"The Black Orchid", a fairly anonymous picture by director Martin Ritt ("Hud", "Hombre" etc), stars Sophia Loren as Rose Bianco, a widowed florist who strikes up a relationship with widower Frank Valente (Anthony Qinn). Other subplots deal with Frank's grown up daughter, Mary (Ina Balin), who's reluctant to leave home and marry a man of her own; she fears that doing so will constitute an abandonment of her father.
Indeed, virtually everyone in the film fears abandonment. Rose's son, stuck in a boarding school, feels discarded, as do Rose and Frank, who've been abandoned by their respective spouses, and Mary herself, who desires not to be torn away from her father. The film ends with these anxieties resolved, new connections made and bridges built.
Amongst the cast, actor Anthony Quinn stands out; he's as infectious as usual. Sophia Loren is stiff, but this fits her role. The film was directed by Martin Ritt, who would go on to do a number of far more interesting films.
7/10 – Worth one viewing.
Indeed, virtually everyone in the film fears abandonment. Rose's son, stuck in a boarding school, feels discarded, as do Rose and Frank, who've been abandoned by their respective spouses, and Mary herself, who desires not to be torn away from her father. The film ends with these anxieties resolved, new connections made and bridges built.
Amongst the cast, actor Anthony Quinn stands out; he's as infectious as usual. Sophia Loren is stiff, but this fits her role. The film was directed by Martin Ritt, who would go on to do a number of far more interesting films.
7/10 – Worth one viewing.