Directed by:
Alberto LattuadaCinematography:
Otello MartelliComposer:
Nino RotaCast:
Silvana Mangano, Raf Vallone, Vittorio Gassman, Lamberto Maggiorani, Sophia Loren, Jacques Dumesnil, Lyla Rocco, Tina Lattanzi, Piero Lulli, Dina Romano (more)Plots(1)
Sizzling Mangano, whose voluptuousness made her a hit on American screens in Guiseppe De Santis' BITTER RICE, here plays a novitiate nun working in a hospital. Her past catches up with her when her former lover, Vallone, is shot by Gassman, another of her lovers, both having once fought for her favors. While tending the injured Vallone, Mangano relives in flashback her experiences with both men--first Gassman, a brutish, carnal truck driver with an insatiable sex drive who meets her while she is performing sexy dances in a smoky bistro and goes on to mistreat her (much as he did in BITTER RICE), then Vallone, a good man with the gentle touch. After a series of sordid adventures, the viewer is finally brought back to the present and Mangano's spiritual resolve to become a full-fledged nun. (With her background it's hard to imagine a great many choices.) Solid acting by Gassman and Vallone and a steamy performance by Mangano (perhaps the most sensuous woman ever to grace Italian cinema) make for some spellbinding moments. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Silvana Mangano
Italy
Best movies:
Conversation Piece (1974)
Ludwig: The Mad King of Bavaria (1973)
The Great War (1959)
Raf Vallone
Italy
Best movies:
The Godfather: Part III (1990)
The Scarlet and the Black (1983) (TV movie)
Two Women (1960)
Vittorio Gassman
Italy
Best movies:
Sleepers (1996)
Viva Italia! (1977)
Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958)
Lamberto Maggiorani
Italy
Best movies:
Vacation with a Gangster (1954)
Bicycle Thieves (1948)
Umberto D. (1952)
Sophia Loren
Italy
Best movies:
A Special Day (1977)
Two Women (1960)
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963)
Jacques Dumesnil
France
Best movies:
Famous Love Affairs (1961)
If Paris Were Told to Us (1956)
Life Together (1958)
Lyla Rocco
Italy
Best movies:
Voyage in Italy (1954)
The Lady Without Camelias (1953)
Tina Lattanzi
Italy
Best movies:
The Leopard (1963)
The Charterhouse of Parma (1948)
Imperial Venus (1963)
Piero Lulli
Italy
Best movies:
The Organiser (1963)
My Name Is Nobody (1973)
Forgotten Pistolero (1969)
Dina Romano
Italy
Best movies:
The Little World of Don Camillo (1952)
The Charterhouse of Parma (1948)
Ignazio Balsamo
Italy
Best movies:
In the Name of the Law (1949)
La Dolce Vita (1960)
Don Camillo Monseigneur (1961)
Mimmo Poli
Italy
Best movies:
Roman Holiday (1953)
The Cop in Blue Jeans (1976)
1900 (1976)
Alessandro Tedeschi
Best movies:
Il Generale Della Rovere (1959)
Rome 11:00 (1952)
Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970)
Nino Marchetti
Italy
Best movies:
Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958)
The Overcoat (1952)
Il sicario (1960)
Rosita Pisano
Italy
Best movies:
Nini Tirebouchon (1970)
The Traffic Policeman (1960)
Liberté, mon amour... (1975)
Giuseppe Rinaldi
Italy
Best movies:
A Fistful of Hell (1973)
Careless (1962)
Baron Blood (1972)