The Barefoot Contessa

"The world's most beautiful animal!"

1954 2h 8m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 287

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A washed-up filmmaker gets a second chance at stardom when he discovers stunning peasant Maria Vargas dancing in a Madrid nightclub. Goaded by his producer, the director convinces Maria to screen test for, and then star in, his next big picture. But as the producer's possessive nature and the realities of stardom weigh on Maria, she seeks a genuine lover with whom she can escape.

“The world's most beautiful animal!”

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Cast

Humphrey Bogart
Harry Dawes
Ava Gardner
Maria Vargas
Edmond O'Brien
Oscar Muldoon
Marius Goring
Alberto Bravano
Valentina Cortese
Eleanora Torlato-Favrini
Rossano Brazzi
Count Vincenzo Torlato-Favrini
Elizabeth Sellars
Jerry
Warren Stevens
Kirk Edwards

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Writers: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Languages: Spanish, English, Italian
Countries: United States of America, Italy

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

72 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Spanish, English, Italian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United States of America, Italy.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, shot by Jack Cardiff. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Mario Nascimbene. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor William Hornbeck shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Humphrey Bogart and Ava Gardner and Edmond O'Brien carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The world's most beautiful animal!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Joseph L. Mankiewicz directs. Jack Cardiff behind the camera. Mario Nascimbene scores. William Hornbeck cuts. Produced in United States of America, Italy. Dialogue in Spanish, English, Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

172 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Spanish, English, Italian.
3International production across 2 countries: United States of America, Italy.
4Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, shot by Jack Cardiff. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Mario Nascimbene. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor William Hornbeck shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Humphrey Bogart and Ava Gardner and Edmond O'Brien carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "The world's most beautiful animal!".
9IMDB entry: tt0046754 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Released under 32 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Jack Cardiff
Original score: Mario Nascimbene
Editing: William Hornbeck
Costume design: Rosi Gori
Runtime: 128 min · 2h 8m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $6,600,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Barefoot Contessa (1954)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-01-11
★ 7/10
Occasionally narrated by Humphrey Bogart, he regales us with his story as the down on his luck Hollywood writer/director "Dawes" who alights on a tavern dancer in Madrid. "Maria Vargas" (Ava Gardner) is a woman with striking good looks and an aloofness that he immediately sees stardom in. Luckily his spoilt rich-kid backer "Edwards" (Warren Stevens) agrees to give her a screen test, but a combination of his own fecklessness and some competitive manoeuvring from "Dawes" creates quite an interest, an interest well fanned by PR man "Muldoon" (Edmond O'Brien). We know right from the start that she has died - we turn up at her funeral - and this film has something of a piece of musical vinyl to it. The first half side illustrates her rise to fame and fortune, her marriage and her death. Flip it over and we get a tale of just how she fell in love with "Count Torlato-Favrini" (Rossano Brazzi) and ultimately came a cropper. The constant being the increasing affection "Dawes" and "Vargas" share as their professional paths diverge and their friendship - entirely platonic - solidifies. Gardner could look quite cold sometimes on screen, but here she and Bogart exude a certain warmth through their characters, goaded nicely by the increasingly exasperating and brattish "Edwards" and also by the rather cruel and bullying "Bravano" - another solid effort from Marius Goring. It takes quite a swipe at the film industry - people obsessed with finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow - regardless of whether there's any gold or any rainbow, and the threads tie rather poignantly, if a little sadly, at the conclusion. It's a stylishly photographed production that looms great and showcases a strong ensemble of talent.

Production companies