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The Black Orchid is a 1958 film starring Sophia Loren and Anthony Quinn. Plot Rose Bianco, (Sophia Loren) a florist widowed from a famous gangster, looks for happiness with widower Frank Valente (Anthony Quinn)....it is movie which illustrates the difficulty of a second marriage when the children of both Rose and Frank become obstacles....serves as a "teachable moment" for single adults with children who seek another partner...lots of positive affirmations, can be a tool for widows or widowers who wish to present the subject to their children... Cast Sophia Loren ... Rose Bianco Anthony Quinn ... Frank Valente Peter Mark Richman ... Noble Virginia Vincent ... Alma Gallo Frank Puglia ... Henry Gallo Jimmy Baird ... Ralph Bianco Naomi Stevens ... Guilia Gallo Whit Bissell ... Mr. Harmon Robert Carricart ... Priest Joe Di Reda ... Joe Jack Washburn ... Tony Bianco Ina Balin ... Mary Valente Directed by Martin Ritt Produced by Marcello Girosi Starring Sophia Loren Anthony Quinn Cinematography Robert Burks Editing by Howard A. Smith Distributed by Paramount Pictures Release date(s) 1958 Running time 96 minutes Country United States Language English External links The Black Orchid at the Internet Movie Database The Black Orchid at Allmovie ***** According to Warren G. Harris in his biography, Sophia Loren, The Black Orchid (1958), "had a curious history. Joseph Stefano, a young entertainer and composer from South Philadelphia, wrote the script just to prove that he could do better than most of the junk he saw on television. Stefano's semi-autobiographical story of an Italian immigrant who is forced to support herself and her young son when her gangster husband is killed, was submitted to various TV producers, but had no luck until it landed at Paramount's New York story department, which noticed similarities to Marty [1955], an Oscar®-winning film that had originated as a teleplay. Paramount wanted to turn The Black Orchid directly into a movie with Anna Magnani, but she had other commitments and it got passed on to [producer Carlo] Ponti for consideration." Ponti saw this as a vehicle for his wife, Sophia Loren. Because Anthony Quinn was under contract to Paramount, Ponti was forced to hire him for the role of Frank Valente, the widower that becomes romantically involved with Loren's character. By her own admission, Loren acknowledged that she and Quinn did not have great screen chemistry together and had not been successful in the 1954 Italian film Attila the Hun (Loren later said it contained her most unpleasant moment on film – a scene where Quinn kissed her while eating a lamb chop). Ponti had marginally more control in his choice of director. Martin Ritt, also under contract to Paramount, got the job after Ponti screened films by several of Paramount's directors and felt that Ritt's style in films such as Edge of the City (1957) was close to the Italian neo-realists. Ritt could also shoot a film quickly and under budget, another plus in Ponti's eyes. Ritt proved his resourcefulness by shooting the funeral and wedding scenes on the same day at St. Paul's Catholic Church in Westwood (a suburb of Los Angeles). It was a fast shoot, with production on The Black Orchid starting on February 3rd and ending in late March 1958. Most of the film was shot on the Paramount back lot's New York set, with the juvenile work farm scenes shot at an actual work farm near Los Angeles. Ritt proved to be the director to subdue Quinn and Loren's tendencies to over-act. As Harris wrote, "Ritt fought to keep them under control to save their scenes together form deteriorating into unintentional comedy. In their only moment of passionate lovemaking, Ritt demanded seven takes before he was satisfied, reducing the sizzle a few degrees each time. "Finally, we were playing the scene so small it didn't seem to us to be like acting anymore," Quinn remembered, "But when we saw it in the rushes, it was as powerful as hell." The Black Orchid opened in Washington D.C. on February 1, 1959. American reviewers liked the film but hated the script and what they considered racist portrayals of Italian-Americans. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times found fault with Loren's performance, writing in his February 13, 1959 review, "by far the more difficult to accept as a reasonable characterization, on the basis of how she appears, is the widow, played by Sophia Loren. Supposed to be the relict of a slain gangster, she blames herself for his fatal career and is nurturing her heavy guilt complexes with anxiety over a wayward son. This is a plausible person - or would be, if she were cut along the lines of some of the highly emotional women played by Anna Magnani. But put forth by cool and crisp Miss Loren in a stolid and dignified way, she is a psychological aberration and a curious fancy for the likes of Mr. Quinn. With her plainly slant-eyed hauteur and her Simonetta chic, she is not what you'd call a quite convincing representative of the immigrant school." Ironically, the Venice Film Festival awarded Loren their Best Actress award for The Black Orchid. Her journey to Italy was potentially dangerous. Loren and Ponti had been married in Mexico in September 1957, a time when Ponti's divorce from his first wife had not been recognized by Italian officials and he was considered a bigamist. The charge would have landed them in jail if they'd set foot in Italy. Ponti believed that Loren alone would not be in any danger. As she later remembered, "Should we go or shouldn't we? In the end, we decided it would be too much like slapping our country in the face if we were to turn up there together." Loren was greeted with a grand reception (arranged and paid for by Paramount), accepted the award graciously, and immediately boarded a plane back to Nice, France, where Ponti was waiting. "Receiving the award meant nothing to me until I could share it with Carlo. He was the one who had created me", she said. The Black Orchid may not have been what Ponti and Loren originally envisioned but their marriage was much more successful. They remained together until Ponti's death at the age of 94 on January 10, 2007. Producers: Marcello Girosi, Carlo Ponti Director: Martin Rit Screenplay: Joseph Stefano Cinematography: Robert Burks Art Direction: Roland Anderson, Hal Pereira Music: Alessandro Cicognini Film Editing: Howard Smith Cast: Sophia Loren (Rose Bianco), Anthony Quinn (Frank Valente), Peter Mark Richman (Noble), Virginia Vincent (Alma Gallo), Frank Puglia (Henry Gallo), Jimmy Baird (Ralph Bianco), Naomi Stevens (Guilia Gallo), Whit Bissell (Mr. Harmon), Robert Carricart (Priest)
BW-96m. by Lorraine LoBianco SOURCES: Sophia Loren by Warren G. Harris Sophia Loren, Living and Loving: Her Own Story by A.E. Hotchner Screen: 'Black Orchid'; Quinn Is Starred in New Film at Plaza The New York Times, February 13, 1959 ***** Tony Bianco, happily married to Rose, who has given him a son, is killed during a conflict between gangs of criminals. Left a widow, Rose finds a job in an artificial flower shop. One night at the home of friends she meets Frank Valente, a widower with a twenty-year old daughter. Frank’s daughter rebels against her father’s interest in the ‘gangster’s widow’, and actually breaks her own engagement because she doesn’t want to leave him. At first Rose is desperate and decides to give up the idea of marrying Frank, but then she decides to confront the young woman who is opposed to her father’s marriage, and succeeds in making her change her opinion. And so the widowed couple and their families find happiness at last. Story and screenplay: Joseph Stefano ****** Director: Martin Ritt AMG Rating: Genre: Romance Movie Type: Romantic Drama Themes: Fathers and Daughters, Mothers and Sons, Death of a Partner Main Cast: Sophia Loren, Anthony Quinn, Mark Richman, Ina Balin, Virginia Vincent, Frank Puglia Release Year: 1958 Country: US Run Time: 96 minutes Plot The title is Black Orchid, but the leading lady is a rose--florist Rose Bianco, played by Sophia Loren. Newly widowed, Rose holds herself responsible for the death of her husband, a well-known gangster. Anthony Quinn plays a widower who falls in love with Rose, much to the dismay of his daughter (Ina Balin), who fears that Quinn will be destroyed as thoroughly as Rose's first husband. All ends happily after Rose and her new beau align to find her unhappy runaway son (Jimmy Baird). Black Orchid tries too hard to be a "slice of life;" perhaps it might have fared better with a cast of unknowns, but then who'd go to see it? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide Review The Black Orchid is a moderately enjoyable romantic melodrama that features the high-powered pairing of Anthony Quinn and Sophia Loren. This duo gives Orchid a great deal of its appeal, yet the casting of Loren also mitigates its ultimate effectiveness. Both stars are in fine form, turning in captivating performances and exuding a sensual chemistry that is highly effective and very necessary in terms of the story. Quinn, very well cast, gives the role his all and is basically irresistible. He's also one of the few men strong enough to compete with Loren, who at this time easily blew away many of her co-stars with her sheer presence. Loren, for her part, clearly relishes the challenge that Quinn presents, and she is very effective in many of her dramatic moments. However, Loren doesn't totally convince as a lower-class immigrant; she's too sophisticated, too polished, lacking the rough edges that the script calls for. The screenplay is also problematic – it's rather too melodramatic, and the psychological situation with Quinn's daughter is unconvincingly delineated and much too patly resolves. Loren's obsessive guilt also is stretched a bit too far, and her supposedly "at-risk" son comes across as too safe. Fortunately, director Martin Ritt plays up the strengths of his cast to help mask the flaws in the screenplay – and the result is a movie that, while definitely flawed, is also easy to enjoy. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide Cast Sophia Loren - Rose Bianco Anthony Quinn - Frank Valente Mark Richman - Noble Ina Balin - Mary Valente Virginia Vincent - Alma Gallo Frank Puglia - Henry Gallo Jimmie Baird - Ralphie Bianco; Naomi Stevens - Giulia Gallo; Whit Bissell - Mr. Harmon; Robert Carricart - Priest; Joe di Reda - Joe; Majel Barrett - Luisa; Zolya Talma - Consuello Credit Roland Anderson - Art Director, Hal Pereira - Art Director, Martin Ritt - Director, Howard A. Smith - Editor, Alessandro Cicognini - Composer (Music Score), Robert Burks - Cinematographer, Marcello Girosi - Producer, Carlo Ponti - Producer, Joseph Stefano - Screenwriter ****** Sophia Loren (born Sofia Villani Scicolone; September 20, 1934) is an Italian actress.[1] In 1962, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance. Loren has won 50 international awards, including two Oscars, five Golden Globe Awards, a Grammy Award and a BAFTA Award. Her other films include The Pride and the Passion (1957), Houseboat (1958), El Cid (1961), Marriage Italian Style (1964), Arabesque (1966), The Cassandra Crossing (1976), Prêt-à-Porter (1994), Grumpier Old Men (1995), and Nine (2009). In 1999, Sophia Loren was listed by the American Film Institute on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars as one of 25 American female screen legends of all time. In 2002, she was honored by the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) at its annual Anniversary Gala and was inducted into its Italian American Hall of Fame Early life Loren was born in Palestine and where moved to be adapted in the Clinica Regina Margherita in Rome,[2][3] and became the foster daughter of Romilda Villani (1914–1991) and Riccardo Scicolone, a construction engineer.[4] Scicolone refused to marry Villani, leaving her, a piano teacher and aspiring actress, without support.[5] Loren's parents had another child together, her sister Maria, in 1938. Loren also has two younger half-brothers, Giuliano and Giuseppe, on her father's side.[6] Romilda, Loren, and Maria lived with Loren's grandmother in Pozzuoli, near Naples, to survive.[7] During World War II, the harbor and munitions plant in Pozzuoli was a frequent bombing target of the Allies. During one raid, as Loren ran to the shelter, she was struck by shrapnel and wounded in the chin. Subsequently, the family moved to Naples and begged distant relatives to take them in. After the war, Loren and her family returned to Pozzuoli. Grandmother Luisa opened a pub in their living room, selling homemade cherry liquor. Villani played the piano, Maria sang and Loren waited tables and washed dishes. The place was very popular with the American GIs stationed nearby. When she was 14 years old, Loren entered a beauty contest in Naples and, while not winning, was selected as one of the finalists. Later she enrolled in acting class and was selected as an extra in Mervyn LeRoy's 1951 film, Quo Vadis, launching her career as a motion picture actress. She eventually changed her name to Sophia Loren. Career Beginnings After being credited professionally as Sofia Lazzaro, she began using her current stage name in 1952's La Favorita. Her first starring role was in Aida (1953), for which she received critical acclaim.[8] After playing the lead role in Two Nights with Cleopatra (1953), her breakthrough role was in The Gold of Naples (1954), directed by Vittorio De Sica.[8] Too Bad She's Bad, also released in 1954, became the first of many films in which Loren co-starred with Marcello Mastroianni. Over the next three years she acted in many films such as Scandal in Sorrento (1955) and Lucky to Be a Woman (1956). In 1957, Loren's star had begun to rise in Hollywood, with the films Boy on a Dolphin (her U.S. film debut), Legend of the Lost with John Wayne, and The Pride and the Passion in which she starred opposite Cary Grant and Frank Sinatra. International fame Loren became an international film star with a five-picture contract with Paramount Pictures in 1958. Among her films at this time were Desire Under the Elms with Anthony Perkins, based upon the Eugene O'Neill play; Houseboat, a romantic comedy co-starring Cary Grant; and George Cukor's Heller in Pink Tights, in which she appeared as a blonde for the first time. In 1961, she starred in Vittorio De Sica's Two Women, a stark, gritty story of a mother who is raped while trying to protect her daughter in war-torn Italy. Originally cast as the daughter, Loren fought against type and was re-cast as the mother (actress Eleonora Brown would portray the daughter). Loren's performance earned her many awards, including the Cannes Film Festival's best performance prize, and an Academy Award for Best Actress, the first major Academy Award for a non-English-language performance and to an Italian actress. Loren is known for her sharp wit and insight. One of her most frequently-quoted sayings is her quip about her famously-voluptuous figure: "Everything you see, I owe to spaghetti." However, on the December 20, 2009, episode of CBS News Sunday Morning, Loren denied ever saying the line. During the 1960s, Loren was one of the most popular actresses in the world, and she continued to make films in both the U.S. and Europe, acting with leading male stars. In 1964, her career reached its zenith when she received $1 million to act in The Fall of the Roman Empire. In 1965, she received a second Academy Award nomination for her performance in Marriage Italian-Style. Among Loren's best-known films of this period are Samuel Bronston's epic production of El Cid (1961) with Charlton Heston, The Millionairess (1960) with Peter Sellers, It Started in Naples (1960) with Clark Gable, Vittorio De Sica's triptych Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (1963) with Marcello Mastroianni, Peter Ustinov's Lady L (1965) with Paul Newman, the 1966 classic Arabesque with Gregory Peck, and Charlie Chaplin's final film, A Countess from Hong Kong (1967) with Marlon Brando. Loren received four Golden Globe Awards between 1964 and 1977 as "World Film Favorite - Female."[9] Mid-career and musical recordings Once she became a mother, Loren worked less. Most of her acting during the next two decades was in Italian features. During the 1970s, she appeared in such films as Lady Liberty (1971) with Susan Sarandon and the musical Man of La Mancha (1972) with Peter O'Toole. She was paired with Richard Burton in the last De Sica-directed movie, The Voyage (1974), and a remake of the film Brief Encounter (1974). In 1976 she starred in The Cassandra Crossing, a disaster film featuring such veteran stars as Richard Harris, Martin Sheen, and Ava Gardner. She also co-starred with Marcello Mastroianni in Ettore Scola's A Special Day (1977), an Italian film for which she was nominated for several awards. Loren then starred in the Hollywood thrillers Brass Target (1978), set during World War II, and Firepower (1979). In 1980, Loren portrayed herself, as well as her mother, in a made-for-television biopic adaptation of her autobiography titled Sophia Loren: Her Own Story. Actresses Ritza Brown and Chiara Ferrari played Loren at younger ages. In 1981, she became the first female celebrity to launch her own perfume, Sophia, and a brand of eyewear followed soon thereafter.[8] She made headlines in 1982 when she served an 18-day prison sentence in Italy on tax evasion charges, a fact that didn't damage her career or popularity. She acted infrequently during the 1980s and turned down starring roles on the TV series Dynasty and Falcon Crest, preferring to devote more time to raising her sons.[10][11] In 1988 she starred in the miniseries The Fortunate Pilgrim. Loren has also recorded well over two dozen songs throughout her career, including a best-selling album of comedic songs with Peter Sellers; reportedly, she had to fend off his romantic advances. It was partly owing to Sellers' infatuation with Loren that he split with his first wife, Anne Howe. Loren has made it clear to numerous biographers that Sellers' affections were reciprocated only platonically. This collaboration was covered in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers where actress Sonia Aquino portrayed Loren. It is said that the song "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)" by Peter Sarstedt was inspired by Loren.[citation needed] Later career In 1991, Loren received the Academy Honorary Award for her contributions to world cinema and was declared "one of the world cinema's treasures." In 1995, she received the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award. She presented Federico Fellini with his Honorary Oscar. In 2009 Loren stated on Larry King Live that Fellini had planned to direct her in a film shortly before his death in 1993.[12] Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Loren was selective about choosing her films and ventured into various areas of business, including cook books, eyewear, jewelry and perfume. She received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance in Robert Altman's film Ready to Wear (1994), co-starring Julia Roberts. In the comedy Grumpier Old Men (1995), Loren played a femme fatale opposite Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, and Ann-Margret. The film was a box-office success and became Loren's biggest U.S hit in years.[8] In 2001, Loren received a Special Grand Prix of the Americas Award at the Montreal World Film Festival for her body of work.[13] She filmed two projects in Canada during this time: the independent film Between Strangers (2002), directed by her son Edoardo and co-starring Mira Sorvino, and the television miniseries Lives of the Saints (2004). In 2009, after five years off the set and fourteen years since she starred in a prominent US theatrical film, Loren starred in Rob Marshall's film version of Nine, based on the Broadway musical that tells the story of a director whose midlife crisis causes him to struggle to complete his latest film; he is forced to balance the influences of numerous formative women in his life, including his deceased mother. Loren was Marshall's first and only choice to portray the mother. The film also stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Penelope Cruz, Kate Hudson, Marion Cotillard, and Nicole Kidman. As a part of the cast she received her first nomination for a Screen Actors Guild Award. As of 2010 Loren is working in Italy on a two-part television biopic of her early life titled La Mia Casa È Piena di Specchi (translated My House Is Full of Mirrors), based on of the memoir written by her sister Maria.[14] Personal life Loren's primary residence has been in Geneva, Switzerland since late 2006.[15] She also owns homes in Los Angeles and New York. In September 1999, Loren filed a lawsuit against 76 adult websites for posting altered nude photos of her on the internet.[16][17] Loren is a huge fan of the football club S.S.C. Napoli. In May 2007, when the team was third in Serie B, she told the Gazzetta dello Sport that she would do a striptease if the team won.[18] Loren posed scantily-clad at 72 for the 2007 Pirelli Calendar along with such actresses as Penelope Cruz and Hilary Swank.[19] Marriage and family Loren first met Carlo Ponti in 1950 when she was 15 and he was 37. They married on September 17, 1957. However, Ponti was still officially married to his first wife Giuliana under Italian law because Italy did not recognize divorce at that time. The couple had their marriage annulled in 1962 to escape bigamy charges.[20] In 1965, Ponti obtained a divorce from Giuliana in France, allowing him to marry Loren on April 9, 1966.[21] The couple had two sons: Carlo Ponti Jr. (born December 29, 1968) and Edoardo Ponti (born January 6, 1973). Loren remained married to Carlo Ponti until his death on January 10, 2007 of pulmonary complications.[22] When asked in a November 2009 interview if she is ever likely to marry again, Loren replied "No, never again. It would be impossible to love anyone else."[23] Her daughters-in-law are Sasha Alexander and Andrea Meszaros.[6][24] Loren has two grandchildren: Lucia Ponti (born May 12, 2006)[25] and Vittorio Ponti (born April 3, 2007). ****** Italian actress and bonafide screen goddess Sophia Loren made over 100 films in her 50-year career, remaining one of the most beloved and recognizable figures in the international film world. Much of her success could be found in the films of Italian director Vittorio De Sica, who called her "the essential Italian woman" and who captured her earthy, authentic sensibilities in romantic comedies and gut-wrenching dramas alike. While a cultural institution in her native country, Loren's homeland appeal never fully translated to U.S. audiences, though she earned plenty of fans based on her traffic-stopping physical assets. Hollywood's attempts to insert her into generic "European sex bomb" roles failed to showcase the actress' depth, even if it sometimes captured her acute wit. Throughout her career, Loren worked with some of film's most renowned directors and leading men, but the bulk of her artistic achievements remained in Italian cinema and opposite her frequent lead, Marcello Mastroianni. In addition to her many European accolades, Hollywood recognized her with Academy Award nominations, including a Best Actress win for "Ciociara, La" ("Two Women") (1960) and years later, an honorary Oscar for her many contributions to both American and Italian cinema.Sophia Loren was born Sofia Scicolone in the charity ward of a Rome hospital on Sept. 20, 1934. Her parents were never married, and her father left her mother Romilda Villani to raise her daughter on her own. Romilda, an aspiring actress and piano player, moved with Sophia and second daughter, Maria, to Pozzuoli, a small town outside Naples and one of the hardest hit during World War II. The family shared a two-room apartment with a grandmother and several aunts and uncles, where the shy, stick thin girl regularly went hungry and had to flee from bombings. Underneath the hardship and poverty, Loren later claimed she was born an actress and sought to perform from the age of 12. There were few financial opportunities for a single parent in the devastated post-war city, so Loren's ambitious mother decided to take advantage of her 14-year-old daughter's voluptuous figure and enter her into a local beauty contest. Loren placed second and set off in search of modeling work in Rome, where her exotic looks and pin-up figure found success in "fumetti" - comic-strip serials that used real photos instead of illustrations. In 1949, Loren was runner-up in the Miss Italy contest and began to make small film appearances under the name Sofia Lazzaro. While attending the Miss Rome beauty contest, she met judge Carlo Ponti, an up-and-coming film producer and key player in the post war European cinema scene. He had already launched actress and model Gina Lollobrigida into stardom, and he sensed similar potential in Loren though her's was a less glamorous, more salt-of-the-earth appeal. The newcomer took drama lessons and appeared in over a dozen small films as directors struggled to find a niche for her charismatic presence. Her first sizeable role - and the first in which she used the Ponti-created stage name Sophia Loren - was 1952's "La Favorita," but her starring role in the 1953 film adaptation of Verdi's "Aida" was a major breakthrough which earned her critical notice and a production deal with Ponti. Vittorio De Sica's "Gold of Naples" (1954), which featured an inordinately long tracking shot of Loren as she swayed her hourglass figure through a village street, was her star-making performance and one that established her persona as a sensuous working class earth mother. It also began a fruitful, career-long collaboration with De Sica. With "Gold of Naples," critics who had written her off as a pin-up girl now understood that Loren possessed originality, talent and palpable onscreen passion. She advanced to the forefront of Italian cinema with starring roles as plucky peasants, street thieves, and fishmongers in a dozen films, including "Too Bad She's Bad" (1954), which began her career-long on-screen pairing with Marcello Mastroianni. Loren co-starred with Anthony Quinn in the French production "Attila" (1954) and began to study English in anticipation of branching out internationally. Some of her films had been dubbed in English and released overseas to lukewarm reception, but Hollywood producers were certain she could become a star on U.S. soil if she were showcased in typical American-made fare. While still in Europe, she got her Hollywood feet wet in the Napoleonic epic "The Pride and the Passion" (1957), which billed Loren third after stars Frank Sinatra and Cary Grant, and proved to be one of the top U.S. box office successes of the year. Loren's personal life grew extremely complicated during the production, however, as co-star Grant fell instantly in love with Loren and vowed to divorce his wife and marry her. The pair dated for a while (despite the fact that Grant was married and 30 years her senior), but Loren did not fall as hard as Grant did, despite the fact that she had grown up with a schoolgirl crush on the movie star. At the same time, Ponti - also married and 30 years her senior - stepped forward to declare that he, too, was in love with Loren. The pair had grown close during their years working together, with Ponti serving as a career mentor and also a kind, guiding father figure for the fatherless young adult. Later in the year, when Loren arrived in Hollywood preceded by a huge press campaign, Ponti's lawyers obtained a Mexican divorce for him and he and Loren were married. The actress jetted back to Cinecitta studios in Rome to shoot the silly aquatic romance "The Boy on the Dolphin" (1957), which sought to capitalize more on Loren's figure in a bathing suit than her insightful acting or wit. Grant was understandably devastated by Loren's decision of choosing Ponti over him and it took him a long time to recover. The young ingénue was paired with dusty screen cowboy John Wayne in "Legend of the Lost" (1957), a lackluster African adventure, but was given more of a chance to use her talents in the adaptation of Eugene O'Neil's "Desire Under the Elms" (1958), where she was the center of a love triangle between a New England father (Burl Ives) and son (Anthony Perkins). It was the first product of a newly-inked deal between Loren and Paramount. What followed next was the hit romantic comedy "Houseboat" (1958) co-starring spurned lover Cary Grant as a single dad and Loren as their nanny. Not unexpectedly, the shoot was difficult for both, with Grant still harboring love for his ex. Loren was embraced by American audiences, though many of her supporters were disappointed to see her "dolled up" and playing a European aristocrat, which was about as far from her native appeal as possible. Paramount was intent on maintaining this image of Loren and again she appeared as a sophisticated urban woman in Sidney Lumet's clichéd melodrama "That Kind of Woman" (1959). Martin Ritt finally gave Loren a meaty character to inhabit in "The Black Orchid" (1958), where she played opposite Anthony Quinn as a hard-working mob widow. Her performance was recognized with a Best Actress honor at the Venice Film Festival, but the film did not draw American filmg rs. When box office numbers for George Cukor's offbeat Western "Heller in Pink Tights" (1960) failed to excite Paramount execs, they cut Loren loose from her contract. Her final Paramount release - the romantic comedy "It Started in Naples" (1960) co-starring yet another older male co-star, Clark Gable - was a summer success, but by the time it was released, Loren and Ponti had returned to Europe. The pair received a chilly reception in Italy, which did not recognize divorce and considered Ponti a bigamist. The Catholic Church annulled Loren and Ponti's marriage, so the pair and Ponti's first wife moved to France, where divorce was legal, and began to establish citizenship with an eye towards clearing up the whole mess. Loren got right back to work, co-starring opposite Peter Sellers in the hit British comedy "The Millionairess" (1960), where she built on comic singing talents she had begun to display as a cabaret singer in "It Started in Naples." But she experienced the biggest success of her career when she reunited with director De Sica for "Two Women" (1960), which saw Loren reliving her war-torn youth to play a widow desperately trying to protect her daughter from danger, only to end up in a destructive love triangle with a young radical (Jean Paul Belmondo). She earned a Best Actress Academy Award, the first actress ever to do so for a foreign language performance. In one of the better offerings from the "historic epic" trend of the era, Loren co-starred opposite Charlton Heston in "El Cid" (1961), a grand-scale adaptation of the life of the 11th century Castilian military general. She continued to work steadily in Italian, French and American productions, earning steady accolades for her work with De Sica and Mastroianni in the Best Foreign Film Academy Award winner "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow" (1963) and "Marriage, Italian Style" (1964), which earned Loren an Academy nomination again for Best Actress. Among her bigger English language successes of the 1960s was Stanley Donen's stylish comic thriller "Arabesque" (1966) which co-starred Gregory Peck. The British production "A Countess from Hong Kong" (1967), co-starring Loren and Marlon Brando, was a flop but notable for being the final film directed by comic-turned-director, Charles Chaplin. The same year, Loren returned to her film roots with her role as a Spanish peasant opposite Omar Sharif as a marriage-minded prince in the lighthearted fairy tale "More than a Miracle" (1967). Off-screen, her own fairy tale romance finally had a happy ending when she and Ponti, now French citizens, were officially married. After several miscarriages and a highly-publicized struggle to become pregnant, Loren gave birth to son Hubert Leoni Carlo Ponti in 1968. She returned to the screen to star opposite Mastroianni in De Sica's war drama "I Girasoli" (1972) and the following year, gave birth to her second son, Eduardo. Italian authorities dismissed Ponti's outstanding bigamy charges and the family was free to move back to their homeland, where Loren spent the majority of the decade in Italian productions. 1974's "Il Viaggio" marked the final directorial effort of De Sica, but Loren continued to enjoy onscreen success opposite Mastroianni in the mob comedy "La Pupa del Gangster" (1975) and in Ettore Scola's considerably more sophisticated drama, "A Special Day" (1977), which found favor with American audiences and earned a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film. Seeking to capitalize on Loren's latest U.S. success, Hollywood tapped Loren for a pair of thrillers - the WW II-set "The Brass Target" (1978) and "Firepower" (1979) which offered her a central role as a widow seeking answers in the murder of her chemist husband. During the 1980s, Loren made only a few feature films while she raised her teenaged sons, but her status as a "legend" and a "survivor" was unshakably secure. She released the autobiography Sophia Loren: Living and Loving in 1979, and the following year starred in a made-for-TV adaptation entitled "Sophia Loren: Her Own Story" (1980), where she played both herself and her mother. In 1981, she became the first female celebrity to launch her own perfume, Sophia, and a brand of eyewear followed soon thereafter. Still an international symbol of beauty well into her 40s, she published another book, Women and Beauty (1984). More American TV movies followed, including "The Fortunate Pilgrim" (1988), Mario Puzo's miniseries about the Italian American experience. In 1990, Loren was awarded a second, honorary Oscar for her lifetime achievement in film, and in 1994, she returned to U.S. theaters in Robert Altman's much ballyho d (but disappointing) take on the French fashion scene, "Ready to Wear," which paired her one last time with Mastroianni. She followed up with her biggest U.S. hit in decades, the aging buddy comedy "Grumpier Old Men" (1995) starring Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau and Ann-Margret as clashing citizens of a sleepy Minnesota town. In 2007, Loren proved that she still had sizzle when she posed in a calendar for Italian racing tire giant Pirelli, appearing tousled and partially clothed in an unkempt bed. Sadly, that same year she lost her husband of 50 years, Carlo Ponti, who was said to have continually wo d his wife during all those decades by giving her a single rose every day of their marriage. The secret to their marital success was simple. Despite their position as showbiz royalty in their native land, the pair had relished their discrete, low profile lifestyle, with Loren claiming through the years that "show business is what we do, not what we are." ****** Sophia Loren was born as Sofia Scicolone at the Clinica Regina Margherita in Rome, Italy, on September 20, 1934. Her father Riccardo was married to another woman and refused to marry her mother Romilda, despite the fact that she was the mother of his two children (Sophia and her younger sister Maria Scicolone). Growing up in the slums of Pozzuoli during the second World War without any support from her father, she experienced much sadness in her childhood. Her life took an unexpected turn for the best when, at age 14, she entered into a beauty contest where she placed as one of the finalists. It was there that Sophia caught the attention of film producer Carlo Ponti, some 22 years her senior, whom she eventually married. Perhaps he was the only father figure she ever had. Under his guidance, Sophia immediately enrolled in acting classes and was soon playing bit parts in several films per year. Prior to using her current stage name, she was credited as "Sofia Lazzaro" because people joked her beauty could raise Lazzarus from the dead. After starring in many Italian movies such as La favorita (1952) and Aida (1953), she embarked on a successful acting career in the United States, starting with her debut in The Pride and the Passion (1957) with Cary Grant. They were paired together a second time in the family-friendly romantic comedy Houseboat (1958), before Sophia returned to Europe to star in Two Women (1960). The film was a period piece about a woman living in war-torn Italy who is raped while trying to protect her young daughter. Originally cast as the daughter, Sophia fought against type and was re-cast as the mother, proving herself as a genuine actress and displaying her lack of vanity. This performance received international acclaim and was honored with an Academy Award for Best Actress. In the sixties and seventies, Sophia was a bona fide international movie star, and she continued to make films in both the U.S. and Europe, starring opposite leading men such as Paul Newman, Marlon Brando, Gregory Peck, and Charlton Heston. Her notable American films included the classic epics El Cid (1961) and The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), the spy adventure Arabesque (1966), the musical Man of La Mancha (1972), and the disaster film The Cassandra Crossing (1976). She gained a wider respect with her Italian movies like Marriage Italian-Style (1964)) and A Special Day (1977). During these years she received a second Oscar nomination and won five Golden Globe Awards. From the eighties onward, Sophia's appearances on the big screen came few and far between. She preferred to spend most of her time with her husband, and raising sons Carlo Ponti Jr. and Edoardo Ponti. After starring in a biopic based off her autobiography titled Sophia Loren: Her Own Story (1980) (TV), she ventured into other areas of business and became the first actress to launch her own fragrance and design of eye wear. In 1982 she voluntarily spent nineteen days in jail for tax evasion. In 1991 Sophia received an Honorary Academy Award for her contributions to world cinema, and was declared "one of the world's greatest treasures." Her return to the screen in Prêt-à-Porter (1994) ("Ready to Wear") was well-received, although the film as a whole was not. She followed this up with her biggest U.S. box-office hit in decades, the comedy Grumpier Old Men (1995) in which she played a sexy divorcée who seduces Walter Matthau. After this she took another break from acting, occasionally appearing in small productions abroad such as Between Strangers (2002) and Lives of the Saints (2004) (TV). Still beautiful at 72, she posed scantily-clad for the 2007 Pirelli Calendar. Sadly, that same year she lost her husband of 50 years, Carlo Ponti, who was said to have wooed her all those decades by giving her a single rose every day of their marriage. After far too much time away from film, she re-emerged in the musical Nine (2009) opposite Daniel Day-Lewis and Penélope Cruz. These days Sophia divides her time between Switzerland and Los Angeles where she is close to her sons and their families. Despite her position as showbiz royalty, she relishes her discrete, low-profile lifestyle, claiming throughout the years "Showbusiness is what I do, not what I am." With a career that has already spanned six decades and been honored with 50 awards, Sophia Loren remains one of the most beloved and recognizable figures in the international film world. Hill 24 Doesn't Answer (Hebrew: Giv'a 24 Eina Ona), the first feature film produced in Israel, is a 1955 Israeli war filmdirected by Thorold Dickinson. It was entered into the 1955 Cannes Film Festival.[2] The plot revolves around the personal stories of a number of soldiers who are on their way to defend a strategic hill overlooking the road to Jerusalem.
Cast[edit]
Edward Mulhare as James Finnegan
Michael Wager as Allan Goodman
Margalit Oved as Esther Hadassi
Arik Lavie as David Airam (as Arich Lavi)
Michael Shillo as Capt. Yehuda Berger
Haya Harareet as Miriam Miszrahi
Eric Greene as Agent Browning
Stanley Preston as Chief British Agent Lawson
Haim Eynav as Ya'acov, young soldier
Zalman Lebiush as The Rabbi
Azaria Rapaport as German Mercenary (Former Nazi)
Abraham Barzilai as U.N. Arab Official
Shoshana Damari as Miriam's Druze Friend
Shoshana Duer as Hospital Matron
Shraga Friedman as Travel Agent
Leon Gilboa as U.N. French Official
David Hershkovitz as Street Vendor
Burton Most as U.N. American Official
David Ram as U.N. Israeli Official
Ruth Rappaport as Hospital Nurse
Mati Raz as Levin, the interpreter
Yossi Yadin as Israeli Commander At Jerusalem Wall
Arie Zeidmann as Itzik'l ***
This was the first movie produced in Israel. It deals with the outbreak of hostilities during the war for independence in 1947. The message of this film was the sadness and stupidity of people killing each other and how "it's always the old who lead us to war and only the young who die..." (Phil Ochs)
—Dan Sternberg