Girl with a Suitcase (1961) La ragazza con la valigia (original title)

Director:

Valerio Zurlini

Writers:

Leonardo Benvenuti (story) and
Piero De Bernardi (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

11 September 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Lorenzo, who's 16 and born to a wealthy family in Parma, tries to make things right toward a showgirl...

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Claudia Cardinale	...	Aida Zepponi
Jacques Perrin	...	Lorenzo Fainardi
Luciana Angiolillo	...	Aunt of Lorenzo
Renato Baldini	...	Francia
Riccardo Garrone	...	Romolo
Elsa Albani	...	Lucia
Corrado Pani	...	Marcello Fainardi
Gian Maria Volonté	...	Piero Benotti
Romolo Valli	...	Don Pietro Introna
Enzo Garinei	...	Pino
Ciccio Barbi	...	Crosia
Nadia Bianchi	...	Nuccia
Angela Portaluri
Edda Soligo	...	Teacher

Directed by
Valerio Zurlini

Writing credits
Leonardo Benvenuti		(story and screenplay) (as Leo Benvenuti) and
Piero De Bernardi		(story and screenplay) and
Enrico Medioli		(story and screenplay) and
Giuseppe Patroni Griffi		(story and screenplay) and
Valerio Zurlini		(story and screenplay)

Produced by
Charles Delac	....	producer
Maurizio Lodi-Fè	....	producer

Cinematography by
Tino Santoni

Film Editing by
Mario Serandrei

Production Design by
Flavio Mogherini

Costume Design by
Gaia Romanini

Makeup Department
Giovanni Ranieri	....	makeup artist
Vasco Reggiani	....	hair stylist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mario Maffei	....	assistant director
Piero Schivazappa	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Enzo Silvestri	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Enrico Cignitti	....	camera operator
Danilo Desideri	....	assistant camera
Lorenzo Papi	....	still photographer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Gaia Romanini	....	costumer

Music Department
Mario Gangi	....	soloist: Chitarra (as M. Gangi)
Mario Nascimbene	....	music supervisor
Bruno Nicolai	....	soloist: Clavicembalo (as B. Nicolai)

Other crew
Adriana Asti	....	voice dubbing: Claudia Cardinale
Antonio Guadagnino	....	production secretary
Tina Marchetti Clerici	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Titanus
• Société Générale de Cinématographie (S.G.C.) (co-production)

Distributors

• Ellis Films (1961) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Aquarius TV (2004) (Greece) (TV)
• Koch Vision (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Aquarius TV (2005) (Greece) (DVD)
• Compagnie Française de Distribution Cinématographique (CFDC) (1962) (France) (theatrical)
• NoShame Films (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"La ragazza con la valigia" - Italy (original title)

Runtime:

121 min | USA:96 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Company:

Titanus

Trivia:

Italian censorship visa # 33890 delivered on 18-1-1961.

Soundtrack:

Tintarella di luna

Million Dollar Baby

I watched this together with Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby." I knew I would be challenged by that film (you can read my comment), and I wanted something that I knew would be a safe island after the offenses therein.

I chose this. Its between "Million" and "Nights of Cabiria" and more perfect than both in my view. The spine of this film is a story of a prostitute/dancer, an adventuress with few skills for the job. We see some encounters that provide insights, not into her character so much, but what limits her, and that matters because we discover many of those same limits in us.

Its a good film, largely forgotten today because its merely competent and not showy or overtly experimental as so many from that block were. But if you want an antidote to those bad films of good men, come here.

It has the economy of Eastwood, in fact this very tradition is where he learned his directorial craft. But its economy directed toward conveying the environment, the context in which our two characters find themselves. It's geared to the context not the actors, who after all can only tell you what is in themselves, not is what is in their world.

It has the depressing rootlessness of those early Fellini films, but it emerges from the real world we see instead of being an overt essay on what we know is Fellini's perspective that starts from the very beginning. This emerges.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.