The love affair between a man of faith and a scarlet woman is told in this compelling drama starring Ava Gardner and Dirk Bogarde, set during the Spanish Civil War. Disillusioned by the church's empty piety, Father Arturo Carrera (Bogarde) forsakes his vows only to find himself a wanted man, hunted by the Loyalists. Thought to know the location of a holy relic that could help them win the war, Arturo is hidden by Soledad (Gardner), a prostitute with whom he falls in love. Learning she's been arrested, but will be freed in exchange for the relic, Arturo is forced to decide where his loyalties lie, with Soledad or the church. Also starring Joseph Cotten and Vittorio De Sica, The Angel Wore Red was written and directed by Nunnally Johnson, an Oscar -nominated screenwriter whose scripts include How to Marry a Millionaire, The Woman in the Window, The Grapes of Wrath and The Dirty Dozen.
D**E
The box office was red, too
According to Dirk Bogarde's memoirs, he was an emergency replacement for Montgomery Clift and Clift may have been the lucky one. As handsome as Giuseppe Rotunno's photography and Nunnally Johnson's direction are, neither they nor the combined talents of Ava Gardner and Bogarde are enough to lift Johnson's anti-Communist/wannabe-inspirational script out of its own fulsomeness. As Bogarde recollects it, Johnson started out filming in the deglamorized style of Roberto Rossellini and Vittorio DeSica (and DeSica has a meaty supporting role here) but MGM blew a gasket after seeing the rushes and ordered four weeks' worth of material re-shot. Out went Gardner's torn stockings and in came the Sidney Guilaroff hairdos. Gardner and Bogarde were poleaxed but they finished the film like professionals. Also along for the ride, as a one-eyed foreign correspondent, is Joseph Cotten, in a role that contains a nod to "Citizen Kane." ("What do you want me to do? Invent a war?") The B&W cinematography has a gray haze that I don't recall from Turner Classic Movies airings but that's a small consideration in a DVD that is mainly for Bogarde and Gardner fans rather than the average cinephile.
W**N
unwritten and undirected
the script is too badly written for the talent to make a believable sense for us to care. it is difficult to not care for the talent of ava gardner, dirk bogart, joseph cotton, etc. but the director managed
C**N
The characters come alive on the screen. Actors deliver powerful, heartwarming performances.
Loved everything about the movie. Ava Gardner took my breath away. I watch this movie every time I get a chance. Thank you.
F**Á
Five Stars
beautiful Ava Gadner
C**E
One star
A great disappointment.
J**A
The Angel Wore Red: A stillborn victim of hollywood Stupidity
Obviously, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Just think a minute, those of you who castigate this film and its direction. Let's place the blame where it belongs, on the "Hollywood Suits," as they call the big shot executives who really control how a film will appear in its final version. Johnson, Gardener, and Borgarde all made an emotional and artistic commitment to this film at its inception. This is obvious to anyone with even a touch of cinematic sensitivity when viewing the film. The underappreciated Ava Gardner, Dirk Bogarde, and director Johnson were forced to reshoot many of the scenes, which made Gardner livid. The powers-that-be insisted that she come across as a Hollywood sexpot, rather than as the earthy prostitute who clearly experiences a spiritual epiphany after falling in love with the disillusioned priest character played by Bogarde. The film portrays souls in crisis, not your typical Hollywood garbage depending on sexually provocative women and shallow men to create the usual clichés
P**L
Even with this script Ava triumphs.
I love Ava Gardner, but this pro Fascist film has to be fast forwarded whenever the sympathies of the screenplay writer invade it.Ava is great as is Bogarde..beauty overcomes this beast of a script.
L**R
Rare movie
Rare Dirk Bogarde and Ava Gardner movie. Loved it. Never made box office success but I found it a good watch.
F**N
Five Stars
Enjoyed very much
C**N
a me mi piace
Drammone di allora ma di ottima qualita, cast stellare,il solo ruolo di de sica vale l acquisto. Preparate i fazzolettini per le lacrime....
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