The Barefoot Contessa
Encyclopedia
The Barefoot Contessa is a 1954 film about the life and loves of fictional Spanish sex symbol Maria Vargas. It was written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
and stars Humphrey Bogart
, Ava Gardner
and Edmond O'Brien
.
For his performance, O'Brien won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
. Mankiewicz was nominated for an Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay.
) is reduced to working for abusive, emotionally stunted business tycoon Kirk Edwards (Warren Stevens
), who has decided he wants to produce a film to stroke his monumental ego. Looking for a fresh leading lady, they discover, in a Madrid night club, stunning dancer Maria Vargas (Ava Gardner
), a blithe but proud spirit who likes to go barefoot and has a troubled home life.
Maria takes an instant dislike to Kirk but trusts Harry, whose work she knows. Thanks to his expertise and the help of sweaty, insincere publicist Oscar Muldoon (Edmond O'Brien
), her film debut is a sensation. Kirk tries to control Maria's life by publicly ordering her to stay away from wealthy Latin American playboy Alberto Bravano (Marius Goring
), but Maria rebels.
She is a great star, but Maria is not satisfied. She envies the happiness her friend Harry has found with his wife Jerry (Elizabeth Sellars
) and wants a prince charming of her own. Alberto is too frivolous and shallow for her. When he berates her in public for supposedly ruining his luck at a gambling table, he receives a slap in the face from a stranger. This turns out to be Count Vincenzo Torlato-Favrini (Rossano Brazzi
), who offers Maria his arm. They walk out.
Maria has found the great love of her life. They wed in a lavish ceremony, but there is a problem. The count and his spinster sister (Valentina Cortese) are the last of the Torlato-Favrinis; without offspring, the noble line will die out. Unfortunately, he is incapable of fathering a child because a war injury has left him impotent. He tells Maria about this on their wedding night.
Sometime later, Harry is in Italy and an unhappy Maria tells him about her husband and confesses that she is pregnant. She believes her husband will want this child and plans to tell him about it that night. However, her husband had suspected she was unfaithful and shoots her before she could tell him about the child. Harry arrives just as the shots are fired and does not tell the count about the pregnancy. The story ends (as it began) with her funeral.
, Mankiewicz based the film's central character of Maria Vargas on American movie star and dancer Rita Hayworth
, who had been married to Prince Aly Khan
. According to the audio commentary on the 1931 film Tabu
, she was based on Anne Chevalier, an actress in that film.
called it a "grotesque barren film" about the "glittering and graceless behavior of the Hollywood-international set."
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Joseph Leo Mankiewicz was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Mankiewicz had a long Hollywood career and is best known as the writer-director of All About Eve , which was nominated for 14 Academy Awards and won six. He was brother to screenwriter and drama critic Herman J...
and stars Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
, Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner
Ava Lavinia Gardner was an American actress.She was signed to a contract by MGM Studios in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew attention with her performance in The Killers . She became one of Hollywood's leading actresses, considered one of the most beautiful women of her day...
and Edmond O'Brien
Edmond O'Brien
Edmond O'Brien was an American actor who is perhaps best remembered for his role in D.O.A. and his Oscar winning role in The Barefoot Contessa...
.
For his performance, O'Brien won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
. Mankiewicz was nominated for an Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay.
Plot
Down on his luck, veteran movie director and writer Harry Dawes (Humphrey BogartHumphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
) is reduced to working for abusive, emotionally stunted business tycoon Kirk Edwards (Warren Stevens
Warren Stevens
Warren Stevens is an American stage, screen, and television actor.Born in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, Stevens began his acting career after serving in the U.S. Army Air Force as a pilot during World War II. He trained at The Actor's Studio in New York, received notice on Broadway, and thereafter...
), who has decided he wants to produce a film to stroke his monumental ego. Looking for a fresh leading lady, they discover, in a Madrid night club, stunning dancer Maria Vargas (Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner
Ava Lavinia Gardner was an American actress.She was signed to a contract by MGM Studios in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew attention with her performance in The Killers . She became one of Hollywood's leading actresses, considered one of the most beautiful women of her day...
), a blithe but proud spirit who likes to go barefoot and has a troubled home life.
Maria takes an instant dislike to Kirk but trusts Harry, whose work she knows. Thanks to his expertise and the help of sweaty, insincere publicist Oscar Muldoon (Edmond O'Brien
Edmond O'Brien
Edmond O'Brien was an American actor who is perhaps best remembered for his role in D.O.A. and his Oscar winning role in The Barefoot Contessa...
), her film debut is a sensation. Kirk tries to control Maria's life by publicly ordering her to stay away from wealthy Latin American playboy Alberto Bravano (Marius Goring
Marius Goring
Marius Goring CBE was an English stage and cinema actor. He is most often remembered for the four films he did with Powell & Pressburger, particularly as Conductor 71 in A Matter of Life and Death and as Julian Craster in The Red Shoes...
), but Maria rebels.
She is a great star, but Maria is not satisfied. She envies the happiness her friend Harry has found with his wife Jerry (Elizabeth Sellars
Elizabeth Sellars
Elizabeth Sellars is a British actress.Sellars was born in Glasgow, Scotland. She appeared on the stage from age 15 and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts...
) and wants a prince charming of her own. Alberto is too frivolous and shallow for her. When he berates her in public for supposedly ruining his luck at a gambling table, he receives a slap in the face from a stranger. This turns out to be Count Vincenzo Torlato-Favrini (Rossano Brazzi
Rossano Brazzi
-Biography:Brazzi was born in Bologna to Adelmo and Maria Brazzi. He attended San Marco University in Florence, Italy, where he was raised from the age of four...
), who offers Maria his arm. They walk out.
Maria has found the great love of her life. They wed in a lavish ceremony, but there is a problem. The count and his spinster sister (Valentina Cortese) are the last of the Torlato-Favrinis; without offspring, the noble line will die out. Unfortunately, he is incapable of fathering a child because a war injury has left him impotent. He tells Maria about this on their wedding night.
Sometime later, Harry is in Italy and an unhappy Maria tells him about her husband and confesses that she is pregnant. She believes her husband will want this child and plans to tell him about it that night. However, her husband had suspected she was unfaithful and shoots her before she could tell him about the child. Harry arrives just as the shots are fired and does not tell the count about the pregnancy. The story ends (as it began) with her funeral.
Cast
- Humphrey BogartHumphrey BogartHumphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
as Harry Dawes - Ava GardnerAva GardnerAva Lavinia Gardner was an American actress.She was signed to a contract by MGM Studios in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew attention with her performance in The Killers . She became one of Hollywood's leading actresses, considered one of the most beautiful women of her day...
as Maria Vargas - Edmond O'BrienEdmond O'BrienEdmond O'Brien was an American actor who is perhaps best remembered for his role in D.O.A. and his Oscar winning role in The Barefoot Contessa...
as Oscar Muldoon - Marius GoringMarius GoringMarius Goring CBE was an English stage and cinema actor. He is most often remembered for the four films he did with Powell & Pressburger, particularly as Conductor 71 in A Matter of Life and Death and as Julian Craster in The Red Shoes...
as Alberto Bravano - Valentina Cortese as Eleanora Torlato-Favrini (as Valentina Cortesa)
- Rossano BrazziRossano Brazzi-Biography:Brazzi was born in Bologna to Adelmo and Maria Brazzi. He attended San Marco University in Florence, Italy, where he was raised from the age of four...
as Count Vincenzo Torlato-Favrini - Elizabeth SellarsElizabeth SellarsElizabeth Sellars is a British actress.Sellars was born in Glasgow, Scotland. She appeared on the stage from age 15 and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts...
as Jerry - Warren StevensWarren StevensWarren Stevens is an American stage, screen, and television actor.Born in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, Stevens began his acting career after serving in the U.S. Army Air Force as a pilot during World War II. He trained at The Actor's Studio in New York, received notice on Broadway, and thereafter...
as Kirk Edwards - Franco InterlenghiFranco InterlenghiFranco Interlenghi is an Italian actor.He made his acting debut at 15 in Vittorio De Sica's 1946 Neorealist film Sciuscià....
as Pedro Vargas - Mari Aldon as Myrna
- Bessie LoveBessie LoveBessie Love was an American motion picture actress who achieved prominence mainly in the silent films and early talkies. With a small frame and delicate features, she played innocent young girls, flappers, and wholesome leading ladies. Her role in The Broadway Melody earned her a nomination for...
as Mrs. Eubanks - Diana Decker as Drunken blonde
- Bill FraserBill Fraser-External links:* *...
as J. Montague Brown - Alberto RabagliatiAlberto RabagliatiAlberto Rabagliati was an Italian singer.- Early career:Rabagliati was born in Milan.In 1927 he moved to Hollywood as the winner of a Rudolph Valentino look-alike contest...
as Nightclub proprietor - Enzo StaiolaEnzo StaiolaEnzo Staiola is an Italian actor best known for playing, at the age of seven, the role of Bruno Ricci, the son of protagonist Antonio Ricci in Vittorio De Sica's neorealist 1948 film Bicycle Thieves...
as Busboy
Inspiration
According to Turner Classic MoviesTurner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
, Mankiewicz based the film's central character of Maria Vargas on American movie star and dancer Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars...
, who had been married to Prince Aly Khan
Prince Aly Khan
Prince Ali Solomone Aga Khan , known as Aly Khan was a son of Aga Khan III, the head of the Ismaili Muslims, and the father of Aga Khan IV. A socialite, racehorse owner and jockey, he was the third husband of actress Rita Hayworth...
. According to the audio commentary on the 1931 film Tabu
Tabu (film)
Tabu is a 1931 film directed by F.W. Murnau. The film is split into two chapters, the first called "Paradise" depicts the lives of two lovers on a South Seas island until they are forced to escape the island when the girl is chosen as a holy maid to the gods...
, she was based on Anne Chevalier, an actress in that film.
Reception
Bosley CrowtherBosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
called it a "grotesque barren film" about the "glittering and graceless behavior of the Hollywood-international set."