The Contessa's Secret | |
---|---|
Directed by | Georges Combret |
Produced by | Claude Boissol Georges Combret Leonardo Magagnini Pierre Maudru |
Starring | Yvonne De Carlo Georges Marchal |
Cinematography | Pierre Petit |
Music by | Paul Durand |
Distributed by | Taurus Film Radius Productions |
Release date |
|
Countries | France Italy |
Language | French |
The Contessa's Secret (French : La Castiglione, Italian : La Contessa di Castiglione) is a 1954 French-Italian film starring Yvonne De Carlo as Virginia Oldoini, Countess of Castiglione.
This article needs a plot summary.(September 2015) |
De Carlo signed on for the film in late December 1953. The film was to be shot entirely in French with no English version, which no Hollywood star had done before. It was originally called Castiglione and Raf Vallone and Georges Marchall were meant to co-star. [1]
Filming had to be brought forward earlier than planned so De Carlo could make a film with Cornel Wilde. [2]
The film was shot in France in March 1954. De Carlo did not enjoy working for the producers . "I was very much put out when they gave me a stand in for a French dialogue coach," she said. "I thought I deserved better than that, particularly as I studied day and night to perfect myself in the reading of the lines. That was only one of numerous irksome things which not only I but other people had to put up with in that French production." [3]
She later claimed the film was the first time a Hollywood actress did the lead in a film for which there was no English language version. "It was a distinction that made me feel proud." [4]
Gail Russell was an American film and television actress.
María África Gracia Vidal, known professionally as Maria Montez, was a Dominican actress who gained fame and popularity in the 1940s starring in a series of filmed-in-Technicolor costume adventure films. Her screen image was that of a seductress, dressed in fanciful costumes and sparkling jewels. She became so identified with these adventure epics that she became known as The Queen of Technicolor. Over her career, Montez appeared in 26 films, 21 of which were made in North America, with the last five being made in Europe.
Margaret Yvonne Middleton, known professionally as Yvonne De Carlo, was a Canadian-American actress, dancer and singer. She became a Hollywood film star in the 1940s and 1950s, made several recordings, and later acted on television and stage.
Bella Darvi was a Polish film actress and stage performer who was active in France and the United States.
Magic Fire is a 1955 American biographical film about the life of composer Richard Wagner, released by Republic Pictures.
The Master of Ballantrae is a 1953 British Technicolor adventure film starring Errol Flynn and Roger Livesey. It is a loose and highly truncated adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson 1889 novel of the same name. In eighteenth century Scotland, two sons of a laird clash over the family estate and a lady. It was the last film directed by William Keighley.
Hotel Sahara is a 1951 British war comedy film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Yvonne De Carlo, Peter Ustinov and David Tomlinson. It was produced and co-written by George Hambley Brown.
Sea Devils is a 1953 colour British–American historical adventure film, directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Rock Hudson, Yvonne De Carlo, and Maxwell Reed. The story is based on Victor Hugo's novel Toilers of the Sea which was the working title of the film. The scenes at sea were shot around the Channel Islands, and much of the rest of the film was shot on location in those islands as well.
Happy Ever after is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Mario Zampi and starring David Niven, Yvonne De Carlo, Barry Fitzgerald and George Cole. Its plot concerns the accidental death of an Irish landowner who bequeaths his estate to his cousin. It was released in the United States under the title Tonight's the Night.
Swordsman of Siena is a 1962 French-Italian adventure film directed by Étienne Périer and Baccio Bandini and starring Stewart Granger, Sylva Koscina and Christine Kaufmann. The film is set in Spanish-controlled Italy during the sixteenth century.
Timbuktu is a 1959 American black-and-white adventure film directed by Jacques Tourneur and starring Victor Mature and Yvonne De Carlo. It is set in Timbuktu (Africa), but was filmed in the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park in Kanab, Utah.
Duel in the Jungle is a 1954 British adventure film combining the detective film with the jungle adventure genres directed by George Marshall and starring Dana Andrews, Jeanne Crain and David Farrar. It was shot at the Elstree Studios near London and on location in Southern Africa. The film's sets were designed by the art director Terence Verity. It was produced by Associated British in conjunction with Marcel Hellman. It was released in the United States by Warner Bros.
The Countess of Castiglione is a 1942 Italian historical film directed by Flavio Calzavara and starring Doris Duranti, Andrea Checchi and Renato Cialente. The film portrays the life of the nineteenth-century Italian aristocrat Virginia Oldoini, Countess of Castiglione, best known as the lover of Napoleon III of France.
Virginia Oldoini Rapallini, Countess of Castiglione, better known as La Castiglione, was an Italian aristocrat who achieved notoriety as a mistress of Emperor Napoleon III of France. She was also a significant figure in the early history of photography.
Sombrero is a 1953 American musical romance film directed by Norman Foster and starring Ricardo Montalbán, Pier Angeli, Vittorio Gassman and Cyd Charisse. The film is based on the 1945 book Mexican Village by Josefina Niggli, a collection of 11 short stories set in the north Mexican town of Hidalgo. In his long review for the October 16, 1945 issue of The New York Times, Orville Prescott calls it "remarkable...one of the finest books about Mexico I have ever read.”
Pirates of Monterey is a 1947 American Technicolor western adventure film directed by Alfred L. Werker and starring Maria Montez, Rod Cameron and Gilbert Roland. It was the last film Montez made for Universal Pictures.
Gypsy Wildcat is a 1944 Technicolor adventure film directed by Roy William Neil starring Maria Montez, Jon Hall and Peter Coe. It was co-written by James M. Cain.
Passion is a 1954 American Western film directed by Allan Dwan and written by Howard Estabrook, Beatrice A. Dresher and Joseph Lejtes. The film stars Cornel Wilde, Yvonne De Carlo, Raymond Burr, Lon Chaney Jr., Rodolfo Acosta and John Qualen. The film was released on October 6, 1954, by RKO Pictures.
Raw Edge is a 1956 American Technicolor western film directed by John Sherwood starring Rory Calhoun, Yvonne De Carlo and Mara Corday. It was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. It marked the movie debut of John Gavin under the name "John Gilmore".
Slave Girl is a 1947 American Technicolor adventure comedy film directed by Charles Lamont and starring Yvonne De Carlo and George Brent.