Ben Jonson Movies
- 1988
Millionaire Volpone (Paolo Villaggio) recruits his new butler Mosca (Enrico Montesano) to fool three heirs to the family fortune in this engaging comedy. Gathering around the deathbed, the potential heirs compete for favors of Volpone. One man offers the keys to his Maserati, a married friend offers his beautiful wife and the local mayor (Eleanora Giorgi) for a final night of passion, and another signs over his luxury yacht, hoping it will be returned by Volpone after his death. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paolo Villaggio, Enrico Montesano, (more)
- 1967
Cecil Fox (Rex Harrison) summons his three former mistresses to his deathbed for a final visit in this engaging crime comedy. Princess Dominique (Capucine), fading movie star Merle McGill (Edie Adams), and Texas millionairess Mrs. Sheridan (Susan Hayward) all travel to pay their respects to the supposedly dying Fox. William McFly (Cliff Robertson) is the personal secretary and gigolo employed by Fox to lure the women to his estate. When Mrs. Sheridan is found murdered, Inspector Rizzi (Adolfo Celi) investigates her mysterious death in this feature highlighted by several twists and turns. Alternate titles are Mr. Fox Of Venice and Anyone For Venice?. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rex Harrison, Susan Hayward, (more)
- 1940
Though he died in 1943 at the hands of his Gestapo persecutors, the great French stage and screen actor Harry Baur was represented onscreen in 1947 by the first American release of his 1940 vehicle Volpone. Adapted from the Ben Jonson play of the same name, the story concerns a cynical, unscrupulous merchant named Volpone (Baur)-aka "the fox" -- who intends to get even with his enemies by pretending to be dead and watching them fight amongst themselves for his estate. He appoints his servant Mosca (Louis Jouvet), outwardly as dishonest as Volpone, as the executor of his will, then sits back to enjoy the fireworks. Volpone's plan inevitably backfires, setting the stage for an ironic denoument. Director Maurice Tourneur completed Volpone in 1939, but political upheavals in wartime France delayed its original release by a full year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Jouvet, Harry Baur, (more)
