Teresa (1951)

Director:

Fred Zinnemann

Writers:

Alfred Hayes (story), Stewart Stern (screenplay),

Stars:

Pier Angeli, John Ericson, Patricia Collinge

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
Pier Angeli	...	Teresa Russo
John Ericson	...	Philip Cass
Patricia Collinge	...	Mrs. Clara Cass, Philip's Mother
Richard Bishop	...	Mr. Cass, Philip's Father
Peggy Ann Garner	...	Susan Cass
Ralph Meeker	...	Sgt. Dobbs
Bill Mauldin	...	Grissom
Ave Ninchi	...	Teresa's Mother
Edward Binns	...	Sgt. Brown
Rod Steiger	...	Frank
Aldo Silvani	...	Professor Crocce
Tommy Lewis	...	Walter

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

immigration | family conflict | character name in title

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

23 September 1951 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Teresa - die Geschichte einer Braut

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ed Binns' first film.

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Connections

Referenced in Death in Hollywood (1990)

User Reviews

Angeli Delivers the Goods

"Teresa", is a movie that is time well spent for several reasons. Patricia Collinge delivers a performance atypical of the most memorable characters she had played to that point in her career. When I think of Collinge, I think of her as the quintessential, albeit clueless mother in Hitchcock's, "Shadow Of A Doubt". The other character was the sympathetic, "Aunt Birdie", from the director, William Wyler's classic film, "The Little Foxes". Collinge, in "Teresa", is spine chilling as a domineering mother / mother-in-law from Hell. She is a great performer. The next reason to recommend spending time viewing this film is for the fine effort by the brilliant director, Fred Zinneman. His talents lend a positive element which makes the film artistically better than good. He was truly a great director. Finally, there is the powerful, yet poignant performance by Pier Angeli. She was perfectly cast as the young girl from post war Italy, who falls in love with an American soldier. Angeli was young, pretty and believable in her role. Zinneman really squeezed a gem of an acting performance from Pier Angeli that left me most moved. The story itself is good, with some predictability, but not to a degree that would make one roll their eyes. I saw this movie just once, several years ago. I am more critical than most when I watch a film. I have been hoping TCM would run it again, as this movie, "Teresa", left a very favorable impression on me. I wholeheartedly recommend this film to lovers of classic films, and to those who like stories from the post WWII era. The other elements are that, "Teresa", offers a good viewing for fans of love stories and stories involving strong, heroic female characters.