpreter who gets naked and reads T.S. Eliot to an Italian (Vittorio Gassman) and a Scot (Clinton Greyn). In "The Super Simone," she's a houswife who acts insane to get the attention of her author husband (Lex Barker). In "At the Opera," she's a rich woman determined to get a specific dress. In "The Suicides," she forges a suicide pact with lover Alan Arkin. In "Snow," Michael Caine is hired to spy on her. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Released in Great Britain as The ABC Murders, The Alphabet Murders stars a well-disguised Tony Randall as Agatha Christie's brilliant, insufferable Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Unfortunately, director Frank Tashlin chooses to open the film with one of his Pirandelloian gimmicks by introducing Randall out of make-up as himself, then cutting to Randall as Poirot. This has the effect of taking the audience "out" of the picture, and it takes a while for the film to recover. On its own, the plot is a good one, as Poirot investigates a series of murders, with the victims arranged alphabetically. There's also a well staged mid-film sequence, in which leading lady Anita Ekberg, as Amanda Beatrice Cross, supposedly comes to a soggy demise. But in never deciding whether to play "straight" or for laughs, The Alphabet Murders ends up a wildly uneven experience. Best bit: Poirot inadvertently confronting another Agatha Christie creation, Miss Marple (played without screen credit by Margaret Rutherford). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Universal's Technicolor cameras this time tell the story of Harun El Raschid (Rock Hudson), who innocently comes into possession of the magical Sword of Damascus. Sword in hand, our hero gains entrance to the court, tames the haughty, but socially aware, Princess Khairuzan (Piper Laurie) and finds himself in the middle of a palace revolution. The evil Vizier Jafar (George Macready), may be able to trick the Caliph (Edgar Barrier) into letting the princess marry his boorish son Hadi (Gene Evans), but he cannot remove the magic sword from its resting place in the palace wall. Up steps Harun, who performs the task, King Arthur-style, a feat which brings him both the princess and half the Caliphate. The Golden Blade was filmed entirely on the Universal back lot. Watch for future stars Dennis Weaver and Guy Williams among the Baghdad populace. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

1953's The Mississippi Gambler was the third Universal Studios film to bear this title--though with a different plot each time. Tyrone Power plays an all-around adventurer who cuts quite a swath through antebellum New Orleans. In between scenes of gambling, fist-fighting and swordplay, Power woos Piper Laurie, who chooses to marry wealthy Ron Randell; in turn, Power is wooed by Julie Adams, whose ardor is not reciprocated. The climax finds Power in a card table showdown with Ms. Laurie's ill-tempered brother John Baer. Mississippi Gambler is consistently good to look at, even when the storyline threatens to snap under the pressure. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This sword and sandal epic set in 217 AD follows the exploits of a courageous gladiator who is taken prisoner on behalf of the Queen of Palmyra. To win her confidence, the gladiator pretends to hate his Roman masters, but as soon as she trusts him, he has his soldiers take her prisoner. Because he has fallen for her, the gladiator has her released and then saves her by claiming that her crimes against the Empire were precipitated by her counselor. Fortunately, the Senates believe it and romance ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

War and Peace is a commendable attempt to boil down Tolstoy's long, difficult novel into 208 minutes' screen time. In recreating the the social and personal upheavals attending Napoleon's 1812 invasion of Russia, $6 million was shelled out by coproducers Carlo Ponti, Dino de Laurentiis and Paramount Pictures. Some of the panoramic battle sequences are so expertly handled by second-unit director Mario Soldati that they appear to be Technicolor-and-Vistavision newsreel footage of the actual events. Still, the film falters dramatically, principally because of a lumpy script and King Vidor's surprisingly lustreless direction. In addition, the casting is wildly consistent: for example, while Audrey Hepburn is flawless as Natasha, Henry Fonda is far too "Yankeefied" as the introspective Pierre. Proving too long and unwieldy for most audiences, War and Peace died at the box office; far more successful was the epic, scrupulously faithful 1968 version, filmed in the Soviet Union. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide