Claudia Cardinale Movies
Emerging in the wake of Sophia Loren's international success, Claudia Cardinale was originally touted as Italy's answer to Brigitte Bardot; while never attaining a measure of global stardom comparable to either performer, she nevertheless proved herself a highly capable actress, working with many of the most renowned filmmakers in world cinema. Born in Tunisia on April 15, 1939, Cardinale first attracted attention in 1957 after winning the "Most Beautiful Girl in Tunisia" contest; her prize was a trip to the Venice Film Festival, inspiring her to pursue a career in acting. After studying at Rome's Centro Sperimentale film school, she made her screen debut in 1958's Goha, followed by a larger role in Mario Monicelli's classic caper comedy I Soliti Ignoti that same year. In 1959 she was featured in Pietro Germi's Un Maledetto Imbroglio.Under the guidance of producer Franco Cristaldi (later to become her husband), Cardinale emerged as a major sex symbol; however, she also continued to appear with highly regarded filmmakers, including Abel Gance (The Battle of Austerlitz), Luchino Visconti (Rocco E I Suoi Fratelli), and Philippe de Broca (1962's Cartouche). In 1963, Cardinale received her widest exposure to date, playing herself -- the object of star Marcello Mastroianni's fantasies -- in Federico Fellini's masterpiece 8 1/2. That same year, she also appeared in Visconti's epic Il Gattopardo. Their combined success piqued Hollywood's interest, and in 1964 she co-starred in her first American production, Henry Hathaway's Circus World. She also appeared opposite Peter Sellers in Blake Edwards' The Pink Panther.
Cardinale continued dividing her time between Hollywood and Europe for the remainder of the decade, appearing in diverse projects ranging from the 1965 Visconti war drama Vaghe Stelle dell'Orsa to the 1966 Richard Brooks Western The Professionals. In 1968, she also co-starred in the Sergio Leone classic Once Upon a Time in the West. However, with the 1969 Mikhail Kalatozov adventure La Tenda Rossa, Cardinale began appearing almost exclusively in European films, few of which were distributed in English-language markets. As a result, she was largely a memory when she resurfaced in the 1976 hit The Pink Panther Strikes Again. A year later, she also co-starred in the television miniseries Jesus of Nazareth. Cardinale's next high-profile international project was the 1982 Werner Herzog art-house hit Fitzcarraldo. She followed it with another miniseries, 1983's Princess Daisy, then again remained in Europe prior to the 1993 flop Son of the Pink Panther. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
Fresh off of the international success of La Dolce Vita, master director Federico Fellini moved into the realm of self-reflexive autobiography with what is widely believed to be his finest and most personal work. Marcello Mastroianni delivers a brilliant performance as Fellini's alter ego Guido Anselmi, a film director overwhelmed by the large-scale production he has undertaken. He finds himself harangued by producers, his wife, and his mistress while he struggles to find the inspiration to finish his film. The stress plunges Guido into an interior world where fantasy and memory impinge on reality. Fellini jumbles narrative logic by freely cutting from flashbacks to dream sequences to the present until it becomes impossible to pry them apart, creating both a psychological portrait of Guido's interior world and the surrealistic, circus-like exterior world that came to be known as "Felliniesque." 8 1/2 won an Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film, as well as the grand prize at the Moscow Film Festival, and was one of the most influential and commercially successful European art movies of the 1960s, inspiring such later films as Bob Fosse's All That Jazz (1979), Woody Allen's Stardust Memories (1980), and even Lucio Fulci's Italian splatter film Un Gatto nel Cervello (1990). ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcello Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinale, (more)
In the first in a series of detective comedies from director Blake Edwards starring Peter Sellers as bumbling French Inspector Jacques Clouseau, the mishap-prone snoop is actually a supporting player. David Niven stars as Sir Charles Litton, a suave jewel thief known as "The Phantom." Vacationing in a deluxe Alpine resort, Litton's real purpose is to purloin the Pink Panther, a gem of enormous worth owned by a princess (Claudia Cardinale). On his trail for years, Inspector Clouseau keeps losing his quarry, perhaps because his wife Simone (Capucine) is Litton's lover and alerts him every time her husband draws near. Also after the Panther is Litton's American nephew, George (Robert Wagner). At a posh costume ball at the princess' villa, the bauble is stolen and Clouseau, still trying to determine the bandit's identity, is framed for the crime himself. The Pink Panther made Sellers and his Clouseau act so popular that the character moved to center stage in a series of farcical sequels. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Niven, Peter Sellers, (more)
Jean-Paul Belmondo romps his way through the role of 18th century French bandit chief Cartouche. At first robbing from everyone in sight (he has to -- he's head man of a Parisian crime syndicate) Cartouche is rechanneled into becoming a Gallic Robin Hood by beauteous gypsy Venus (Claudia Cardinale). In Highwayman fashion, Venus eventually sacrifices her own life to save Cartouche from harm. He vows to continue his activities to avenge her death, but still manages to have a riproaring good time doing so. Hilarious without being condescending, Cartouche was reissued under the completely inappropriate title Swords of Blood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Paul Belmondo, Claudia Cardinale, (more)
- 1961
Henri Verneuil directs a star-studded cast in this slight satire about love and life in the big city. Claudia Cardenale, in her first French film, appears as Albertine, a sexy divorced woman from the countryside who goes to Paris and becomes involved with the fashionable elite. Lino Ventura is Andre, a doctor to the rich and famous who falls in love with Albertine. She becomes his mistress and though he wants to marry her, he has a rival in Didier (Jean-Claude Brialy), a writer. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Claude Brialy, Claudia Cardinale, (more)
- 1961
Two popular lead actors star in this conventional story of unrequited love, directed by Mauro Bolognini. Emilio (Anthony Franciosa) is caught in the midst of a heavy-duty mid-life crisis when he runs into sexy Angiolina (Claudia Cardinale), voluptuous and frivolous in equal measure. In spite of good advice from his friends and family, including his sister Amalia (Betsy Blair), Emilio pursues the gorgeous Angiolina with single-minded dedication. He is incredibly unaware that she is as unconcerned as he is committed, and by not reading the obvious warning signs he heads right toward a big fall. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Franciosa, Claudia Cardinale, (more)
The title character, played by Claudia Cardinale, is a young woman who heads out alone to the big city after being dumped by her lover. She is befriended and protected by her ex-suitor's younger brother Jacques Perrin, who eventually becomes her new romance, despite the difference in ages (Perrin is 16, while Cardinale is...somewhat older). When Cardinale begins a new relationship with a musician, she tries to let Perrin down easily, but the young man is too headstrong for that. When they finally do part, Perrin gives Cardinale a large sum of money as a farewell gift. Despite the fact that Claudia Cardinale subsists off the kindness of strangers in this film, Girl With a Suitcase (originally La Fille de La Valise in France and La Ragazza Con la Valigia in Italy) treats her character with warmth and sympathy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claudia Cardinale, Jacques Perrin, (more)
- 1960
A humorous, sometimes absurd and sometimes just light-hearted comedy, this story sets up the premise of a couple's search for a housemaid, with a series of impossible women providing the hilarity. When Richard and Kate (Michael Craig and Anne Heywood) return from their honeymoon, they discover that Kate's father has given them a maid as a wedding gift. The trouble is that the maid has a good portion of the U.S. Navy in the house when they arrive, in a more-or-less wild orgy. Exit maid. The couple then hire Rosemary (Joan Hickson) who tipples to excess, making her service at a dinner party an insurmountable challenge. Exit Rosemary. Enter Blodwen (Joan Sims) a homesick woman from Wales who cannot live outside her native environment. Exit Blodwen. And so it goes, even through a gorgeous French maid (Mylene Demongeot) who causes more than a mild uproar among the couple's friends. It seems the help is either too bad or too good. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Craig, Anne Heywood, (more)
- 1960
The idle lives of the rich or famous or both are depicted from an aloof and uninvolved perspective in this standard though uneven drama by director Francesco Maselli. Claudia Cardinale appears in one of her early screen roles as Fedora, a member of the elite and privileged in a provincial Italian town. The seedy underside of illicit affairs, quick flings, betrayals and deceptions, and other, similar pasttimes of the "in" circle slowly become apparent when a young outsider tries to gain acceptance into the exclusive group. As the plot weaves in and out of the various liaisons in a cool and remote manner, the motivation for wanting to take part in it all is hard to fathom. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claudia Cardinale, Gérard Blain, (more)
- 1960
In what must be the longest lapse of time between a film and its sequel, 70-year-old Abel Gance continues his nearly legendary, 1927 historical drama Napoleon with this tale of Napoleon's life after his victories in Italy. The first half of Austerlitz delves into the private life of Napoleon Bonaparte (Pierre Mondy), the prodigal son of Corsica. The supreme commander of the French armed forces goes about his family life and dallies with Josephine (Martine Carol) and mistress Mlle. de Vaudey (Leslie Caron). He occasionally displays bursts of temper that presage some of the macho violence of the battle scenes in the second half of the film, after Napoleon has proclaimed himself Emperor. This sequel shows that Gance has not lost his directorial touch. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Mondy, Rossano Brazzi, (more)
- 1960
This standard action-chase film stars Renato Salvatore as Antonio, a man on the run from the Mafia, and the soon-to-be-famous Claudia Cardinale as Grazia, a woman who joins Antonio in his escape attempt. Antonio lives in Sicily and receives orders from the Mafia on the island to assassinate a man. Since Antonio has never done anything like this before and is more an ordinary bloke than a killer, his nerve snaps as his morals take over and he cannot do the foul deed. Never an organization to accept this type of behavior, the Mafia starts to chase down Antonio with mayhem in mind and he takes off. While on the run, he picks up Grazia and the two of them continue to try to elude their murderous pursuers. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Renato Salvatori, Claudia Cardinale, (more)
- 1960
Directed by the comparatively unknown Mauro Bolognini, the Italian Bell' Antonio is distinguished by its screenplay, cowritten by directorial giant Pier Paolo Pasolini. Marcello Mastroianni and Claudia Cardinale are happily married until she finds out he's impotent. It takes her a year to find this out, which ought to give an indication of how seriously we're supposed to take this film. Also risible is the fact that Mastrioanni bears the reputation of a fabulous lover, as do practically all the members of his family. Nonetheless, he stands by like a dummy when Cardinale's father forces her to annul the marriage and wed another. It's all nonsense, of course, but Pasolini and his collaborators weave their tale so persuasively that one forgives the film's utter lack of credibility. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcello Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinale, (more)
- 1960
The original Italian is La Viaccia (the name of the family farm which motivates the plot). The death of a wealthy patriarch in 1885 sets off an interfamily power struggle. Son Ferdinando buys out his other relatives in order to gain full control over the dead man's property. But Ferdinando's country-bumpkin nephew Amerigo holds out. Amerigo's stance is weakened when he heads for the city and meets prostitute Bianca. To support her in the manner in which she is accustomed, Amerigo steals from his uncle. Disgraced in the eyes of his family, Amerigo decides to stay near his beloved Bianca by becoming a bouncer in her brothel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Paul Belmondo, Claudia Cardinale, (more)
Luchino Visconti's operatic masterpiece tells the story of the Parondis, a poor family from a village in southern Italy who come to Milan seeking a better life. Following the death of her husband, proud Rosaria (Katina Paxinou) picks up stakes and moves to the city with four of her sons: Simone (Renato Salvatori), Rocco (Alain Delon), Ciro (Max Cartier), and Luca (Rocco Vidolazzi). Awaiting them in Milan is her oldest son, Vincenzo (Spiros Focas), who himself is preoccupied with his impending nuptials to the beautiful Ginetta (Claudia Cardinale). Divided into chapters focused loosely on each brother, the movie chronicles the Parondis' struggle to get by, as the brothers take odd jobs and the family endures life in a cramped tenement. Much of the movie's second half deals largely with Simone and Rocco. The loutish Simone eventually finds success as a boxer, and the family soon moves to a better neighborhood. Meanwhile, Rocco gets drafted by the military, and becomes a successful boxer himself upon his return. Complications arise when Nadia (Annie Girardot), a prostitute, enters their lives. Simone falls in love with Nadia first; however, Rocco eventually becomes the object of her affection. Simone's obsession with Nadia and his rapidly deteriorating behavior ultimately threaten to bring the family to ruin, even as the saintly Rocco tries to save his brother. At the peak of Rocco's success, Simone commits a crime that cruelly dashes Rocco's hopes of keeping the family together. ~ Elbert Ventura, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alain Delon, Renato Salvatori, (more)
- 1959
In this comedy, a bungling gang leader and his henchmen attempt to swipe a suitcase full of loot from a soccer pool. The task seems simple enough, but the gang suffers a variety of zany mishaps before the leader finally gets hold of the money. Just as he gets it, he is arrested by the police for jaywalking. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vittorio Gassman, Renato Salvatori, (more)
- 1959
A puzzling crime case is methodically worked out to a solution in this excellent suspense drama by director (and lead actor) Pietro Germi. Inspector Ingravallo (Germi) is charged with an investigation into the murder of the wife of Remo Banducci (Claudio Gora). The good inspector is only human, and he lets his instincts, as well as his personal feelings about people, guide him in his unraveling of the mystery. This technique makes for a close observation of interpersonal relationships, and they dominate the story. In the end, both the murder mystery and the qualities and characteristics of the people involved in the drama share center stage. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pietro Germi, Claudia Cardinale, (more)
Mario Monicelli's classic crime comedy Big Deal on Madonna Street (I Soliti Ignoti) features Vittorio Gassman and Marcello Mastroianni as a pair of thieves who head a group of criminals in a break-in attempt. Their plan involves digging an underground tunnel from an apartment that leads to a neighboring business and drilling their way inside. In addition to each of the burglars struggling with individual personal problems, the group must reassess their plans after they find themselves not in the store, but a different room of the apartment from which they started. Big Deal on Madonna Street is a spoof of Jules Dassin's caper classic Rififi. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vittorio Gassman, Marcello Mastroianni, (more)
- 1958
As far as can be determined, Goha was Tunisia's first entry in the Cannes Film Festival. Omar Sharif stars as a naïve young man who is taken for granted by friends and family. Little do they know that he has more intelligence, tenacity and imagination than all of them put together. The story takes an unexpectedly dramatic turn when the man falls in love with the young wife of his village's elderly "wise man". Based on an ancient Tunisian folk tale, Goha boasts impressive production values and sure-handed direction (by Jacques Baratier). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Omar Sharif, Zohra Faïza, (more)
