Isa Miranda Movies

Max (Dirk Bogarde) is a discreet, unassuming night porter working in a posh hotel in Vienna in 1957, tending to the guests' needs, from cold water to a bed-warming gigolo. Then Lucia (Charlotte Rampling) arrives at the hotel, on the arm of her husband, an American composer, and Max's past comes flooding back to him. It turns out Max was an S.S. officer at a Nazi concentration camp where Lucia was a beautiful young prisoner. She became, in effect, Max's sexual slave. Now, years later, their reunion shatters both of their lives. Lucia stays in Vienna after her husband travels on, in order to see Max, and they find themselves caught up in a renewal of their former sadomasochistic relationship. Max has an upcoming show trial for his war crimes. His former S.S. comrades have been carefully destroying documents and "filing away" witnesses to clear all their names, and, while Max tries to keep Lucia's existence a secret from them, they eventually find out about her. They consider her a threat, and they urge Max to turn her over to them. He quits his job, and he and Lucia hide out in his apartment, while his former friends keep watch. Liliana Cavani (Ripley's Game) co-wrote and directed this controversial film, Il Portiere di Notte, which she reportedly based partly on her own interviews with a Holocaust survivor. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

In this suspense thriller, Stephen Boyd plays Miguel, who is clearly not in his right mind. He remembers killing his mother-in-law but cannot determine what happened to his wife Pilar (Marisa Mell). As far as he knows, she may have just run away. As the film opens, it is the servant's day off. Marta (also Marisa Mell), a good-looking young woman who is the spitting image of Miguel's wife, runs the gauntlet of his snarling dogs. He rescues her and puts her to bed in a very fatherly fashion. Later, she tries to seduce him, but he has some sexual dysfunction which causes her efforts to fail. Marta searches the house for Miguel's wife who is her sister. Among other things, she finds a room fitted out for torture but otherwise has no success. Later, she induces Miguel to join her in the search. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

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

A Pope contends with the prospects of nuclear world destruction in this Cold-War saga of religious faith and international politics. (Anthony Quinn) plays a Russian priest who has spent 20 years in a Siberian labor camp. When Russian and Chinese relations deteriorate, Russian Premier Kamenev (Laurence Olivier) releases him and he is made a cardinal. Kamenev wishes to have a representative at the Vatican in Rome for future political situations. When the Pope (John Gielgud) dies, a series of events makes the Russian priest the first Pope from a communist country. Taking the name of the saint who spread the gospel to Russia, he becomes Pope Kiril Lakota. He often leaves the Vatican in disguise to mingle with the people to remain in touch with the poor and the needy. When millions of Chinese face starvation, the Pope offers to sell the riches of the church on order to feed the hungry, and he asks that all wealthy countries do the same. David Janssen is the television reporter stationed in Rome whose wife (Barbara Jefford) receives counseling from Kiril, unaware he is the Pope. In a symbolic gesture, Kiril offers his crown as a down payment in an attempt to bring world peace and end the starving of millions. Although a fine drama with a competent international cast, the movie failed at the box office to recoup the 9-million-dollar production costs. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

This drama centers upon a female thief and her robber band as they try to hide out from the cops on a deserted island. Their only shelter is an abandoned mansion. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This German version of the famed caper, not only examines the detailed planning and precise execution of the famed theft, it also looks at what happened to the robber gang after they robbed the British mail train. Soon after the heist, several gang members made fatal blunders causing their capture by the police. The criminal syndicate then rallies behind the incarcerated crooks and tries to spring them from jail. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A fortune in cash is the bait that draws some would-be criminals into a feeding frenzy in this offbeat but stylish crime drama. Lylle Corbett (Cameron Mitchell) and his girlfriend, Darlene (Jayne Mansfield), have just pulled off the heist of a lifetime, stealing one million dollars in American currency as it's being transported from Europe back to the United States. Hiding out in a small, run-down hotel on the Mediterranean coast, Lylle and Darlene plan to hire a boat and make their way back to the States, where they can start spending some of their loot. However, Darlene's abundance of enthusiasm and lack of common sense cause Livio Morelli (Aldo Camarda), the manager of the hotel, to suspect that she and Lylle are responsible for the robbery that's been all over the news. Livio quickly hatches a plan to steal the fortune from Lylle and cover his tracks, but Livio's hardly the only one looking for the loot, with his spinster sister, Sandra (Dody Heath), greedy butler Dolph (Ivor Salter), and eccentric heiress Madame Benoit (Isa Miranda) all conniving to get their hands on the cash. Dog Eat Dog (aka La Morte Vestita di Dollar) was released in the United Kingdom as When Strangers Meet, the title of the novel that was the basis for its screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this drama, from director Anthony Asquith, the lives and stories of three different people are linked together by their possession of an unusual car, a yellow Rolls Royce Phantom II. Lord Frinton (Rex Harrison) is a diplomat who purchases the exquisite auto as a gift for his wife (Jeanne Moreau). After Frinton's horse wins the Royal Gold Cup, Lady Frinton incurs the Lord's wrath when she is caught in the back seat of the Rolls with his underling John Fane (Edmund Purdom). In the 1930s, the car is bought by Italian gangster Paolo Maltese (George C. Scott), who is carrying on with the hatcheck girl Mae Jenkins (Shirley MacLaine). The two take a tour of Italy and see all the historic sights, but Mae is less than impressed. While Paolo is in the United States on one of his frequent hit-man assignments, Mae and a street photographer try out the back seat for comfort and carnal pleasure. Art Carney plays Paolo's associate Joey. In the final episode, Gerda Millett (Ingrid Bergman) is the married American woman who buys the car in 1942. With Hitler attacking Yugoslavia the brave and brazen beauty helps fight the Nazis by smuggling Davich (Omar Shariff) across the border, and this duo also find themselves in the back seat for a roll in the Rolls. Davich shows his gratitude by shipping the car along with Gerda back to the United States. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Director Jacqueline Audry spent her career swimming against the current in the male-dominated film industry, a female director making movies, like this one set in the 17th century, with female leads. In this curious story, a young girl has had to pose as a male all her life because her uncle would only give her father his inheritance if his lone offspring was male. Aside from the potential for humor in that situation alone, the young woman/man later finds herself enlisted in the French army. France and Prussia are in competition for a treaty with the Czarina of Russia, and the young soldier is secretly sent to the Czarina with a note from the French king, meant to trump the Prussians. The Czarina herself is quite a trip, with interesting issues raised by the dual identity of the hero/heroine. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Sois Belle et Tais Toi is more popularly known by its American-release title Be Beautiful but Shut Up. Mylene Demongeot plays a birdbrained young lady who gets mixed up with a gang of juvenile-delinquent smugglers. The crooks use the heroine as their go-between, intending to leave her holding the bag if and when the cops show up. Fortunately, a handsome police inspector (Henri Vidal) catches on to their scheme. One of the screenwriters for Sois Belle et Tais Toi was no less Roger Vadim. When the film was first released, its direction was often erroniously credited to Marc Allegret. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A novel by James Hadley Chase was the source for Une Manche et la Belle (Beauty Up His Sleeve). Bank clerk Henri Vidal ingratiates himself to middle-aged heiress Isa Miranda. Once they're married, however, Vidal's eyes begin to wander. Falling for Mylene Demongeot, Vidal and his new paramour cook up a scheme to knock off Isa and claim her money. But Mylene has an evil agenda all her own. More than one reviewer noted the resemblances between Une Manche et la Belle and the American noir masterpiece Double Indemnity. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Katharine Hepburn stars as Jane Hudson, an Ohio secretary on the verge of spinsterhood. Carefully saving her money, Jane takes an extended trip to Venice, half hoping to find the romance that has always eluded her. Luck of luck, she meets handsome Renato Di Rossi (Rossano Brazzi), who sweeps her off her feet. Jane's flight on Cloud Nine comes to a flaming crash when she learns that Renato is married and the father of a large family. Picking herself up and dusting herself off, Jane is determined to keep her romance alive, and hang the consequences. She ultimately does what's best for everyone, and heads back to Ohio, wistfully clutching to the memory of the happiest summer of life. Gorgeously color-photographed on location by Jack Hildyard, Summertime was an adaptation of (and vast improvement upon) Arthur Laurents' play The Time of the Cuckoo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The title of this French "reality" drama, which translates to Before the Deluge, is a play on Louis XVI's famous prognostication, "Apres moi, le deluge." Set in 1950, the film concentrates on five Parisian adolescents. Certain that the next war will herald the apocalypse, the youngster make plans to run off to a desert island and set up a new society. This, however, will require money, which is why the boys decide to pull off a "necessary" robbery. Idealism collapses in the face of cold reality, as the five youths suffer from the consequences of their actions. Avant le Deluge was one of a group of films cowritten by director Andre Cayatte and Charles Spaak which endeavored to explore the touchy social issues of the day: others in the Cayatte-Spaak canon include the euthanasia-themed Justice est Faite and the capital-punishment tract Nous sommes tous des assassins. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide