/2yK59yDiP4P5hsENbGYSPc3YA5I.jpg
Drama

The Barefoot Contessa

- The world's most beautiful animal!

Has-been director Harry Dawes gets a new lease on his career when the independently wealthy tycoon Kirk Edwards hires him to write and direct a film. They go to Madrid to find Maria Vargas, a dancer who will star in the film.

Release Date : 1954-09-29

Language :EnglishSpanishItalian

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Figaro Incorporated ProductionTransoceanic FilmUnited Artists

Production Country : United States of AmericaItaly

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Humphrey Bogart

Character Name : Harry Dawes

Original Name : Humphrey Bogart

Gender : Male

Ava Gardner

Character Name : Maria Vargas

Original Name : Ava Gardner

Gender : Female

Edmond O'Brien

Character Name : Oscar Muldoon

Original Name : Edmond O'Brien

Gender : Male

Marius Goring

Character Name : Alberto Bravano

Original Name : Marius Goring

Gender : Male

Valentina Cortese

Character Name : Eleanora Torlato-Favrini

Original Name : Valentina Cortese

Gender : Female

Rossano Brazzi

Character Name : Count Vincenzo Torlato-Favrini

Original Name : Rossano Brazzi

Gender : Male

Elizabeth Sellars

Character Name : Jerry

Original Name : Elizabeth Sellars

Gender : Female

Warren Stevens

Character Name : Kirk Edwards

Original Name : Warren Stevens

Gender : Male

Franco Interlenghi

Character Name : Pedro Vargas

Original Name : Franco Interlenghi

Gender : Male

Mari Aldon

Character Name : Myrna

Original Name : Mari Aldon

Gender : Female

Enzo Staiola

Character Name : Busboy

Original Name : Enzo Staiola

Gender : Male

Bill Fraser

Character Name : J. Montague Brown

Original Name : Bill Fraser

Gender : Male

Alberto Rabagliati

Character Name : Proprietor

Original Name : Alberto Rabagliati

Gender : Male

Maria Zanoli

Character Name : Maria's Mother

Original Name : Maria Zanoli

Gender : Female

Renato Chiantoni

Character Name : Maria's Father

Original Name : Renato Chiantoni

Gender : Male

John Parrish

Character Name : Mr. Max Black

Original Name : John Parrish

Gender : Male

Jim Gérald

Character Name : Mr. Blue

Original Name : Jim Gérald

Gender : Male

Diana Decker

Character Name : Drunken Blonde

Original Name : Diana Decker

Gender : Female

Riccardo Rioli

Character Name : Gypsy Dancer

Original Name : Riccardo Rioli

Gender : Male

Tonio Selwart

Character Name : Pretender

Original Name : Tonio Selwart

Gender : Male

Margaret Anderson

Character Name : Pretender's Wife

Original Name : Margaret Anderson

Gender : Female

Gertrude Flynn

Character Name : Lulu McGee

Original Name : Gertrude Flynn

Gender : Female

Bessie Love

Character Name : Mrs. Eubanks

Original Name : Bessie Love

Gender : Female

John Horne

Character Name : Hector Eubanks

Original Name : John Horne

Gender : Male

Ugo Mari

Character Name : Cigar Smoker in the Night Club (uncredited)

Original Name : Ugo Mari

Gender : Male

Reviews

C

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2024-01-11

Occasionally narrated by Humphrey Bogart, he regales us with his story as the down on his luck Hollywood writer/director "Dawes" who alights on a tavern dancer in Madrid. "Maria Vargas" (Ava Gardner) is a woman with striking good looks and an aloofness that he immediately sees stardom in. Luckily his spoilt rich-kid backer "Edwards" (Warren Stevens) agrees to give her a screen test, but a combination of his own fecklessness and some competitive manoeuvring from "Dawes" creates quite an interest, an interest well fanned by PR man "Muldoon" (Edmond O'Brien). We know right from the start that she has died - we turn up at her funeral - and this film has something of a piece of musical vinyl to it. The first half side illustrates her rise to fame and fortune, her marriage and her death. Flip it over and we get a tale of just how she fell in love with "Count Torlato-Favrini" (Rossano Brazzi) and ultimately came a cropper. The constant being the increasing affection "Dawes" and "Vargas" share as their professional paths diverge and their friendship - entirely platonic - solidifies. Gardner could look quite cold sometimes on screen, but here she and Bogart exude a certain warmth through their characters, goaded nicely by the increasingly exasperating and brattish "Edwards" and also by the rather cruel and bullying "Bravano" - another solid effort from Marius Goring. It takes quite a swipe at the film industry - people obsessed with finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow - regardless of whether there's any gold or any rainbow, and the threads tie rather poignantly, if a little sadly, at the conclusion. It's a stylishly photographed production that looms great and showcases a strong ensemble of talent.