Rossana Podestà Movies
Rossana Podestà, born Carla Podesti in Tripoli, the daughter of Italian-Argentine parents, was a leading lady who primarily appeared in Italian and international films. She is best known for her portrayal of the lead in the international spectacle Helen of Troy (1956). She later appeared in one or two Hollywood films, but she never gained the popularity in the States that she had abroad. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1957
Non Scherzare con le Donne is set at an Italian seaside resort. Self-styled Romeo Marco Vicario combs the beach for romantic perfection. He goes from beautiful girl to beautiful girl, always achieving sexual satisfaction but never attaining true happiness. Little does he know that the "right" girl has been in view all along, studiously ignored by the thickheaded Vicario. Handled in a disarmingly improvisational fashion, the film possesses an indefinable charm that appeals to moviegoers of all nations. It became an American Late Show staple in the 1960s under the title Don't Trifle With Women. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rossana Podestà, Giorgia Moll, (more)
- 1957
Maverick Mexican filmmaker Emilio Fernandez completed Nosotros Dos (We Two) in 1954. Thanks to the legal and political volatility of the director, however, the film was not released until 1957. Rosanna Podesta (on the verge of her Helen of Troy debacle) stars as a young woman trapped in the middle of a long-standing blood feud. She falls in love with Tito Junco, son of the family with which her parents are at odds. Their struggle to find happiness despite the hatred all around them forms the basis of the familiar but well-wrought plotline. Perhaps Rosanna Podesta was a bit too ladylike for the proceedings, but her fans didn't mind. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rossana Podestà, Tito Junco, Sr., (more)
- 1956
Set during Cuba's struggle to free itself from colonialist Spain, this exciting adventure chronicles the exploits of a tough, mercenary gun runner who learns about honor, sacrifice and caring for others when he ends up forced to smuggle his latest weapon's cache aboard a beat up stern wheeler bound for Cuba. There he meets a beautiful freedom fighter who has been in the States trying to rally her expatriot colleagues into returning to join in the battle. It is she, with her passionate idealism and unwavering courage, who turns the gunrunner's life around. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Ladd, Rossana Podestà, (more)
- 1955
A novel by Valerio Zurlini was the basis of the Italian Le Ragazze di Sanfrediano (The Girls of San Frediano). The story deals with the amorous escapades of handsome garage mechanic Bob (Antonio Cifariello). The first name in Bob's little black book is the tempestuous Tosca (Rosanna Podesta, who that same year played the title role in Helen of Troy). Before long, our hero throws Tosca over for a chorus dancer (Giulia Robini), a schoolteacher (Luciana Liberati) and a dress designer (Corinne Calvet). Through it all, Gina (Marcella Miriani), a girl who lives in Bob's apartment building, silently carries a torch for the grease-monkey Lothario. Just guess who Bob eventually winds up with. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Antonio Cifariello, Rossana Podestà, (more)
Rossana Podesta may not quite possess the face that would launch a thousand ships, but she is otherwise convincing in the title role of Helen of Troy. Filmed in Italy, this super-epic costars Jacques Sernas as Paris of Troy, who sails to Sparta to secure a peace treaty between the two powerful Greek city-states. When he falls in love with Helen, Queen of Sparta, Paris loses all sense of diplomacy. Helen is willingly "abducted" by Paris and spirited off to Troy, thereby sparking a long and bloody war, which culminates with the legendary Trojan Horse. Torin Thatcher costars as warrior leader Ulysses, while Sir Cedric Hardwicke plays Priam, the pacifistic king of Troy who is overwhelmed by circumstances beyond his control. Also on hand is Stanley Baker as Achilles (who ends up with an arrow you-know-where) and Niall MacGinnis as Helen's husband Menelaus. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rossana Podestà, Jacques Sernas, (more)
This very expensive Italian-made adaptation of Homer's "The Odyssey" stars Kirk Douglas as seafaring hero Ulysses. The story begins, as ever, with Ulysses leaving his faithful wife Penelope (Silvano Magnano) behind as he goes off to fight in the Trojan Wars. Having the poor taste to set himself above the gods after a stunning military victory, Ulysses is doomed to journey aimlessly across the sea until he can make amends. Along the way, our hero battles a cyclops, resists the fatal singing of the Sirens, and enjoys a brief interlude with pig-fancying enchantress Circe (also played by Silvano Magnano). Years and years later, Ulysses returns to Penelope, where he must meet and master a final challenge. Acceptable enough when first released in 1954, Ulysses pales in comparison to the high-tech, all-star 1997 TV miniseries version of The Odyssey. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Douglas, Silvana Mangano, (more)
- 1953
La Voca del Silenzio (Voice of Silence) was the only Italian production of fabled German director G. W. Pabst. Based on a concept by neorealism specialist Cesar Zavattini (fleshed out by a team of =12= prominent writers, including Pabst himself and Jean Cocteau), the film follows a small group of very troubled men during a three-day spiritual sojourn. One is a politician, laden with guilt over his comportment during WW II. The second is a war veteran whose wife has "grown away" from him. The third is a writer of detective novels whose works might have inspired a real-life killing. The fourth is a thief who has come to the spiritual retreat to avoid capture. And the fifth is a candle merchant whose livelihood is threatened by modern technology. One of the few concessions to popular taste is a striptease sequence involving Rosanna Podesta. In keeping with the film's title, few words are spoken in La Voca del Silenzio; in this respect, the film is an intriguing throwback to Pabst's classic silent films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1953
The title of this grim Emilio Fernandez-directed character study translates to The Net. On the lam from the police, Antonio (Crox Alvaredo) and Jose Luis (Armando Sylvestre) find refuge in a friendly seaside village. The two fugitives set up housekeeping with their mutual girlfriend Rossana (Rossana Podesta). This set-up can't possibly last, and it doesn't. When Rossana indicates that she prefers one of the men over the other, it's the beginning of the end for all three. Well-photographed on location, La Red was one of Mexico's entries at the 1953 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rossana Podestà, Crox Alvarado, (more)
- 1953
The misleadingly titled Italian comedy Luxury Girls is set in an exclusive Swiss finishing school. Rambunctious American lass Lorna Whitmore Susan Stephan is enrolled in the school by her wealthy parents. Before long, Laura has set the institution on its ear with her precocious behavior. Her female partners-in-"crime" spend their waking hours thinking of men and how to trap them, rather than concentrating on their schoolwork. There are a few attempts along the way to inject a note of seriousness now and then, but for the most part Luxury Girls is a chucklesome romp. While the cast is largely comprised of unknowns, Jacques Sernas does box-office duty as a commoner passing himself off as an aristocrat. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Stephen, Anna Maria Ferrero, (more)
- 1952
Gli Angeli del Quartiere (Angels of the District) concentrates on five lovable Italian war orphans. Living a hand-to-mouth existence, the children are elated to discover a bagful of money in a cellar. Wondering where best to spend their treasure, the kids are "advised" by adult thief Mario (Jacques Sernas), who intends to grab all the loot for himself. Ultimately, however, Mario is reformed by the quintet of urchins--though his old gang doesn't quite see things in this new light. Obviously aimed at the kiddie-matinee trade, Gli Angeli del Quartiere delivers a solid 78 minutes' worth of heartwarming entertainment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacques Sernas, Rossana Podestà, (more)
- 1946
This fast-paced western, geared entirely to the small-fry, was the first in Republic Pictures' long-running "Red Ryder" series to star Allan Lane. Lane had taken over from William Elliot, who had been promised A-westerns only by company president Herbert I. Yates. Ryder and his young Indian pal Little Beaver (Robert Blake) come to the aid of Ryder's stout aunt, "The Duchess" (Martha Wentworth), whose crusading efforts to open up a privately owned toll-road for all travellers has put the elderly rancher in danger from a powerful if corrupt civic leader, newspaper publisher Crawford (Barton MacLane). The second in the Lane "Red Ryder" series to be filmed, Santa Fe Uprising was substituted for a weaker entry in order to give the new Ryder the best possible chances for success. Wentworth, whose character name as depicted by series creator Fred Harman was, interestingly enough, "Martha 'The Duchess' Wentworth," replaced Alice Fleming in the role as Ryder's indomitable aunt. Lane, Blake, and Wentworth went on to star in six more "Red Ryder" westerns before the series moved over to Eagle-Lion (the former PRC) where the roles would be played by Jim Bannon, Don Kay Reynolds, and veteran B-western actress Marin Sais. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
