Augusta Merighi Movies
- 1959
Based on the novel The Cup and the Sword by Alice Tisdale Hobart, this drama examines the trials and tribulations of three generations of French-American California vineyard owners. It's set during the Prohibition era, when wine makers were financially challenged and had to decide whether or not they wanted to cooperate with bootleggers to survive. Claude Rains plays Philippe Rambeau, an older grower in the Napa Valley who approaches his work like a craftsman. His grandson John (Rock Hudson) wants to make money by getting the family a cut of the bootleg market for wine. John's cousin Elizabeth (Jean Simmons) arrives from England summoned by Philippe, who hopes that she will bring stability to the business. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rock Hudson, Jean Simmons, (more)
Never Love a Stranger--especially if it's young hoodlum Frank Kane (John Drew Barrymore). When it is discovered that his natural parents were Jewish, Kane is removed from the Catholic orphanage that has been his only home. Seething with resentment, he vows to succeed at gangsterdom. He rises spectacularly to the top before his inevitable downfall-and has a high old time doing so. The basis for Never Love a Stranger was a Harold Robbins novel, which obviously drew upon actual people and events; it's quite entertaining to guess who the fictionalized characters are supposed to be. Of the stellar supporting cast, Robert Armstrong is a standout as a soft-spoken gunman. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Drew Barrymore, Lita Milan, (more)
- 1956
- NR
Bette Davis goes the "kitchen sink drama" route in The Catered Affair. As the frowsy wife of Bronx cabdriver Ernest Borgnine, Davis insists that her daughter Debbie Reynolds have a high-class wedding--caterers and all. Reynolds and future hubby Rod Taylor want a simple ceremony, but Davis' mind is made up. The wedding snowballs into an unwieldy affair as Davis and Borgnine find that they must invite everyone they know or risk incurring the wrath of their neighborhood. When the cost of the affair exceeds the family's bank account, Davis rails at Borgnine for failing to be a good provider. It takes her till the very end of the film to realize what a fool she's been. Gore Vidal, of all people, adapted The Catered Affair from a TV drama written by Paddy Chayefsky; the original telecast had starred Thelma Ritter. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bette Davis, Ernest Borgnine, (more)
Scripted by famed playwright Tennessee Williams, The Rose Tattoo stars Anna Magnani as Serafina Delle Rose, a Sicilian woman who now lives in the American South. As the film opens, she is still mourning the death of her beloved husband, constantly telling herself stories of their time together. Her fragile emotional existence is shattered when she discovers that her husband had been carrying on with another woman. Luckily, Serafina also meets truck driver Alvaro Mangiacavallo (Burt Lancaster) around this time, and their tentative romance may help her through this troubling time. Williams wrote the script for Magnani, who was awarded an Oscar for her work in the film. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Anna Magnani, Burt Lancaster, (more)
- 1931
The Italian-language Cosi E La Vita was lensed in New York and primarily designed for distribution to Italian-American communities. The title translates as Life is Like That, a rather flippant observation for so melancholy a tale. A well-to-do woman gives birth out of wedlock then farms the child out to her housekeeper rather than reveal her shameful secret to her husband. Upon the death of the mother, the housekeeper dutifully raises the child as if it were her own. The kid grows into manhood, then proposes to his childhood sweetheart -- never imagining that the girl is actually his own sister. A tragic turn of events eliminates the boy from the equation, leading to an ending that can only be termed "happy by default." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Augusta Merighi
