Cesare Danova Movies
Italian actor Cesare Danova came to prominence in such post-war European films as La Figlia del Capitano (1947) and Don Giovanni (1955), playing the title role in the latter film. In the American-made Man Who Understood Women (1959), Danova managed to be both funny and menacing as a murderous cuckolded husband. Few of his American films took full advantage of Danova's talents, tending to cast him as a "typical" hot-blooded Mediterranean, but there have been a few rewarding assignments along the way. As Appolodorus in the budget-busting Cleopatra (1963), Danova was one of the few actors whose part wasn't cut to nothing in order to favor the Elizabeth Taylor-Richard Burton combo. Danova was one of the stars of the TV pilot-cum-theatrical movie Chamber of Horrors (1966), and he enjoyed a season's worth of regular TV work as Actor (that was the character's name, not the designation) on the weekly Dirty Dozen rip-off Garrison's Gorillas (1967). In the '70s and '80s, Danova seemed to take turns with Anthony Quinn in portraying Onassis-like Greek tycoons and Mafia bosses; in the latter capacity Danova was hilarious as Carmine DePasto in National Lampoon's Animal House (1978). In the early years of the '80s, Danova could be seen as a regular on the ABC television daytime drama Ryan's Hope. Cesare Danova died suddenly during a 1992 meeting of the Motion Picture Academy's Foreign Film Committee. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1963
Gidget Goes to Rome was the third film to be inspired by the beach-happy characters created by Frederick Kohner back in the mid-1950s. This time, surfer gal Francie "Gidget" Lawrence is played by newcomer Cindy Carol. Per the title, the film finds Gidget vacationing in the Eternal City with faithful boyfriend Jeff, aka Moondoggie (James Darren). Chaperoning the pair is Aunt Albertina (Jessie Royce Landis), but that doesn't stop Gidge and Jeff from experiencing brief extracurricular flirtations in Rome. The question: how do the producers get Cindy Carol into a bikini without diverting from the plotline? The answer: a slapstick setpiece during a fashion show. The last of the theatrical Gidget features, Gidget Goes to Rome was followed by a handful of TV-movie sequels and two separate weekly sitcoms. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cindy Carol, James Darren, (more)
- 1961
David O. Selznick had intended to film an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night as a vehicle for his wife Jennifer Jones. But financial difficulties compelled Selznick to sell the property (including Ms. Jones' services) to 20th Century-Fox. Jones stars as a wealthy but disturbed woman of the 1920s who marries her psychiatrist (Jason Robards Jr.). They live together at her Riviera estate, where the doctor's analytical skills atrophy. As Jones grows stronger, the doctor becomes totally dependent upon her emotionally and financially. The film's supporting characters are equally self-destructive, notably an alcoholic composer (Tom Ewell) and Jones' avaricious sister (Joan Fontaine). Perhaps if Selznick had produced Tender is the Night, the film wouldn't have wallowed in misery for its own sake; on the other hand, we still would have been stuck with Jennifer Jones, who is woefully miscast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Jones, Jason Robards, Jr., (more)
- 1961
In this sci-fi fantasy, based on a Jules Verne story, two 18th-century men are preparing for a duel when they find themselves caught in the tremendous tailwind of a passing comet. They get sucked onto the comet's head where they find a strange world inhabited by dinosaurs and cave men. The rivals are forced to split up. When they see each other again, each has become the leader of rival cave-man clans during a war. Peace is restored when the heroes each fall for a woman belonging to the other's clan. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cesare Danova, Sean McClory, (more)
- 1959
After making Man Who Understood Women and seeing that the result was an ill-realized, uneven combination of Hollywood satire and tear-jerking melodrama, star Henry Fonda did not make another film until almost three years later. The story centers on a Hollywood producer who becomes so obsessed with turning his wife Leslie Caron into the sexiest star in Hollywood that he neglects her real needs. Feeling lonely and tired of Tinseltown, Caron returns to her native France and finds herself attracted to the handsome and very attentive pilot Cesare Danova. When Fonda hears about the budding affair, he flies into a rage and hires assassins to kill his rival. Unfortunately for him, the killers are romantics and decide that Caron and Danova are so in love that both must die so they can be together always. When Fonda finds out, he rushes over to France to try and save his wife. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Caron, Henry Fonda, (more)
- 1958
Cesare Danova and Jack Elam guest star in this episode of the popular The Rifleman television series. The town of North Fork is startled by the arrival of a genuine Italian count (Danova) and no one more so than brutish cattle buyer Sim Groder (Jack Elam), who does his best to rile the newcomer. After yet another unpleasant encounter in the saloon, Count Di Montova challenges Groder to a duel at dawn. With Lucas McCain (Chuck Connors) as his second, the count leaves the hotel to face Groder and four of his rabblerousing cohorts. The episode was directed by cult figure Joseph H. Lewis. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1956
This tuneful swashbuckler follows closely the plot of Mozart's opera "Don Giovanni" and chronicles the scandalous life and times of the amoral womanizer Don Giovanni, who after a life of hedonistic debauchery finds himself personally escorted to the gates of Hell by the slain father of one of the women he wronged. The songs are abbreviated from Mozart's opera and the costumes, production design and cinematography are exceptional. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cesare Danova, Joseph Meinrad, (more)
- 1954
Beautiful Hedy Lamarr finds herself faced with a difficult decision when she must choose an appropriate costume for an important masquerade ball in this metaphorical fantasy that unfolds in three parts. To help her decide, she asks a trio of male friends. Their disparate suggestions that she go as either Helen of Troy, the Empress Josephine or Genieve de Brabant, and the reasons behind their choices provide the bulk of the film. Originally, the film was three hours long and purported to present the essence of being a woman. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1954
Errol Flynn's immediate followup to his 1953 swashbuckler Master of Ballantrae was Il Maestro di Don Giovanni--or, as it was known in America, Crossed Swords. Flynn plays a Don Juan-like adventurer named Renzo, who fights and romances his way through all sorts of Italian court intrigue. His principal foe is the wicked coucillor (Roldano Lupi) of the Duke of Sivona (Piero Tordi), who intends to oust the Duke and claim Sivona for himself. In between the usual sword duels, Renzo dallies with the Duke's buxom daughter (Gina Lollobrigida). Crossed Swords failed to make a dent in the US, a fact that Errol Flynn would attribute to United Artists' lack of interest in promoting the property. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Errol Flynn, Gina Lollobrigida, (more)
- 1949
This Italian musical drama was released to selected English-speaking theatres as The Holy Nun. The title character is played -- or, rather, sung -- by Eva Nova. Set in Naples, the film concerns a nun who can't quite get over the romantic entanglements of her previous life. Prominent in the cast is Cesare Danova, who went on to a substantial Hollywood career. Inexpensively filmed, Monaca Santa delivers full entertainment value within its modest limits. The music, which when all is said and done is this film's reason for being, was written by Ezio Carabella and Antonio Valli. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cesare Danova, Tina Lattanzi, (more)
