I've given her plenty of chances, but I just can't stand Anna Magnani. I've tried to make allowances because she couldn't speak English, but there are other foreign actresses who had more talent. Any role of Anna Magnani's could have been better played by Katina Paxinou, including Wild is the Wind.
In this drama, Anthony Quinn is a lonely widower. He travels to the old country and brings home his wife's sister, Anna, as his new bride. Here's the problem: if Tony had brought home some eighteen-year-old innocent girl with no knowledge of Italian culture, the movie would have made sense. But Anna is no spring chicken. She's old enough to understand relationships and basic manners. She's also Italian! She would never become overwhelmed by the Italian culture, and she certainly wouldn't be unprepared to handle Anthony Quinn. He's emotional, he's loud, he's forceful; she would know this! She wouldn't practically faint when his in-laws, Joseph Calleia and Lili Valenty, welcome her into the family and make her dinner.
There's another Tony in this movie: Mr. Franciosa. 1957 was his first year of making movies, and Hollywood sure pushed a certain image. In all four movies that year, he coveted someone else's woman. And no, I don't think that part of the story is believable either, since Anna is old enough to be young Tony's mother.
All in all, I really didn't enjoy this movie. I love Anthony Quinn, and I love seeing him give a great performance. He was nominated for both an Oscar and a Rag for this movie, but I'll probably never watch it again.
In this drama, Anthony Quinn is a lonely widower. He travels to the old country and brings home his wife's sister, Anna, as his new bride. Here's the problem: if Tony had brought home some eighteen-year-old innocent girl with no knowledge of Italian culture, the movie would have made sense. But Anna is no spring chicken. She's old enough to understand relationships and basic manners. She's also Italian! She would never become overwhelmed by the Italian culture, and she certainly wouldn't be unprepared to handle Anthony Quinn. He's emotional, he's loud, he's forceful; she would know this! She wouldn't practically faint when his in-laws, Joseph Calleia and Lili Valenty, welcome her into the family and make her dinner.
There's another Tony in this movie: Mr. Franciosa. 1957 was his first year of making movies, and Hollywood sure pushed a certain image. In all four movies that year, he coveted someone else's woman. And no, I don't think that part of the story is believable either, since Anna is old enough to be young Tony's mother.
All in all, I really didn't enjoy this movie. I love Anthony Quinn, and I love seeing him give a great performance. He was nominated for both an Oscar and a Rag for this movie, but I'll probably never watch it again.