ROSANNA SCHIAFFINO |
Fame is ephemeral, especially
for an actress known mainly for her looks. Her beauty will not last; nor will
her place in the limelight. Her work, however, might.
With the decline in repertory cinemas and the fragmentation of the television
audience, actresses whose films are released on DVD have the best chance of
being acknowledged by future generations. Actresses whose films are not issued
on DVD may be forgotten within twenty-five years.
Rosanna Schiaffino first arrived on the movie scene in the mid-1950s, and until the mid 1970s remained active in a wide variety of films in several countries. Because Rosanna was a good-looking woman with eye-catching legs, for a time her image was frequently on magazine covers and in newspapers. In the early 1960s it seemed likely that she would become as renowned and successful as her fellow Italians Sophia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida, but today her films are rarely televised and have not been released on DVD. Rosanna is slowly disappearing from the public radar.
Rosanna was born in Genoa in 1938 to a non-show business family. When she was only 14, Rosanna entered a beauty contest and won the title of “Miss Liguria”. The resulting photographs aroused the interest of movie producers. Rosanna's father objected to the idea of his still very young daughter leaving home for the flesh pots of the movie industry, but encountered strong opposition from his wife. Without her father's blessing but chaperoned by her mother and sister, Rosanna traveled to Rome for a screen test.
Her screen test was successful, and Rosanna spent the 1950s playing small parts in a variety of films in Italy and France. She also placed her photographs with as many magazines as possible, including those in English speaking countries where her very minor films were not being released. Rosanna was quite successful at this. For example, in April 1958 she was on the cover of "Picturegoer" which described her as "green-eyed, red-haired, just eighteen . . . . She looks so lush, they say, that she has to have a bodyguard and a giant mastiff to protect her from wolves. Students attempt to kidnap her; suitors pester her day and night."
Such purple prose bore little
relation to the truth. Playing small roles in humble movies did not give
Rosanna enough income
to finance three people, and to make ends meet her mother pawned her jewelry.
Rosanna later admitted it took three years of badly paid small roles before
she was able to buy the jewelry back.
Slowly Rosanna ascended into larger roles in bigger movies. In 1959 she was in "La Notte Brava", a tale of young people in an urban slum. The film was made enjoyable but implausible by the fact that all the young woman were extremely attractive. (Elsa Martinelli, Mylene Demongeot, and Antonella Lualdi were also in the cast.) Rosanna's shapely legs were enhanced by the high-heel shoes she wore in activities for which normal women would have worn flat-heeled shoes!
In the early 1960s Rosanna's career moved up several gears, in both quantity and quality. In 1961 she made five movies. In some, for example "Il Ratto delle sabine" (a.k.a. "Rape Of The Sabine Women"), Rosanna was still merely one member of a large cast, but in others she had the star role. In "Teseo Contro Il Minotauro" (a.k.a."The Minotor") Rosanna played a dual role, both the evil Princess Phaedra and Ariadne, the sacrificial virgin. These movies were released in English-speaking countries, and at last Rosanna made her international breakthrough.
The following year "Two Weeks In Another Town" began production in Rome. Rosanna was given the role of Barzelli, the temperamental movie star who is playing footsie with the director (Edward G. Robinson) to the fury of his "lawful wedded nightmare" (Claire Trevor). "Two Weeks In Another Town" was severely damaged by being edited against the spirit of the film, and it is probable that some of Rosanna's work was cut out. Certainly, one of the most famous stills from the movie, that of Rosanna and Kirk Douglas at her dressing table, is of a scene missing from the released print. Rosanna did however participate in one of the movie's highlights. Barzelli is throwing a tantrum. She storms out of her dressing room, shouting ferociously. She harangues the producer who shrugs his shoulders and suggests Barzelli should consult the director. Still ranting and raving, she strides down the set towards the director, pausing to thrust aside the cameraman who is trying to set up a shot. She screams across a giant roulette table at the director who moves away, his mind on other things. Barzelli pursues him. Still exclaiming at the top of her voice, she tears up the script and throws it in the air, then turns her back on the director and waits in haughty silence. The director turns and speaks to her quietly. The Italian assistant director explains that she cannot understand a word of English. The director ignores him and continues whispering in Barzelli's ear. He escorts her to some steps. They sit down, her face twisting with anger while the director carries on whispering. Gradually Barzelli's face becomes calm, then alive with interest. Her eyes light up with humour, possibly naughty, malicious humour. A broad, gleeful smile crosses her face. She jumps up and kisses the director . . . . . . . It is perhaps the best single scene in the movie, and Rosanna is entitled to be proud of it.
For the rest of the 1960s
Rosanna divided her career between European films and English language movies,
few of which are memorable. "The Long Ships" was, and is, universally derided,
and Rosanna was the only major talent to escape bad reviews.
She had better luck with "The Victors" where Carl Foreman's sledgehammer simplisticism was unable to crush her talent. Rosanna plays Maria, an Italian woman whose husband is missing in action and who has had a baby by someone else. American soldiers liberate the town and avail themselves of the local women. (A major theme of "The Victors" is that in liberated countries during The Second World War, all European women, without exception, gave sexual favours to American soldiers!) Maria is admired by a respectful soldier Baker (Vince Edwards) who provides her with groceries without being rewarded. Maria explains that she understand his needs, but passionately points out that they are not animals, should not behave like animals, and that it would be better if he no longer came to see her. At precisely that moment a drunken Sikh soldier (Tutte Lemkow) comes down the street. Baker shows humanity and understanding towards this soldier, persuades Maria to do likewise, and the Sikh leaves. Maria is so impressed by Baker's kindness that she reverses her attitude and agrees to gratify him! Despite the hopeless stupidity of this material, Rosanna's expressive eyes and face brought her character to life, and made the scene work.
Much of "The Victors" was shot at Shepperton Studios, on the south-west outskirts of London, and Rosanna traveled there for her scenes. This enabled her to liaise with the British press, and Rosanna gained considerable publicity. For several weeks photographs of her at London Airport - sitting on suitcases, leaning against luggage trolleys, walking up boarding steps, and generally displaying her legs - were featured in newspapers and magazines. Rosanna also became a regular magazine cover girl. Lamentably, not one of these photographs is still in circulation, but in the early and mid 1960s Rosanna was one of the stars who symbolised sex and glamour to a new generation of cinema-goers.
Rosanna was now a very busy
actress as well. Throughout this period Rosanna worked at a hectic pace, making
one film after another in a variety of countries. In
one interview, Rosanna admitted that even her wedding had been subordinated
to her crowded schedule. (The marriage had taken place on a Saturday and Rosanna
was back at work the following Monday.) She explained that she only accepted
screenplays she liked, but unfortunately she liked so many!
The succession of movies combined with her glamorous publicity photographs made Rosanna a show business icon of the time, and predictably gossip magazines took an interest in her. Romantic entanglements within her private life were invented for their readers, much to Rosanna's annoyance. Even more distasteful to her was the increase in nudity in films at the end of the 1960s. Rosanna was outspoken about this, and declared that she would in no circumstances ever appear in such scenes.
Rosanna brought her career to a sudden close in the mid 1970s, and has since disappeared from the scene. It is now difficult to see a Rosanna Schiaffino movie and, even more surprisingly, almost no photographs of her are available from mainstream purveyors of cinema memorabilia.
Rosanna's only movie freely available on DVD in English speaking countries is "The Long Ships" which is hardly her best film. "La Notte Brava" appears to have been issued on DVD in Italy, but without either subtitles or an English audio track. (One Italian website claims the DVD was struck from the original negative.) A DVD of "La Strega In Amore" (a.k.a. "The Witch In Love") is offered by some DVD traders in America but not by all, which indicates that the source and quality is questionable.
Presumably some of Rosanna's other movies like "Two Weeks In Another Town" and "The Victors" will eventually be issued on DVD. This would be a welcome development, because Rosanna's very expressive performances in those films in sharply contrasting roles suggests that she may have been a far better actress than was recognised at the time.