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The Widow (1955 film)

April 14, 2024

The Widow (Italian: La vedova X) is a 1955 romantic drama film directed by Lewis Milestone and written by Milestone and Louis Stevens, based on the novel La Vedova by Susan York.[2] The film had a theatrical release in Italy in 1955,[3] limited release in the United States in 1957,[4] and was released in France on 4 June 1959 under the title La Veuve. This was the last Milestone film involving his own writing.[5]

The Widow
Theatrical release poster
ItalianLa vedova X
Directed byLewis Milestone
Screenplay by
Story by
  • Lewis Milestone
  • Louis Stevens
Based onLa Vedova
by Susan York
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyArturo Gallea
Edited byLoris Bellero
Music byMario Nascimbene
Production
companies
  • Express Films
  • Produzioni Venturini
Distributed byVenturini Film
Release dates
  • 1 August 1955 (1955-08-01) (Italy)
  • 4 June 1959 (1959-06-04) (France)
Running time
95 minutes
Countries
  • Italy
  • France[1]
LanguageItalian

Plot edit

Countess Diana Gaston (Patricia Roc) meets Vittorio Serra (Massimo Serato), the grandson of Carlo Serra, a prominent businessman. Convinced that she has met the man for her, she does all she can to keep him in her life. Unfortunately, both of them are self-centered and this leads to repeated conflict. Vittorio's passion for auto racing leads to continued disagreements between him and the countess.

Though remaining civil, the two separate over their disagreements even though both believe that they cannot live without the other. When Vittorio attends a party thrown by the countess, he meets Adriana (Anna Maria Ferrero), who immediately falls in love with him. His indecision over Adriana's attentions causes her to try to make him jealous, but he does not fall for the ploy. Vittorio then leaves on a trip to Sicily, he learns that Diana and Adriana have been corresponding and the jealousy does arise. Even though he loves the countess more, Vittorio asks Adriana to marry him. She refuses. When Diana learns of his proposal, she throws a tantrum and breaks objects precious to Vittirio, objects which she knows he superstitiously depends upon for luck.

Vittrio then learns that out of spite, Adriana has married Bonelli (Leonardo Botta), his friend and fellow auto racer. About to compete against Bonneli in a race, and distraught at the news of the marriage, Vittorio removes his lucky bracelet. Diana has a premonition of bad fortune just before she learns the news that Vittorio has died in a racing crash.

Cast edit

Background edit

Lewis Milestone was affected by blacklisting during the 1950s and found it difficult to find work.[6] He and his wife went to Paris[7] to wait out the "red scare".[8] While working abroad, Lewis Milestone and Diana Vedova directed La Vedova X as a joint British-Italian production. [4] This film followed upon his work in England on Melba in 1953 and They Who Dare in 1954.[9] This marked the last Milestone film involving his own writing.[5] When he returned to the United States, he had to "scrape by"[10] directing episodes for television series such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Schlitz Playhouse, Suspicion, and Have Gun – Will Travel,[4][11] before directing Pork Chop Hill in 1959.

Reception edit

Cinematografo wrote that the plot was unoriginal and uninteresting, and that Lewis Milestone's connection with the film was not enough to overcome its many flaws.[12]

Release notes edit

While IMDb shows the film release year as being 1959, The New York Times ,[2] Rovi,[5] The British Film Institute and the 1987 book "World Film Directors: 1890–1945"[13] show the release year as 1955. While 1954 is shown as a release date in the Joseph R. Millichap book "Lewis Milestone",[4] news reports in June 1954 spoke toward Milestone "about to direct" or "currently producing and directing" the film under its working title of The Black Widow,[14][15] and the British Film Institute was writing in 1954 "Lewis Milestone is to start work soon on The Black Widow, with Patricia Roc..."[16] 1954 appears to mark the beginning of production, with 1955 as the correct release year of the film in Italy, a U.S. release in 1957, and 1959 as reported on IMDb coinciding with the film's later French release.

References edit

  1. ^ . British Film Institute. Archived from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b Andrea LeVasseur (2012). . Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  3. ^ . British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 18 January 2009. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  4. ^ a b c d Joseph R. Millichap (1981). Lewis Milestone. Twayne's filmmakers series. Twayne Publishers. pp. 178, 213. ISBN 0-8057-9281-3. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  5. ^ a b c Andrea LeVasseur. "The Widow". Rovi. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  6. ^ Peter Lev (2006). Transforming the screen, 1950-1959. University of California Press. p. 70. ISBN 0-520-24966-6.
  7. ^ Norma Barzman (2004). The Red and the Blacklist: The Intimate Memoir of a Hollywood Expatriate. Nation Books. ISBN 1-56025-617-6.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference FranЬk Rose was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Films and filming. Vol. 9. Hansom Books. 1962. p. 85. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  10. ^ Frank Rose (1996). The Agency: William Morris and the Hidden History of Show Business. Frank Rose. pp. 221, 231. ISBN 0-88730-807-4.
  11. ^ . Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2012. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2011.
  12. ^ U. Tani (31 August 1956). "Intermezzo". Cinematografo (in Italian). Coming Soon. pp. 15, 16. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  13. ^ John Wakeman (1987). World Film Directors: 1890-1945. Volume 1 of World Film Directors. H.W. Wilson. p. 777.
  14. ^ Edwin Schallert (June 30, 1954). "Gassman's Ophelia Gets Milestone as Director; Robson Pacts Bard Star". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  15. ^ A. H. Weiler (June 20, 1954). "Graf Spee Story to Be Filmed & Other Items". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  16. ^ British Film Institute, British Institute of Adult Education (1954). Sight and sound, Volumes 24-25. British Film Institute. p. 67. Retrieved 4 May 2011.

External links edit

April 14, 2024
widow, 1955, film, widow, italian, vedova, 1955, romantic, drama, film, directed, lewis, milestone, written, milestone, louis, stevens, based, novel, vedova, susan, york, film, theatrical, release, italy, 1955, limited, release, united, states, 1957, released,. The Widow Italian La vedova X is a 1955 romantic drama film directed by Lewis Milestone and written by Milestone and Louis Stevens based on the novel La Vedova by Susan York 2 The film had a theatrical release in Italy in 1955 3 limited release in the United States in 1957 4 and was released in France on 4 June 1959 under the title La Veuve This was the last Milestone film involving his own writing 5 The WidowTheatrical release posterItalianLa vedova XDirected byLewis MilestoneScreenplay byLouis Stevens Corrado Sofia Giuseppe MangioneStory byLewis Milestone Louis StevensBased onLa Vedovaby Susan YorkProduced byJohn G Nasht Giorgio VenturiniStarringPatricia Roc Massimo SeratoCinematographyArturo GalleaEdited byLoris BelleroMusic byMario NascimbeneProductioncompaniesExpress Films Produzioni VenturiniDistributed byVenturini FilmRelease dates1 August 1955 1955 08 01 Italy 4 June 1959 1959 06 04 France Running time95 minutesCountriesItaly France 1 LanguageItalian Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Background 4 Reception 5 Release notes 6 References 7 External linksPlot editCountess Diana Gaston Patricia Roc meets Vittorio Serra Massimo Serato the grandson of Carlo Serra a prominent businessman Convinced that she has met the man for her she does all she can to keep him in her life Unfortunately both of them are self centered and this leads to repeated conflict Vittorio s passion for auto racing leads to continued disagreements between him and the countess Though remaining civil the two separate over their disagreements even though both believe that they cannot live without the other When Vittorio attends a party thrown by the countess he meets Adriana Anna Maria Ferrero who immediately falls in love with him His indecision over Adriana s attentions causes her to try to make him jealous but he does not fall for the ploy Vittorio then leaves on a trip to Sicily he learns that Diana and Adriana have been corresponding and the jealousy does arise Even though he loves the countess more Vittorio asks Adriana to marry him She refuses When Diana learns of his proposal she throws a tantrum and breaks objects precious to Vittirio objects which she knows he superstitiously depends upon for luck Vittrio then learns that out of spite Adriana has married Bonelli Leonardo Botta his friend and fellow auto racer About to compete against Bonneli in a race and distraught at the news of the marriage Vittorio removes his lucky bracelet Diana has a premonition of bad fortune just before she learns the news that Vittorio has died in a racing crash Cast editPatricia Roc as Countess Diana Gaston Massimo Serato as Vittorio Serra Anna Maria Ferrero as Adriana Leonardo Botta as Leonardo Botta Akim Tamiroff as Uncle Carlo SerraBackground editLewis Milestone was affected by blacklisting during the 1950s and found it difficult to find work 6 He and his wife went to Paris 7 to wait out the red scare 8 While working abroad Lewis Milestone and Diana Vedova directed La Vedova X as a joint British Italian production 4 This film followed upon his work in England on Melba in 1953 and They Who Dare in 1954 9 This marked the last Milestone film involving his own writing 5 When he returned to the United States he had to scrape by 10 directing episodes for television series such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents Schlitz Playhouse Suspicion and Have Gun Will Travel 4 11 before directing Pork Chop Hill in 1959 Reception editCinematografo wrote that the plot was unoriginal and uninteresting and that Lewis Milestone s connection with the film was not enough to overcome its many flaws 12 Release notes editWhile IMDb shows the film release year as being 1959 The New York Times 2 Rovi 5 The British Film Institute and the 1987 book World Film Directors 1890 1945 13 show the release year as 1955 While 1954 is shown as a release date in the Joseph R Millichap book Lewis Milestone 4 news reports in June 1954 spoke toward Milestone about to direct or currently producing and directing the film under its working title of The Black Widow 14 15 and the British Film Institute was writing in 1954 Lewis Milestone is to start work soon on The Black Widow with Patricia Roc 16 1954 appears to mark the beginning of production with 1955 as the correct release year of the film in Italy a U S release in 1957 and 1959 as reported on IMDb coinciding with the film s later French release References edit La vedova X 1955 British Film Institute Archived from the original on August 6 2017 Retrieved 19 September 2021 a b Andrea LeVasseur 2012 The Widow 1955 Movies amp TV Dept The New York Times Archived from the original on 4 November 2012 Retrieved 4 May 2011 La Vedova X British Film Institute Archived from the original on 18 January 2009 Retrieved 5 May 2011 a b c d Joseph R Millichap 1981 Lewis Milestone Twayne s filmmakers series Twayne Publishers pp 178 213 ISBN 0 8057 9281 3 Retrieved 4 May 2011 a b c Andrea LeVasseur The Widow Rovi Archived from the original on 16 January 2013 Retrieved 4 May 2011 Peter Lev 2006 Transforming the screen 1950 1959 University of California Press p 70 ISBN 0 520 24966 6 Norma Barzman 2004 The Red and the Blacklist The Intimate Memoir of a Hollywood Expatriate Nation Books ISBN 1 56025 617 6 Cite error The named reference Frank Rose was invoked but never defined see the help page Films and filming Vol 9 Hansom Books 1962 p 85 Retrieved 5 May 2011 Frank Rose 1996 The Agency William Morris and the Hidden History of Show Business Frank Rose pp 221 231 ISBN 0 88730 807 4 Lewis Milestone fimology Movies amp TV Dept The New York Times 2012 Archived from the original on November 4 2012 Retrieved May 6 2011 U Tani 31 August 1956 Intermezzo Cinematografo in Italian Coming Soon pp 15 16 Retrieved 5 May 2011 John Wakeman 1987 World Film Directors 1890 1945 Volume 1 of World Film Directors H W Wilson p 777 Edwin Schallert June 30 1954 Gassman s Ophelia Gets Milestone as Director Robson Pacts Bard Star Los Angeles Times Retrieved 4 May 2011 A H Weiler June 20 1954 Graf Spee Story to Be Filmed amp Other Items The New York Times Retrieved 4 May 2011 British Film Institute British Institute of Adult Education 1954 Sight and sound Volumes 24 25 British Film Institute p 67 Retrieved 4 May 2011 External links editThe Widow at IMDb nbsp The Widow at AllMovie The Widow dead link at British Film Institute Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Widow 1955 film amp oldid 1180444663, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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