Anna Magnani was a revelation in this, her American debut film, as an earthy, tempestuous and full-blooded woman whose grief over the death of her husband is complicated by the discovery of his infidelity and the attentions of an unwelcome new suitor who holds out the offer of passion now gone from her life. Few actresses had ever made such a fiery arrival on American screens and her performance won her an Oscar as Best Actress. Subsequent screen appearances clearly showed that her acting range did not extend far beyond what she showed here, leading her to be somewhat typecast as a hyper-emotional Italian, but even if her legacy had only been this film, it would be memorable. Burt Lancaster is rather oddly cast as a slightly simple truck driver who has a crush on Magnani's character. Burt's physicality works here, but his obviously greater depth and awareness at times run counter to the live-in-the- moment needs of his not very bright character, and the resulting performance is never completely convincing. Marisa Pavan, the twin sister of better known Italian star Pier Angeli, got a nomination as best supporting actress as the fragile daughter struggling to hold her own grief in check, while searching for her place in a recognizably Tennessee Williams world of sultry Southern backwardness and soap opera passions. Excellent black and white cinematography by James Wong Howe won the film another Oscar and evocative production design created a believable Southern town square around which this otherwise rather stagy adaptation plays out. Like all Tennessee Williams dramas, this one can get somewhat overwrought at times, but Magnani and Pavan make it watchable - if ultimately dismissible - entertainment.
Review of The Rose Tattoo
