A big deal in its day - Anna Magnani had buzz, Tennessee Williams and Burt Lancaster were stars, Daniel Mann was consideredn an exciting director.
It's not bad. Magnani is a woman whose husband dies in an accident. She whines about it. Her daughter Maria Pavan is horny for Ben Cooper. Like all these Williams' adaptations I've been watching it feels a half an hour too long. It drags. Lancaster doesn't appear until like 45 minutes in.
At first I was resistant to it and I'm not convinced it's a great movie or anything - too 1950s-adaptation-of-Broadway - but I got used to it.Lancaster is clearly trying - he's slightly amateurish but he's giving it a go, suits the part physically, and is a handsome charismastic star. Magnani Acts all over the place but she commits too. It helps a lot that the two seem into each other and like each other. This was missing in Fugitive Kind - Brando and Magnani didn't seem to care in that one.
Lots of dialogue and acting and two handers. Cooper is fine, I guess. Pavan is sweet. It's a more upbeat Williams. Happy ending and so on.
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