THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA

Humphrey Bogart and Ava Gardner

THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA (1954). Written, produced, and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. 

Spanish dancer Maria Vargas is turned into a movie star by spoiled wealthy producer Kirk Edwards (Warren Stevens of The Price of Fear), famous director Harry Dawes (Humphrey Bogart), who has been on the wagon for several months, and ass-licking public relations man Oscar Muldoon (Edmond O'Brien). The beautiful Maria is desired by a great many men, including the South American millionaire Alberto Bravano (Marius Goring), and Italian Count Torlato-Favrini (Rossano Brazzi), but she has other dalliances with men not quite as rich. One of these dalliances will lead to tragedy ... 

The Barefoot Contessa opens with Maria's funeral, so you know her fate from the first, and the movie's flashbacks show how she got there. There isn't much about the picture-making process, and Maria -- although she stars in three films in a row -- is never shown on a set, nor do we see Dawes working his magic on his star. One of the most interesting sequences purports to show Maria dancing in a nightclub, although we never actually see Maria, only the varying reactions from the people in the audience, an audacious touch. (Later on Maria is shown dancing with a gypsy in the forest.) A lot about Maria's character is given away in drips and drabs. Gardner is really required only to be beautiful and sensual and a bit enigmatic, and she carries this off quite well, although it could not be called great acting. On the other hand, Bogart gives one of his best performances in this. O'Brien won an Oscar for his supporting performance, although it's well within his rather wide range. Stevens and especially Goring are both fine as dueling millionaires, and their sallies at one another at a party makes for one of the most arresting sequences in the movie. Edwards seems to derive no joy from his money, while Bravano enjoys life to the fullest. Rossano Brazzi is certainly a very handsome fellow, but in this film his performance lacks passion, although one could argue that he is playing a highly depressed character who probably has trouble getting excited about anything, except perhaps Maria, from whom he keeps a terrible secret.

Warren Stevens and Ava Gardner

There are some solid supporting performances in the picture: Mari Aldon as Myrna, who is badly mistreated by Edwards; Diana Decker [Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary?] as a drunken blonde at a party who gets into it with Maria; Elizabeth Sellars [The Chalk Garden] as Jerry, a script girl who is Dawes' girlfriend; Valentina Cortese as Brazzi's sister; young Enzo Staiola [The Bicycle Thief] as a busboy with an eye for the ladies; Franco Interlenghi as Maria's brother, Pedro; Carlo Dale in a sexy, insinuating silent performance as Brazzi's chauffeur and Maria's lover; and former silent star Bessie Love as a patron at what is probably meant to be the casino at Monte Carlo. 

The Barefoot Contessa is an entertaining and absorbing picture, but there may be less here than meets the eye. Mankiewicz' targets are pretty familiar: wealthy movie producers who never worked a day in their lives and have no real taste; glamorous movie stars who seem to have no appreciation of their careers and what it's given them: oily publicists; the idle rich and the European jet set; and so on. Still, there are some amusing and trenchant observations scattered throughout the picture, along with some great dialogue. The situation with Maria and the count is a pathetic and intriguing one as well. The ending, in which Bogart is saddened by Maria's death but displays no anger at her killer is odd, but may be indicative of the production code's edict that adulterers must be punished. It's a major weakness in the movie. Marlon Brando was originally sought for the part played by Bogart, but I can't imagine Brando in the role. 

Verdict: Colorful picture that is not exactly about the picture business. ***.

THE HOUSE ON TELEGRAPH HILL

THE HOUSE ON TELEGRAPH HILL (1951). Director: Robert Wise.

Hoping to have a chance at a new life in America, a woman who calls herself Karin (Valentina Cortese) has taken the identity of a deceased lady whom she befriended in a concentration camp. The real Karin has not seen her little boy, Chris (Gordon Gebert), in many years, and the false Karin winds up married to his guardian, Alan Spender (Richard Basehart), and playing mother to the child. The fourth member of the San Francisco household is the housekeeper and nanny, Margaret (Fay Baker), who seems to resent the other woman's intrusion. Taking another person's identity always has bad consequences in movies -- think No Man of Her Own -- and House on Telegraph Hill is no exception, as Karin finds herself embroiled in sinister events and terrified that someone is out to kill her -- or the boy. The best scene in the movie has Karin driving to the store when her brakes fail. Cortese [Thieves' Highway] is fine, as is William Lundigan as a major who takes an interest in Karin, but Richard Basehart [Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea] underplays way too much in key sequences, and the climactic scenes don't quite work, in part because of this. Arguably Baker gives the most vivid performance in this, even if she also seems a bit perfunctory at important moments. This is not one of Robert Wise's more memorable directorial jobs. Little Gordon Gebert gave a superb performance in Chicago Calling that same year, and is charming in this.

Verdict: Not quite satisfying suspense film. **1/2.

THIEVES' HIGHWAY

THIEVES' HIGHWAY (1949). Director: Jules Dassin.

Nick Garcos (Richard Conte) comes home from the war and discovers that his father, a trucker, was crippled in a horrible accident caused by a corrupt man named Figlia (Lee J. Cobb). Nick enters the trucking business himself by hauling apples with a partner named Ed (Millard Mitchell) and gets involved with two women, a "good" girl named Polly (Barbara Lawrence), and a hooker named Rica (Valentina Cortese). Conte gives a terrific lead performance but the drama is kind of weak; relationships are not well-delineated. It's no surprise that the most memorable scenes have to do with action: the suspenseful business when Nick is nearly crushed under his truck when he tries to change a blown out tire; and the harrowing moments with Ed's runaway truck when his brakes fail. There's way too much talk about apples early in the picture. Cobb is as good as ever in a typical role for him, but Millard Mitchell nearly walks off with the movie as Ed. The two ladies would have made more of an impression had their roles not been so under-written. Jack Oakie, of all people, makes a strong impression in a serious role as a trucker named "Slob."

Verdict: On the Waterfront it ain't. **.