Eleonora Rossi-Drago Movies
Of Italian-Spanish heritage, Eleanora Rossi-Drago worked as a salesgirl before entering films in 1949. In the early stages of her movie career, she was typecast in sexy, bodice-ripping roles in such films as Pirates of Capri (1949) and Sensualita (1952). By the time she left films in the 1970s, she had matriculated into a capable character actress. Eleanora Rossi-Drago is best known to American audiences for her "salty" performance as Lot's wife in John Huston's The Bible (1966). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This story from Alexander Dumas is updated to modern times and tinged with graphic nudity and eroticism. Marguerite (Daniele Gaubert) is the tart who sleeps her way up the social ladder to help Armand Duval (Nino Castelnuevo), a commoner who happens to be her boyfriend. The original story has Camille dying from tuberculosis, but in this version she suffers from an unknown ailment. She takes a variety of drugs and becomes a walking zombie (when she can stand up) in this expertly photographed sexploitation feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniele Gaubert, Nino Castelnuovo, (more)
- 1970
- R
The classic story of evil by Oscar Wilde is a plodding, campy, trashy production that gives the viewer moments of unintentional laughter. Dorian Gray (Helmut Berger) is the vain young Englishman who sells his soul to the devil to remain eternally youthful in appearance. His portrait is being painted by Basil (Richard Todd), much to the delight of his first true love Sybil (Marie Liljedahl). Lord Henry Wolton (Herbert Lom )is Dorian's partner in collaborating with evil. Gray remains the same but the picture reflects his image to show the ravages of old age and time. The drama, mystery and psychology of the original book is absent from this poorly made remake done 25 years earlier. Herbert Lom goves the only noteworthy performance of the film. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helmut Berger, Richard Todd, (more)
- 1954
This film is comprised of three vignettes focusing upon women and war. The first episode, set in WW II, chronicles the sad journey of an American woman who goes to Italy to bring her husband's body home. In Italy she makes a heart-wrenching discovery: he had been living with an Italian family and had impregnated their daughter and sees the child. The second story chronicles the abandonment of Joan of Arc, by her king and her soldiers. The third episode is a humorous adaptation of "Lysistrata," the Greek play where Athenian wives refused to sleep with their husbands until they stopped making war. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Very loosely based on its Biblical source, this standard Italian sword-and-sandal action film stars Orson Welles as an intense, inward-turning King Saul, deteriorating at the same time that David is rising in renown. The shepherd David (Ivo Payer) is sent to the Israelite forces with supplies for his older brothers when he first discovers who Goliath is -- the giant over nine feet tall that challenges any single warrior to meet him one-on-one in battle. If someone takes up his challenge, it would decide whether the Israelites or Philistines are victorious in their current stand-off. David's one-shot victory turns the tide and hastens Saul's decline. The monarch's lithesome daughters Merab and Michal are played by Eleonora Rossi-Drago and Giulia Rubini, his son Jonathan is portrayed by Pierre Cressoy, and Goliath by Kronos, a muscular "giant" of European circus and music hall circuits. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Orson Welles, Ivo Payer, (more)
Francois Perier, Peter vanEyck, and Anouk Aimee star in this tense tale of five highly skilled thieves who all pool their resources in hopes of pulling off the perfect heist. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Hypnosis is a psychological thriller reminiscent of themes found in Magic and Dead of Night. Erik (Jean Sorel) is the assistant in a ventriloquist/hypnotist act starring Magda (Elenora Rossi-Drago) and her fiancé Georg (Massimo Serato) Because of his secret love for Magna, Erik kills off anyone who gets in the way of his obsession. He becomes increasing unbalanced and frightened as he is tormented by the sound of the ventriloquist's dummy laughing at him. This Italian-German production, directed by Eugenio Martin, has an interesting premise, but the acting and production values of the are poor and the plot remains cliche-ridden and implausible. Hypnosis will disappoint even the most hardcore fans of the genre. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- 1952
The English-language title of this Italian WW I drama is Seven of the Big Bear. The title refers to a group of Italian navy frogmen, who train arduously for a raid on the allied stronghold of Gilbraltar. Their "inside man" on the island is actually a woman, nightclub singer Eleanora Rossi Drago. When last seen, the deep-sea-diving heroes are engaged in an assault on the British fleet at Alexandria. I Sette Dell'Orsa Maggiore would make a fascinating companion feature to the American wartime actioner The Frogmen. The music is by Nino Rota, whose later filmwork included the two Godfather films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Cressoy, Tino Carraro, (more)
- 1964
The Flying Saucer is an irreverent satire of the worldwide fascination in space travel in the early 1960s. Alberto Sordi plays four roles in this slight tale of an invasion from Mars. The Martians decide to kidnap several "typical" Earthlings to help them understand our curious planet. The subjects are maddening enough to send the Martians hurtling off the planet as fast as their fat little pods will carry them. Flying Saucer gets off to a good start with a phony newsreel, wherein several interviewees offer the most fatuous opinions ever put on film; the rest of the film isn't able to match this opening, but there are isolated belly laughs along the way. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alberto Sordi, Monica Vitti, (more)
- 1962
Several internationally known directors contributed to this generally adept and compelling series of five brief vignettes on love and its many ramifications. François Truffaut starts things off with a story of innocent love between a young man in his mid-teens and a slightly older woman. Renzo Rossellini continues in sketch two about a tough mistress who keeps her lover on a short tether. Shintaro Ishihara renders the only violent episode -- that of a disturbed young worker who becomes a real lady-killer. Marcel Ophüls (son of the late and great Max Ophüls) directs an upbeat tale about a journalist who accepts the responsibilities of marriage and fatherhood when a brief fling with a woman ends in a pregnancy. The last vignette, directed by the well-known Polish helmer Andrzej Wajda, is about a brave act by a young soldier whose deed gains him the admiration of a woman, but the response from other men his age is something different. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Pierre Léaud, Marie-France Pisier, (more)
- 1959
Jean-Louis Trintignant's star was just rising when he took on the role of Carlo in this engrossing wartime coming-of-age story. Carlo is a young man living in his own world and blithely inattentive to the real war that is happening not very far away. This is particularly striking because he is the son of a high-level fascist. The year is 1943 and he has gone to a seaside resort on vacation where he meets the beautiful, older widow Roberta (Eleonora Rossi Drago). Carlo is smitten and in spite of various obstacles, he and Roberta enter into a romantic liaison. Then one day Allied forces land on the coast and Carlo is faced with the realities of war and a reassessment of his life. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eleonora Rossi-Drago, Jean-Louis Trintignant, (more)
- 1964
Infidelity is the real subject linking the four funny vignettes that comprise this Italian anthology. "The First Night" centers on a naive pair of Sicilian newlyweds honeymooning in Naples. While celebrating their wedding night a friendly millionaire invites them aboard his yacht for a few drinks. There the tycoon offers the groom a fortune in exchange for having sex with his bride. Too drunk to think straight, the groom agrees to the bargain. The next night, he goes to cash the millionaire's check and finds it is no good forcing him to make a difficult decision. In the second story, "One Moment is Enough" an insanely jealous husband's attempts to keep his wife faithful fail miserably. The third story "The Last Card" centers on an unemployed football player who becomes a male prostitute to help support his impoverished family. Unfortunately, he is not quite up to the job. Finally in "Saturday, July 18," a wife spends a month vacationing in Capri. Her husband eventually shows up and begins boasting about how trustworthy she is. Unfortunately for him, she is anything but. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lando Buzzanca, Maria Grazia Buccella, (more)
- 1952
Catastrophe results from a love triangle. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eleonora Rossi-Drago, Amedeo Nazzari, (more)
- 1958
This nonsensical swashbuckler stars Jean Marais as a "lovable rogue" named LaTour. Generally loyal to no one but himself, La Tour swears eternal fidelity to King Louis XIV during a moment of national crisis in France. When he's not dueling for his life or romancing the ladies, our hero is prone to bursting out in song (Ah, this must be the "singing cavalier" alluded to in Singin' in the Rain). Filmed on an epic scale in Yugoslavia, La Tour, Prends Barde! nonetheless cost a lot less than American costume dramas of the period. The film was reissued to U.S. television under a variety of titles in the 1960s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Marais, Cathia Caro, (more)
- 1953
Originally released as Trattedella Blanche, Girls Marked Danger offers a voyeuristic glimpse at the subrosa world of 20th century white slavery. Veteran Hollywood heavy Marc Lawrence plays a vice lord who recruits innocent young Italian ladies for his nefarious purposes, on the pretext of hiring them to be cabaret dancers in South America. Despite the fact that none of Lawrence's "girls" ever return home, the new candidates suspect nothing as they sign up for the tour. Since the plot and outcome of Girls Marked Danger are predictable, the film justifies its 78-minute length by concentrating on the backgrounds of some of the unfortunate lasses. The most tragic of the ladies is played by Eleanora Rossi Drago, who is not only brutally beaten and mishandled, but ends up dying in childbirth. The nominal romantic lead is played by Sophia Loren, who tends to be upstaged on this occasion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Silvana Pampanini, Sophia Loren, (more)
Roman couturier Clelia (Eleonora Rossi-Drago) leaves the big city to work at a boutique in Turin. She moves into a hotel and makes several new friends, but is soon drawn into their extremely unpleasant lives. Clelia enters a doomed relationship with a poor architect's assistant (Ettore Manni), sees her new best friend Rosetta (Madeleine Fischer) commit suicide after being jilted by her married lover (Gabriele Ferzetti), and is eventually fired from her new job when her hysteria over Rosetta's death interferes with her work. Clelia finally goes back to Rome, and viewers will not blame her a bit. Le Amiche, based on a 1949 article published in La Bella Estate ("Tre Donne Sole" by Cesare Pavese), is perhaps Michelangelo Antonioni's first great film. Juggling 10 characters with great aplomb, Antonioni and co-screenwriters Suso Cecchi D'Amico and Alba De Cespedes have created a rich, interlocking narrative which manages to rise above mere melodrama through careful attention to the ebb and flow of interpersonal relationships and a keen sense of balance. The fine supporting cast includes Valentina Cortese, Yvonne Furneaux, and Franco Fabrizi. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Valentina Cortese, Gabriele Ferzetti, (more)
- 1958
This routine story by director Maurice Cloche is about two gangs at war over the possession of a valuable cache of crude diamonds. As the gangs battle it out with each other, a young man is drawn into the conflict by his girlfriend, an aggressive sort of woman in her own way. Before the basically innocent bystander becomes a casualty of the dispute, he falls in love with another woman who manages to lead him away from the conflict. At the same time, the gangs are well on the way to destroying each other. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Pascal, Eleonora Rossi-Drago, (more)
- 1970
- R
In this drama, an unhappy young computer student attempts to escape her unhappy homelife by getting involved with a self-centered law student. The 17-year old girl soon gets bored with him and begins affairs with two others. Unfortunately, she is impregnated by the law student who enlists the aid of a wealthy, strange countess to arrange an abortion. The girl then goes to work for the countess and observes all of the problems the woman has with men. After that, the girl resolves to spend her life alone. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
