All the way through this film you wonder how Burt Lancaster could match Anna Magnani, and through half of the film you expect him to turn up. Well, he does turn up, and it is not too late, while Anna Magnani already hopelessly has made the entire film her own, like she did most of her films. Burt Lancaster is not bad, he does his very best to make a convincing Sicilian, but he succeeded better in Viscontis "The Leopard" ten years later. Here he is simply overdoing it, and and although that's what he is supposed to do as a Sicilian in the deep American south (together with Anna Magnani, also a Sicilian in the same predicament,) he does it a little too well, which robs him of being quite credible as a Sicilian. The play is good, Tennessee Williams was always more than reliable, and this out of his ordinary style is not an exception. But the one who really steals your heart is neither of these two but Marisa Pavan as the daughter - She is utterly convincing. It's a great film replenished with great acting, but it's neither among Tennessee Williams' or Burt Lancaster's best, although it could be one of Anna Magnani's best.
Review of The Rose Tattoo
