Viva Maria! (1965)

Somewhere in Middle America, 1907: Maria II, the daugther of an Irish terrorist, meets after the dead of her father Maria I, the singer of an circus. She decided to stay with the circus. On... See full summary »

Director:

Louis Malle

Writers:

Louis Malle (scenario and dialogue), Jean-Claude Carrière (scenario and dialogue)

Stars:

Brigitte Bardot, Jeanne Moreau, Paulette Dubost

Won 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Brigitte Bardot	...	Maria I
Jeanne Moreau	...	Maria II
Paulette Dubost	...	Mme Diogène
Claudio Brook	...	The Great Rodolfo
Carlos López Moctezuma	...	Rodríguez (as Carlos Lopez Moctezuma)
Poldo Bendandi	...	Werther
Gregor von Rezzori	...	Diogène (as Gregor Von Rezzori)
Francisco Reiguera	...	Father Superior
Jonathan Eden	...	Juanito Diogène
Roberto Pedret	...	Pablo
José Ángel Espinosa 'Ferrusquilla'	...	The Dictator of San Miguel (as José Ángel Espinoza)
George Hamilton	...	Flores

Storyline

Somewhere in Middle America, 1907: Maria II, the daugther of an Irish terrorist, meets after the dead of her father Maria I, the singer of an circus. She decided to stay with the circus. On her debue as a singer, she accidently invented strip-tease, that made the circus famous. But accidently they meet an sozialist revolutionair and finding themselves leading this revolution against the dictaor, the capitalists and the church.

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Plot Keywords:

church | circus | revolution | rebellion | year 1907 | 

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Taglines:

Viva Fun! Viva Can-Can! Viva Adventure! Viva Strip Tease! Viva Love! Viva Boom-Boom!

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Romance | Western

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Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

English Spanish French German

Release Date:

18 December 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Viva Maria

Filming Locations:

Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$2,200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nouvelles Éditions de Films (NEF), Les Productions Artistes Associés, Vides Cinematografica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie was the subject of one of two U.S. Supreme Court cases that led to the establishment of the MPAA Ratings Code. Upon the U.S. release of this "Viva Maria," the movie classification board of the city of Dallas, Texas, banned the movie within the city on the grounds that it was too racy. The American distributor sued - case title: "Interstate Circuit, Inc. v. City of Dallas (1968) - and, on 22 April 1968, won. In its ruling, the Supreme Court stated that censorship aimed at minors was okay, but censorship could not be applied to adults. On the same day, the Supreme Court handed down its ruling in a second case, titled "Ginsberg v. New York (1968)," which established that 17 years of age constituted adulthood in cases of censorship. The case involved a New York City luncheonette owner named Sam Ginsberg who was caught selling a "Playboy" magazine to a 16 year old in a NYPD sting operation. The Supreme Court ruled that if the boy had been 17 years old, then Ginsberg would have done no wrong in selling him the magazine. By combining these two rulings, the Supreme Court established the precedent that adult-oriented movies were acceptable as long as "no one under 17 is admitted without parent or adult guardian."

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Goofs

The Pound sign on the wanted poster has been placed after the figure. This is the French practice. In England it would be in front.

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Connections

Featured in Geburtstagskinder der Nouvelle Vague (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Paris Paris Paris"
(uncredited)
Music by Georges Delerue and lyrics by Jean-Claude Carrière
Performed by Brigitte Bardot and Jeanne Moreau

User Reviews

Stands up well today!

VIVA MARIA, a French-Italian co-production, is set in the revolution-torn Mexico in the early 1900s. Maria (Brigitte Bardot) - the daughter of an IRA operative - journeys to Mexico and meets up with her namesake Jeanne Moreau. Under the guise of circus/vaudevillian entertainers, they pursue their revolutionary activities around the countryside. The illustrious pair are captured but escape to fight with an enthusiastic peasantry to free San Miguel from its Spanish oppressors. Thoroughly entertaining and rollicking fun with spectacular visual action. Most of the film was shot on location in Mexico and the railway scenes filmed authentically on the 3ft gauge Interoceanic division of National Railways of Mexico. The featured steam loco is G-023 class 2-8-0 No. 66 (Alco 5209).