IMDb > The Barefoot Contessa (1954)
The Barefoot Contessa
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The Barefoot Contessa (1954) More at IMDbPro »

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The Barefoot Contessa (1954) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
6.9/10   3,364 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 7% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Writer:
Joseph L. Mankiewicz (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Barefoot Contessa on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
29 September 1954 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
A girl with many ideas . . . and a man for each ! more
Plot:
Has-been director Harry Dawes gets a new lease on his career when independently wealthy Kirk Edwards hires him to write and direct a film... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(2 articles)
Jack Cardiff Dies
 (From EmpireOnline. 23 April 2009, 5:46 AM, PDT)

Hollywood Producer Haggiag Dies
 (From WENN. 4 March 2009, 8:10 AM, PST)

User Comments:
Ava Gardner carries herself--and the film--beautifully. more (54 total)
US TV Schedule:

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
La contessa scalza (Italy)
more
Runtime:
128 min | 130 min (dvd release) (TCM print)
Country:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.75 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Perspecta Sound encoding) (Western Electric Recording)
Certification:
Company:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The name "Lloyd Richards" appears on the marquee of Maria's first film. "Lloyd Richards" is the name of Margo Channing's playwright friend in All About Eve (1950), also by written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Harry is talking to Maria, outside of her house, for a moment he is with his left hand in his coat lapel and his right hand holding the cigarette. The next shot shows him with his both hands in the pockets. more
Quotes:
Maria Vargas: In Hollywood, it is not easy to become a star.
Harry Dawes: Ah, where is it easy?
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Novia, esposa y amante (1981) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
20 out of 32 people found the following comment useful.
Ava Gardner carries herself--and the film--beautifully., 14 July 2001
7/10
Author: scorpio-x from Las Vegas

"The Barefoot Contessa" is a greatly underrated film--which is rather surprising, when you consider the amount of talent involved. First, there's the brilliant script by Joe Mankiewicz, who was always at his best when dissecting Hollywood and its denizens. The movie's best scene may be the Hollywood party where Kirk Edwards gets his comeuppance, all booze, boredom and viciousness ("What she's got, you can't spell. And what you've got, you used to have."); although the scenes of the pathetic/glamorous European jet set are also excellent, the way Mankiewicz can create a small line or gesture that delineates an entire character. Really, the only time his touch fails him is toward the end, when Maria meets her Count and things get a bit melodramatic.

Also magnificent is the cinematography by the always-brilliant Jack Cardiff, who invests everything with color-drenched glamour. (Did you know that, along with shooting such visual masterpieces as "Black Narcissus," "The Red Shoes" and "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman," Cardiff was also the cinematogrpaher on "Rambo: First Blood." Yikes.) Edmond O'Brien won a well-deserved Academy Award for his portrayal of the sleazy PR man Oscar Muldoon, managing to bring hints of depth and dimension to a character that could have easily been pure caricature. Another fine, if brief, supporting turn comes from Mari Aldon as Edwards' long-suffering mistress, Myrna (especially her "I'm just a scared tramp" exit line).

Still, what makes this film work is the presence and performance of Ava Gardner. See "The Barefoot Contessa" and you will understand why many have thought her to be the most beautiful woman ever to grace the screen. She is simply breathtaking. Ava's appearance alone is enough to give credibility to Maria Vargas' legendary magnetism--and, without that, the whole film would fail, as it's really just about three men standing around one woman's coffin, wondering that made her tick--but it's her work as an actress that raises the character from beautiful blank to irresistible enigma. Even when her dialogue is a bit trite and soap-opera, she manages to make it believable by making shallowness appear to conceal depth (if you get what I mean), and even does a fine job with the accent. This was the film that earned her the tag "the world's most beautiful animal," but Ava Gardner was much more than that.

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