On B List of Movie Reviews
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The Barefoot Contessa (1954)
Rate:
8
Viewed:
8/12
8/12:
As soap operatic as The Barefoot Contessa was, it didn't turn out to be that bad.
However, Ava Gardner was too old for the role. It would've been more sensible to give the part to Elizabeth Taylor who
was twelve years her junior. There's a tagline on the poster making a bold statement: "The World's Most Beautiful
Animal!" Eh, if I look at Ava Gardner's face in the film, she appears worn out, thanks to the heavy dose of makeup.
Meanwhile, there are times that some characters, most especially Oscar, spoke for too long. Edmond O'Brien
inexplicably won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, beating out Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, and Karl Malden
from On the Waterfront which is plain crazy. I thought he was the worst of them all who wouldn't shut the
fuck up and should've gotten a gallon bucket instead to drain his handkerchief in.
Speaking of Humphrey Bogart, if it wasn't for him, The Barefoot Contessa would've fallen apart because he's the
glue that kept it together. The fatherly relationship that his character had going with Maria Vargas is the chief reason for
sustaining my interest. If not for it, the film will have been nothing more than a simple soap opera melodrama in the vein
of Citizen Kane.
Furthermore, there are instances of weak character development. For one, how can a poor Spanish peasant speak English so
well? Why is Kirk Edwards one-dimensional? The oddest is the revelation of the count's blown-off private parts. I
thought the Hays Code was still in effect. At any rate, it's daring. By the way, check out the boy inside
the cantina at the beginning, and that's Enzo Staiola from Ladri di biciclette.
All in all, The Barefoot Contessa is a good movie, but I may notice more faults the next time I see it.