On R List of Movie Reviews
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The Rose Tattoo (1955)
Rate:
7
Viewed:
7/24
7/24:
The Rose Tattoo is pure Tennessee Williams.
Anna Magnani was actually foundering on her own during the first half. As soon as Burt Lancaster showed up, the show finally
took off, making her look better. Hence, it's a strange movie with two eccentric characters. If the script called for them to give
overdone performances, then so be it. That being said, the negative reviews pointing out this aspect are completely unwarranted.
Tennessee Williams wrote the play with Anna Magnani in mind. She didn't want to do it on Broadway because she didn't know English
well enough. So, Maureen Stapleton ended up getting the role. When Tennessee Williams sold film rights to producer Hal B. Wallis,
his condition was that Anna Magnani must star in it. The rest was history with eight Oscar nominations, winning three with one going
to Anna Magnani. I'm only surprised Burt Lancaster wasn't nominated because he never acted like that before or ever since then.
They say The Rose Tattoo takes place in Louisiana, and there are references to New Orleans. I find that preposterous.
There's nothing South about it. All I can see is Key West which is exactly where they shot the movie in. It would be better if
they went that way plus "Miami" instead of "New Orleans."
All in all, The Rose Tattoo is an uneven, quizzical movie, but it has charm.