Gina Lollobrigida Movies
Known as "La Lollo," Gina Lollobrigida was the first sex symbol to emerge from post-WWII Europe at a time when Italians were giving up on neorealism in favor of Hollywood glamour. Coming in third place at the 1947 Miss Italia contest made her the ideal star for escapist cinema. Arriving perfectly on time, the actress moved to Rome after the war to study sculpture while working as a singer and an artist's model. She made her film debut with Aquila Nera and went on to star in several more Italian films, usually playing a seductress. After Fanfan la Tulipe and Beauties of the Night, she was well known throughout Western Europe. By that time, she had married Dr. Drago Milko Skofic. They were together for 20 years and had one child. In 1954, she made her first U.S. film, Beat the Devil, directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart. The next year she returned to Italy to appear in the movie that earned her the nickname, The World's Most Beautiful Woman. Howard Hughes wanted her to sign a long-term contract, but she didn't want to stay too far away from home. However, she did make several Hollywood films, including Carol Reed's Trapeze, King Vidor's Solomon and Sheba, and Robert Mulligan's Come September. By 1961, she won a Golden Globe award as World Film Favorite, but her Italian beauty queen status was quickly being usurped by rising star Sophia Loren. During the '70s, she retired from films and focused on her photography career and cosmetics company. As a photojournalist, she wrote, directed, and produced Ritratto di Fidel, a documentary about Fidel Castro distributed by RAI-TV Channel 1. In the '80s, she briefly returned to acting for the NBC miniseries Deceptions and the soap opera Falcon Crest. In 1999, she turned to politics and ran for a seat in the European Union Parliament, representing her home town of Subiaco. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide- 1946
Before turning to horror pictures, Italian filmmaker Riccardo Freda directed some of the finest costume epics of the postwar era. Filmed in 1946 as Aquila Nera, Freda's Return of the Black Eagle made it to American screens in 1949. Based on a story by Alexander Pushkin, the film concerns the exploits of a Russian soldier who wreaks vengeance against an evil landowner by assuming the guise of a masked bandit. Rossano Brazzi stars as Vladimir Dubrowski, aka the Black Eagle, while Irasema Dilian is his beloved Masha, daughter of his bitter enemy Kirila (Gino Cervi, cast in an uncharacteristically unsympathetic role). The swashbuckling and derring-do is leavened by a few welcome moments of humor, especially when Brazzi disguises himself as a wimpy French tutor. Return of the Black Eagle could have benefited from Technicolor, though the black-and-white photography of Rodolfo Lombardi is fine in its own way. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rossano Brazzi, Irasema Dilian, (more)
- 1948
Love of a Clown was originally released in Italy as Il Pagliacci--and rightly so, since this is a film adaptation of Leoncavallo's one-act opera. Famed baritone Tito Gobbi dons clown suit and cries his eyes out as Pagliacci, the provincial entertainer who takes in a homeless woman, only to be betrayed by the girl and his best friend. The girl is played by 21-year-old Gina Lollobrigida, who at the time of the film's release was praised by the more impressionable critics for her marvelous singing; when the picture is seen today, even a preschooler can deduce that Gina's voice is dubbed. Filmed on location in the Calabrian Mountains, Love of a Clown runs a brief 60 minutes--exactly the time-span of the original opera. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tito Gobbi, Gina Lollobrigida, (more)
The leading lady of the Italian Mad About Opera was billed in the English-language prints as Lollo Brigida. By the time the film was reissued in the mid-1950s, this gaffe had been corrected, and Gina Lollobrigida received proper screen credit. The story details the misadventures of a group of Italians living in London who hope to stage a musical concert. The proceeds will go to the restoration of a church which was destroyed during the Blitz. Spearheading the project is journalist Carlo Scala (Carlo Campanini), who must overcome some pretty formidable opposition to realize his goal. The final reels of Mad About Opera are given over to such powerhouse musical talents as Tito Gobbi, Gino Bechi, Beniamino Gigli, Maria Caniglia and the La Scala Corps de Ballet. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carlo Campanini, Constance Dowling, (more)
When an impoverished but devoted Italian wife's husband falls ill and she is forced to take his place in a dangerous smuggling operation, she finds her will tested as she makes her way through the harsh landscape towards the French border in director Giorgio Pastina's downbeat drama. As night falls and Alina braves the brutal winter in hopes of making the delivery without incident, her grim situation turns dire when a brutish smuggler named Marco claims the beautiful young courier as his own. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1949
The White Line is a modest anti-war statement set in a tiny Italian village near Trieste. As the result of an International Peace Conference, the nearby borders are changed, with a white line drawn in the middle of the town. One half of the community belongs to the Italians, while the other half is controlled by Yugoslavia. The ramifications of this decision range from humorous to disastrous, with some consequences wandering to the realm of the surreal. In keeping with the Biblical phrase "And a child shall lead them," it is up to the kids in town to point up the absurdities of the new border. Alas, tragedy ensues, but out of hopelessness arises a new form of hope. Filmed in 1950 as Cuori senza Frontiere, The White Line attained bookings in the U.S. thanks to the presence of Gina Lollobrigida in a secondary role (Lollobrigida was afforded top billing in the American prints). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gina Lollobrigida, Raf Vallone, (more)
- 1950
Gina Lollobrigida has top billing in Four Ways Out, but the film's dramatic weight is carried by its male stars. The story concerns a quartet of hard-luck cases, played by Renato Baldini, Enzo Maggio, Paul Muller and Fausto Tozzi. Feeling as though the cards have been stacked against them in life (and not without reason), the foursome turns to crime. The film's setpiece, the robbery of a stadium box-office while a soccer game is in progress, bears a passing resemblance to the key scene in Stanley Kubrick's later The Killing, though it is obvious that Kubrick did not in any way imitate the earlier film stylistically. One of the collaborators on the script for Four Ways Out was Federico Fellini. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gina Lollobrigida, Renato Baldini, (more)
- 1950
Gina Lollobridgida was a virtual unknown in the U.S. when Campagne a Martello was released to English-speaking countries in 1950. Critics said then what they'd say later: as an actress, Gina was very pretty. The story concerns an Italian prostitute named Agostina (Lollobridgida) who is left without a steady source of income when the American GIs go home. Returning to her own island village, Agostina is secure in the knowledge that she has a sizeable financial nest egg waiting for her. Alas, the money has been rerouted to a home for orphaned and illegitimate children. Incurring the wrath of the locals by demanding that her money be returned, Agostina eventually sees the error of her ways. Director Luigi Zampa shot this film at the same time as an English version with different actors. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gina Lollobrigida, Eduardo de Filippo, (more)
- 1950
Real-life beauty contest winner Gina Lollobrigida is appropriately cast in Miss Italia. The first half of the film is a dramatization of the events leading up to Italy's number-one beauty pageant. The final portion consists of footage from the actual event. Inevitably, the real thing is more fascinating than the soap-operalike plot, though Constance Dowling has some good moments as a prostitute who hopes to escape her sordid lifestyle by winning the Miss Italia crown. Filmed in 1949, Miss Italia made it to the U.S. in 1950, by which time Lollobrigida's star was on the ascent. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gina Lollobrigida, Richard Ney, (more)
- 1951
Not long before MGM embarked upon its musical biopic The Great Caruso, the Italian Enrico Caruso, Leggenda di Una Voce made the American distribution rounds. Maurizio di Nardo plays famed tenor Caruso as a boy, while Ermanno Randi takes over the role in adulthood. The film makes no pretense at accuracy; indeed, an introductory title describes the plot as "a poetic interpretation of [Caruso's] youth." When it was released in the U.S., Enrico Caruso was retitled to The Young Caruso and promoted on the basis of one of its leading ladies, the fabulous Gina Lollobrigida. In fact, in some markets, the third-billed Lollobrigida was promoted as the film's above-the-title star. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ermanno Randi, Gina Lollobrigida, (more)
- 1951
Former Hollywood musical director (and erstwhile government spy) Boris Morros was one of the producers of the British Tale of Five Cities. Bonar Colleano stars as British soldier Bob Mitchell, who has picked up American habits and speech patterns while employed in the U.S. Suffering from amnesia, Mitchell is led to believe that he is an American GI, though of course no records exist to verify this. Mitchell's confusion prompts a Manhattan-based magazine to launch a search for Bob's true identity, a search leading inexorably to the girls he left behind during WW II. The "five cities" visited during this exploratory journey are Rome, Berlin, Vienna, Paris, and London; Mitchell's Roman sweetheart is played by Gina Lollobridgida, while his Viennese amour is Eva Bartok. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bonar Colleano, Lana Morris, (more)
Tito Gobbi was one of the biggest stars on the international opera scene in the '40s and '50s, and he lent his strong baritone voice and forceful personality to a number of memorable roles. Tito Gobbi in Pagliacci & Highlights From Guglielmo Tell includes a filmed version of Ruggiero Leoncavallo's "Pagliacci" shot in 1949, with Gobbi as the celebrated weeping clown and featuring Gina Lollobrigida as Nedda (though Onelia Fineschi dubs in her arias). Also appearing in this collection is a rare condensed version of Gioachino Rossini's "Guglielmo Tell", which attempts to reduce the piece to a 25-minute performance; Gabriella Gatti also appears in the cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1952
An all-star cast graces this Italian "omnibus" feature. The film consists of eight short stories, each based on nostalgic literary efforts. Linking the various stories is bookseller Aldo Fabrizi, who passes the time by reading the works dramatized herein. In "The Excelsior Ball," dancer Alba Arnova arouses the libido of several observers. In "Less Than a Day," a three-hour train delay wreaks havoc on the romance between Arnova and Andrea Checchi. In "Sardinian Drummer Boy," the title character (Enzo Cerusico) becomes an unexpected hero on the battlefield. In "Matter of Interest," two farmers (Arnoldo Foa and Folco Lulli) quarrel over a compost pile. In "The Idyll," two very young people (Maurizio Di Nardo and Geraldina Pariniello) fall in love. "Potpourri of Songs" delivers on its title through the musical versatility of Barbara Florian and Elio Pandolfi. "The Trial of Frine" finds accused murderess Gina Lollobrigida being defended by colorful lawyer Vittorio De Sica. And in "The Trap," an accusatory husband (Amedeo Nazzari) drives his far-from-innocent wife (Elis Cegani) into an act of extreme desperation. Also known as In Olden Days, Altri Tempi was distributed worldwide by RKO Radio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aldo Fabrizi, Enzo Staiola, (more)
The title of this Italian period comedy translates to Bride for a Night. Armando Francioli plays an impoverished 18th-century musician who seeks the patronage of a wealthy, libertine count (Gino Cervi). When the count comes to town on a visit, the musician hits upon a scheme: he will bundle his real wife (Gina Lollobrigida) out of the house, hire a local courtesan (Nadia Gray) to pose as his wife, then allow the count to sleep with his "bride" in exchange for financial support. Inevitably, the plan falls through, with the count ending up in bed with the real wife while the husband stews in his own juices. If this plot sounds familiar, it is because Mogile per Una Notte was remade by Billy Wilder in 1964 as Kiss Me, Stupid. The most entertaining aspect of the original film is the presence of Gina Lollobrigida as a frowzy housewife who blossoms into a ravishing beauty after spending the night with the count. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gino Cervi, Armando Francioli, (more)
Pauline Kael once characterized the French adventure film Fanfan the Tulip as a "Louis XV western". This is a pretty broad interpretation, though it is true that the film never stops moving--an excellent method of sustaining audience attention and plugging up the plot holes. Gerard Philipe plays Fanfan, a handsome, athletic and self-impressed young peasant soldier. Fanfan is as adept in the boudoir as on the battlefield; it has been prophesied that he will wed the king's daughter, thus he wants to get as much practice as possible. Fanfan's many conquests include Gina Lollobridgida and Genevieve Page, which may be why this film did so well in the States. Fanfan the Tulip is available in several shorter versions, one of which has been redubbed Soldier in Love. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Philipe, Gina Lollobrigida, (more)
- 1952
Director René Clair insisted that his 1952 production Beauties of the Night (Les Belles du Nuit) was intended as a comic variation on Griffith's multipart Intolerance (1916). The Clair film deals with a disillusioned music teacher (Gérard Philipe) who dreams of the beautiful women of history, envisioning himself as the central male figure in each dream. The imaginary ladies (including such internationally famous lovelies as Martine Carol and Gina Lollobrigida) begin converging on the hero all at once, much to the delight of both Philipe and the audience. At several junctures, Clair revives a technique from his earliest talkies by having the characters sing their lines and thoughts rather than speaking them. These treasured musical moments are somewhat dissipated when Beauties of the Night is seen in an edited, redubbed American print -- which also "fudges" the film's notorious Gina Lollobrigida nude scene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Philipe, Martine Carol, (more)
Humphrey Bogart stars as one of five disreputable adventurers who are trying to get uranium out of East Africa. Bogart's associates include pompous fraud Robert Morley, and Peter Lorre as the German-accented "O'Hara", whose wartime record is forever a source of speculation and suspicion. Becoming involved in Bogart's machinations are a prim British married couple (Edward Underdown and blonde-wigged Jennifer Jones). As a climax to their many misadventures and double-crosses, the uranium seekers end up facing extermination by an Arab firing squad. The satirical nature of Beat the Devil eluded many moviegoers in 1953, and the film was a failure. The fact that the picture attained cult status in lesser years failed to impress its star Humphrey Bogart, who could only remember that he lost a considerable chunk of his own money when he became involved in the project. Peter Viernick worked on the script on an uncredited basis. Beat the Devil eventually fell into public domain, leading to numerous inferior editions by second and third-tiered labels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Humphrey Bogart, Jennifer Jones, (more)
Vittorio De Sica plays the middle-aged marshal of carabiniers in a remote Italian mountain village. He's anxious to marry, and selects young Gina Lollobrigida as his bride; but she is already in love with De Sica's shy subordinate Roberto Risso. Mistaking her headstrong behavior as promiscuity, De Sica makes advances towards her, but she spurns him. Forsaking the girl to the arms of Risso, De Sica decides to settle for village midwife Marisa Merlini. Originally titled Pane, Amore, e Fantasia when released in Italy, Bread, Love and Dreams contains what some regard as Gina Lollobrigida's best and most naturalistic performance. The film's popularity resulted in two sequels, both with Lollobrigida: Pane, Amore e Gelosia (US title: Frisky) and the open-ended Pane, Amore e... (released in the states as Scandal in Sorrento). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vittorio De Sica, Gina Lollobrigida, (more)
- 1953
Le Infedeli is graced by two internationally popular leading ladies: Italy's Gina Lollobrigida and Sweden's Mai Britt. The two actresses are but small portions of a larger plot mosaic, all about keeping up appearances no matter what the provocation. A group of "respectable" people are all partly responsible for the suicide of a servant girl. They are pounced upon by a wily blackmailer (Pierre Cressoy), who knows that these people will pay dearly rather than inform on themselves or others. The villain's comeuppance may seem a bit extreme, but it's undeniably satisfying. This Carlo Ponti-Dino DeLaurentiis production also features Irene Papas and Marina Vlady. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gina Lollobrigida, May Britt, (more)
- 1953
The ever-growing popularity of Gina Lollobrigida was a decided box-office asset when the Italian La Provinciale was distributed to the U.S. as The Wayward Wife. Lollobrigida acquits herself quite nicely in the tensely dramatic role of a much-put-upon small-town girl named Cemma. Seduced by a lad who turns out to be a relative, Cemma is tossed out of her home. Seeking security, she impulsively marries bookish science professor Franco Vagnuzzi (Gabriele Ferzetti). Bored by her marriage, Cemma doesn't realize the true value of her loving husband until it's almost too late. The original 118-minute run time was reduced for U.S. release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gina Lollobrigida, Franco Interlenghi, (more)
- 1954
In this sequel to Bread, Love, and Dreams a fortyish man gets himself in trouble with his wife who suspects him of messing around with a sexy woman. Unfortunately, he is innocent. His attempts to prove it form the basis for the story. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gina Lollobrigida, Vittorio De Sica, (more)
- 1954
In this romance, a jilted lawyer joins the French Foreign Legion to help him forget his faithless love. While in the desert he espies a village beauty who is the exact double of his true-love. It turns out that she is an amnesiac. With her, the attorney tries to re-spark his old relationship. Trouble ensues when his real ex-love shows up and makes her look-a-like hit the road. The lawyer ends up going back to the Legion to escape it all. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gina Lollobrigida, Jean Pascal, (more)
