The Barefoot Contessa
{{Short description|1954 film by Joseph L. Mankiewicz}}
{{Other uses|Barefoot Contessa (disambiguation)}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox film
| name = The Barefoot Contessa
| image = Barefoot Contessa.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = Joseph L. Mankiewicz
| writer = Joseph L. Mankiewicz
| producer = Joseph L. Mankiewicz (uncredited)
| starring = {{Plainlist|
}}
| cinematography = Jack Cardiff
| editing = William Hornbeck
| music = Mario Nascimbene
| studio = Figaro
| distributor = {{Plainlist|
- United Artists (United States)
- Dear Film (Italy)
}}
| released = {{Film date|1954|9|29|United States|1955|3|12|Italy}}
| runtime = 130 minutes
| country = {{Plainlist|
- United States
- Italy
}}
| language = {{Plainlist|
- English
- Italian
- Spanish
}}
| budget =
| gross = $3.3 million (US and Canada rentals){{cite magazine |url=http://www.archive.org/stream/variety197-1955-01-05#page/n58/mode/1up |page=59 |title=1954 Box Office Champs |magazine=Variety |date=January 5, 1955}}
}}
The Barefoot Contessa is a 1954 romantic drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz about the life and loves of fictional Spanish sex symbol Maria Vargas. It stars Humphrey Bogart, Ava Gardner, and Edmond O'Brien. The plot focuses on social positioning and high-powered politics within the world of film and high society.
For his performance, O'Brien won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the corresponding Golden Globe. Mankiewicz was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
The majority of the film is explained by Harry Dawes (Bogart), narrating the events, with additional sections narrated by Oscar Muldoon (O'Brien) and Count Vincenzo Torlato-Favrini (Brazzi).
Plot
File:Ava Gardner barefoot contessa crop.jpg
Down-on-his-luck, washed-up film director and screenwriter Harry Dawes is reduced to working for business tycoon Kirk Edwards, who has decided that he wants to produce a film. Looking for a glamorous leading lady, they travel from Rome to a Madrid nightclub to see a dancer named Maria Vargas.
Maria is a blithe but proud spirit who likes to go barefoot and has a troubled home life. Maria immediately likes Harry, whose work she knows, but takes an instant dislike to Kirk. Although she flees during their meeting, Harry tracks her down to her family home and convinces her to fly with them to the United States to make her first film. Thanks to his expertise and the help of sweaty, insincere publicist Oscar Muldoon, her film debut is a sensation. Maria becomes an overnight star and Harry's career is resurrected; they become friends and make two more films together.
During a party at Maria's house in Hollywood, Kirk and wealthy South American playboy Alberto Bravano get into an argument over Maria. Alberto had conspicuously admired Maria during the evening. When Alberto invites her to join him on his yacht on the French Riviera, Kirk orders her to stay away from him. Offended by Kirk's attempted domineering, she accepts Alberto's invitation. Also seeing an opportunity, Oscar, tired of being Kirk's lackey, switches his allegiance to Alberto.
File:Humphrey Bogart in The Barefoot Contessa trailer.jpg
Maria is now a great star, but she is not satisfied. She envies the happiness her friend Harry has found with his script girl Jerry. One evening at the Monte Carlo Casino, Alberto goes on a losing streak and berates Maria in public for ruining his luck. Count Vincenzo Torlato-Favrini slaps him in the face, then escorts Maria from the casino.
Maria stays with Vincenzo and his widowed sister, Eleanora, at the count's palazzo in Rapallo, Italy. She has found the great love of her life, and they wed in a lavish ceremony, in which Harry gives away the bride. There is a problem, however: the count and his sister are the last of the Torlato-Favrinis; without offspring, the noble line will die out. The count is impotent due to a war injury, which he does not disclose to Maria until their wedding night.
On a rainy night, months later, with Harry in Italy, an unhappy Maria arrives at his hotel room and tells him about her husband's impotence. She has come up with a solution that appalls Harry: she has become pregnant by another man. She believes Vincenzo will welcome this child in order to perpetuate the family lineage. Harry warns her Vincenzo is too proud to accept this, but Maria feels otherwise and plans to tell him about her pregnancy that night.
After Maria leaves his hotel room, Harry notices Vincenzo's car trailing hers, and follows them. Back at the palazzo in the servants' quarters, Vincenzo shoots to death both Maria and her lover before she can tell him about the child. Harry arrives just as the shots are fired, but does not tell Vincenzo about the pregnancy. Shortly after her funeral, Vincenzo is taken away by the police.
Cast
{{Cast listing|
- Humphrey Bogart as Harry Dawes
- Ava Gardner as Maria Vargas
- Edmond O'Brien as Oscar Muldoon
- Marius Goring as Alberto Bravano
- Valentina Cortese (credited as Valentina Cortesa) as Eleanora Torlato-Favrini
- Rossano Brazzi as Count Vincenzo Torlato-Favrini
- Elizabeth Sellars as Jerry Dawes
- Warren Stevens as Kirk Edwards
- Franco Interlenghi as Pedro Vargas
- Mari Aldon as Myrna
- Alberto Rabagliati as nightclub proprietor
- Enzo Staiola as busboy
- Maria Zanoli as Maria's mother
- Renato Chiantoni as Maria's father
- Bill Fraser as J. Montague Brown
- John Parrish as Mr. Black
- Jim Gerald as Mr. Blue
- Diana Decker as drunken blonde
- Riccardo Rioli as Gypsy dancer
- Tonio Selwart as the pretender
- Margaret Anderson as the pretender's wife
- Gertrude Flynn as Lulu McGee
- John Horne as Hector Eubanks
- Bessie Love as Mrs. Eubanks
- Bob Christopher as Eddie Blake
- Anna Maria Paduan as chambermaid
- Carlo Dale as chauffeur
}}
Production
File:La condesa descalza ava gardner.jpg
According to Turner Classic Movies, Mankiewicz based the film's central character of Maria Vargas on American movie star and dancer Rita Hayworth, who had been married to Prince Aly Khan.{{cite web |url=https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/21324 |title=The Barefoot Contessa |publisher=Turner Classic Movies |first=Frank |last=Miller |access-date=December 30, 2009}} According to the audio commentary on the 1931 film Tabu, she was based on Anne Chevalier, an actress in that film.
File:High Style The Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection (18731670423).jpg for Gardner's role in The Barefoot Contessa (Brooklyn Museum)]]
The Barefoot Contessa is considered one of Mankiewicz's most glamorous "Hollywood" films, and one of the most glamorous of Golden Hollywood,{{cite book |last=Dick |first=Bernard F. |title=Joseph L. Mankiewicz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZlMeAAAAMAAJ |year=1983 |publisher=Twayne Publishers |isbn=978-0-8057-9291-1 |page=107}} but it was produced out of Cinecittà Studios in Rome.{{cite book |last1=Mankiewicz |first1=Tom |last2=Crane |first2=Robert |title=My Life as a Mankiewicz: An Insider's Journey Through Hollywood |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EyJ5sE2K1moC&pg=PA264 |date=May 14, 2012 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn=978-0-8131-4057-5 |page=264}} Exterior scenes were shot at Tivoli (the olive grove), Sanremo, and Portofino.{{cite book |last=Hanna |first=David |title=Sinatra: Ol' Blue Eyes Remembered |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r03mLQrwlGsC |date=May 1, 1998 |publisher=Random House Value Pub |isbn=978-0-517-16068-8|page=29}}{{cite book |title=DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Italy: Italy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qvYobEC-wtEC&pg=PA240 |date=February 1, 2012 |publisher=Dorling Kindersley Limited |isbn=978-1-4053-9313-3 |page=240}} Bogart was not on location at Sanremo.{{cite book |last=Higham |first=Charles |title=Ava: a life story |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ldFZAAAAMAAJ |date=March 17, 1975 |publisher=W.H. Allen |page=108|isbn=9780491019620 }} The film's Italian production was part of the "Hollywood on the Tiber" phenomenon.
The studio was about to release the film's poster without an image of Bogart, a contractual violation. Bogart had the matter rectified with the addition of a line drawing of his face.
Reception
= Critical response =
File:03-26-1955 13191 Tuschinski (4072261132).jpg, Amsterdam; the first twenty ladies who left their shoes in the cloakroom at the theatre would receive free Max Factor products.]]
The film was praised by many critics for its extravagance, which earned the director many new admirers.{{cite book |last=Sadoul |first=Georges |title=Dictionary of Film Makers |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_PvsZikRu-hAC |date=January 1, 1972 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-02151-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_PvsZikRu-hAC/page/n174 166]}} Saturday Review stated Ava Gardner was "one of the most breathtaking creatures on earth".{{cite book |title=Saturday Review |url=https://archive.org/details/saturdayreview03newy |url-access=registration |date=September 1954 |publisher=Saturday Review Associates |page=[https://archive.org/details/saturdayreview03newy/page/31 31]}} Some critics disapproved of the film; the book Feature Cinema in the 20th Century: Volume One: 1913–1950: a Comprehensive Guide called the film "dreadful", remarking that Mankiewicz's "intelligence and ambitious aims too often collide with an astonishing lack of subtlety and aesthetic judgment".{{cite book |last1=Klinowski |first1=Jacek |last2=Garbicz |first2=Adam |title=Feature Cinema in the 20th Century: Volume One: 1913–1950: a Comprehensive Guide |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lpp93FevM2cC&pg=RA2-PT320 |year=2012 |publisher=Planet RGB Limited |isbn=978-1-62407-564-3 |pages=2– }} Bosley Crowther in The New York Times described it as a "grotesque barren film" about the "glittering and graceless behavior of the Hollywood-international set."{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/09/30/archives/the-screen-in-review-the-barefoot-contessa-arrives-at-capitol.html |title=The Screen in Review: The Barefoot Contessa Arrives at Capitol |work=The New York Times |first=Bosley |last=Crowther |author-link=Bosley Crowther |date=September 30, 1954 |access-date=December 30, 2009}}
However, François Truffaut wrote: "what is beyond doubt is its total sincerity, novelty, daring, and fascination ... I myself accept and value it for its freshness, intelligence, and beauty ... A subtle and intelligent film, beautifully directed and acted."{{cite book |last=Truffaut |first=François |author-link=François Truffaut |translator=Leonard Mayhew |title=The Films in My Life |location=New York |year=1978}}
In 1998, Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader included the film in his unranked list of the best American films not included on the AFI Top 100.{{cite web |last=Rosenbaum |first=Jonathan |author-link=Jonathan Rosenbaum |date=June 25, 1998 |title=List-o-Mania: Or, How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love American Movies |url=https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/list-o-mania/Content?oid=896619 |newspaper=Chicago Reader |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413120818/https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/list-o-mania/Content?oid=896619 |archive-date=April 13, 2020 |url-status=live}}
= Accolades =
In popular culture
The May 1955 issue of Mad (#23) has a parody by Jack Davis entitled "The Barefoot Nocountessa".
The Food Network cooking show Barefoot Contessa is named after Ina Garten's best-selling cookbook, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook,{{cite book |last=Liberman |first=Sherri |title=American Food by the Decades |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sLSDQRV3XUMC&pg=PA224 |date=August 31, 2011 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-37698-6 |page=224}}{{cite book |title=Today's Kitchen Cookbook |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780696225420 |url-access=registration |year=2005 |publisher=Meredith Books |isbn=978-0-696-22542-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780696225420/page/210 210]}} which in turn was named after her specialty food store which she bought in 1978. The store, which is no longer in operation, opened in 1975 and was named after the film.
A tour boat in the TV series Riptide was named Barefoot Contessa.
Parts of the film were featured in Lana Del Rey's music video for "Carmen".
Home media
The VHS from MGM was first released in 1990 and again in 1999 as part of the Vintage Classics lineup. MGM also released the DVD version in 2001.
On December 13, 2016, Twilight Time Movies released The Barefoot Contessa on high-definition Blu-ray. This release is a limited-edition release of 3000 copies.{{cite web |url=http://www.twilighttimemovies.com/barefoot-contessa-the-blu-ray/ |title=Barefoot Contessa, The (Blu-ray) |website=Twilight Time Movies}}{{cite web |url=https://www.hometheaterforum.com/barefoot-contessa-blu-ray-review/|title=The Barefoot Contessa Blu-ray Review |website=Home Theater Forum|date=December 24, 2016}}`
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|The Barefoot Contessa (film)}}
{{Wikiquote|The Barefoot Contessa}}
- {{IMDb title}}
- {{Rotten Tomatoes}}
- {{AFI film}}
- {{TCMDb title}}
{{Joseph L. Mankiewicz}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barefoot Contessa, The}}
Category:1954 romantic drama films
Category:1950s English-language films
Category:American romantic drama films
Category:English-language Italian films
Category:English-language romantic drama films
Category:Films about film directors and producers
Category:Films about uxoricide
Category:Films directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award–winning performance
Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe winning performance
Category:Films scored by Mario Nascimbene
Category:Films set in Los Angeles
Category:Films shot at Cinecittà Studios
Category:Films with screenplays by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Category:Italian romantic drama films
Category:Italian-language American films
Category:Spanish-language American films