Fred Zinnemann was a brilliant director and before I saw "Teresa" I couldn't name a bad or even average movie that he made. However, I then saw "Teresa" and now realize that even Zinnemann did have one turkey on his resume.
The plot: Philip Cass (John Ericson) is a young WWII veteran who has recently returned to his NYC home and is "running away" from his family, his responsibilities, and his past. He's a mess. He lives with his parents and sister in a cramped, run-down apartment. He despises his father's weakness and allows his mother to baby and control him. And then there's his Italian war-bride, Teresa (Pier Angeli) who is carrying their child and is getting thoroughly frustrated with her husband's lack of direction. Phillip seeks treatment with the VA with young Rod Steiger as his army psychiatrist, but he doesn't seem open to any real help. And Philip remembers the war: his platoon sergeant, Dobbs (Ralph Meeker), and how he met and fell in love with Teresa in her war-torn village. In the end, Philip must make the decision whether to grow-up or not.
Another reviewer hit on "Teresa's" biggest weakness: a muddled script that tries way too much and succeeds at too little. It's about a GI adapting to civilian life. It's a war movie set in WWII Italy. It's a romance. It's a story about a family. Just way too much stuff is addressed with none of it given any real depth.
Next to the script, the second biggest problem is the main character, Philip Cass. He's just one of the most unlikeable characters in movie history who wasn't intended to be a villain. Sadly, this story really is Philip's. He's the main character and the entire film's focus. And he's just awful! Initially, we feel some sympathy for his plight feeling that he may be a victim of PTSD, but then we see his combat experience: panicking when not under fire on his very first combat patrol and nearly getting his platoon overrun. He's a coward. He's also an overgrown man-child and momma's boy who is irresponsible, petulant, lazy, scared of his own shadow and with the spine of a "jelly-fish." Overall, I despised this character and John Ericson's performance did little to make him even the slightest bit sympathetic. (Yeah, he eventually gets a job, but when we see him "at work" he's sleeping away!)
Some of the film's characters are a bit more likable such as Ralph Meeker's "Dobbs" who immediately recognizes Cass as a weak reed and tries to gently toughen him up, but unfortunately his screen time is too brief.
And then there is Pier Angeli's "Teresa." She's the best part of the movie by far: a then luminous 18 yr old who brings her character to life. Teresa is physically a mere slip of a girl, but she has a backbone and a spirit to get what she wants. Her beauty and innocence attract men, but she's smart enough to avoid those who just want to briefly possess her. (The famous Stars and Stripes cartoonist of the "Willie & Joe" comics and Italian theater veteran Bill Maudlin has a bit role as a GI whose interest in Teresa is understandably less than the pure.) However, she isn't worldly enough to recognize Philip as the worm he truly is and that leads to a sad wake-up call upon reaching the States.
(Pier Angeli is a tragic tale. She was a great in this movie which was her first real big break, but sadly this mediocre film wasn't a hit and her career never really took off. With her career reduced to appearing in low budget dreck, she committed suicide at age 39.)
Overall: a mediocre movie by a brilliant director with a thoroughly detestable lead character, but a nice performance by Pier Angeli that may be worth checking-out.
The plot: Philip Cass (John Ericson) is a young WWII veteran who has recently returned to his NYC home and is "running away" from his family, his responsibilities, and his past. He's a mess. He lives with his parents and sister in a cramped, run-down apartment. He despises his father's weakness and allows his mother to baby and control him. And then there's his Italian war-bride, Teresa (Pier Angeli) who is carrying their child and is getting thoroughly frustrated with her husband's lack of direction. Phillip seeks treatment with the VA with young Rod Steiger as his army psychiatrist, but he doesn't seem open to any real help. And Philip remembers the war: his platoon sergeant, Dobbs (Ralph Meeker), and how he met and fell in love with Teresa in her war-torn village. In the end, Philip must make the decision whether to grow-up or not.
Another reviewer hit on "Teresa's" biggest weakness: a muddled script that tries way too much and succeeds at too little. It's about a GI adapting to civilian life. It's a war movie set in WWII Italy. It's a romance. It's a story about a family. Just way too much stuff is addressed with none of it given any real depth.
Next to the script, the second biggest problem is the main character, Philip Cass. He's just one of the most unlikeable characters in movie history who wasn't intended to be a villain. Sadly, this story really is Philip's. He's the main character and the entire film's focus. And he's just awful! Initially, we feel some sympathy for his plight feeling that he may be a victim of PTSD, but then we see his combat experience: panicking when not under fire on his very first combat patrol and nearly getting his platoon overrun. He's a coward. He's also an overgrown man-child and momma's boy who is irresponsible, petulant, lazy, scared of his own shadow and with the spine of a "jelly-fish." Overall, I despised this character and John Ericson's performance did little to make him even the slightest bit sympathetic. (Yeah, he eventually gets a job, but when we see him "at work" he's sleeping away!)
Some of the film's characters are a bit more likable such as Ralph Meeker's "Dobbs" who immediately recognizes Cass as a weak reed and tries to gently toughen him up, but unfortunately his screen time is too brief.
And then there is Pier Angeli's "Teresa." She's the best part of the movie by far: a then luminous 18 yr old who brings her character to life. Teresa is physically a mere slip of a girl, but she has a backbone and a spirit to get what she wants. Her beauty and innocence attract men, but she's smart enough to avoid those who just want to briefly possess her. (The famous Stars and Stripes cartoonist of the "Willie & Joe" comics and Italian theater veteran Bill Maudlin has a bit role as a GI whose interest in Teresa is understandably less than the pure.) However, she isn't worldly enough to recognize Philip as the worm he truly is and that leads to a sad wake-up call upon reaching the States.
(Pier Angeli is a tragic tale. She was a great in this movie which was her first real big break, but sadly this mediocre film wasn't a hit and her career never really took off. With her career reduced to appearing in low budget dreck, she committed suicide at age 39.)
Overall: a mediocre movie by a brilliant director with a thoroughly detestable lead character, but a nice performance by Pier Angeli that may be worth checking-out.