His name is flapping like a flag.
The Italian diva Gina Lollobrigida, to whom Orson Welles dedicated a portrait, died on Monday at the age of 95.
In the cinema, she embodied Esmeralda, Pauline Borghese, the Queen of Sheba... A true sex symbol, the "Lollo", as we like to call her beyond the Alps, was the planetary star of the early 1950s.
And it was her platinum rival and her friend, Marilyn Monroe, who indirectly paid her the greatest compliment: “I am the American Lollobrigida.”
In 1952, she was Adeline the fortune teller in
Fanfan la tulipe.
The film will be a triumph and Gérard Philipe taught him French.
DPA/ABACA
As in all mythologies, the future imperial Venus knew how to build her legend.
It starts in France.
In 1952, she is Adeline the fortune teller who promises an exceptional destiny to
Fanfan the tulip.
The film will be a triumph and Gérard Philipe, perhaps to thank her for having contributed to this success, taught her the language of Molière.
From this moment Gina will be able to exercise her talents on both sides of the Alps.
When Jean Delannoy entrusted her with the role of Pauline Borghèse, Napoleon's favorite sister, her delicious Italian accent contributed to the likelihood of the scenario.
Frank Sinatra and Gina Lollobrigida in
Vulture Prey
(1959).
DR
From 1952 to 1965 the "bella ragazza" will be the partner of the greatest seducers of her generation: Frank Sinatra, Sean Connery, Humphrey Bogart, Marcello Mastroianni, Yul Brynner, or even Vittorio Gassman will share the top billing with her.
But as is often the case with pretty actresses enslaved by too spectacular a physique, her cult composition is a counter-use.
Ugly, almost aged prematurely, humiliated by a Jean-Paul Belmondo, more scoundrel than ever, the Roman star considers that his role as Margherita in
Renato Castellani's
The Sea to Drink remains his most interesting achievement.
●
Fanfan la Tulipe
by Christian-Jaque in 1952, with Gérard Philipe, Gina Lollobrigida, Noël Roquevert, Jean Parédès...
●
Les Belles de nuit
by René Clair in 1952, with Gérard Philipe, Magali Vendeuil, Martine Carol, Gina Lollobrigida, Raymond Bussières...
●
Stronger than the Devil (Beat the Devil)
by John Huston in 1953, with Humphrey Bogart, Jennifer Jones, Gina Lollobrigida...
● Bread, Love and Fantasy (Pane, amore e fantasia)
by Luigi Comencini in 1953, with Vittorio De Sica, Gina Lollobrigida, Marisa Merlini...
●
La Belle Romaine (La romana)
by Luigi Zampa, based on the novel by Alberto Moravia, in 1954, with Gina Lollobrigida, Daniel Gélin, Franco Fabrizi, Raymond Pellegrin...
●
La Belle des belles (La donna più bella del mondo)
by Robert Z. Leonard in 1956 in 1955, with Gina Lollobrigida, Anne Vernon, Vittorio Gassman...
● Carol Reed's
Trapeze
in 1956, with Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Gina Lollobrigida...
●
Notre-Dame de Paris
by Jean Delannoy in 1956, screenplay by Jean Aurenche and Jacques Prévert, based on the novel by Victor Hugo, with Gina Lollobrigida, Anthony Quinn, Alain Cuny, Robert Hirsch...
●
Solomon and the Queen of Sheba (Solomon and Sheba
) by King Vidor in 1959, with Yul Brynner, Gina Lollobrigida, George Sanders...
●
Imperial Venus
by Jean Delannoy in 1962, with Gina Lollobrigida, Raymond Pellegrin, Micheline Presle, Massimo Girotti...
●
The Drinking Sea (Mare matto)
by Renato Castellani in 1963, with Jean-Paul Belmondo, Gina Lollobrigida, Tomas Milian , Noel Roquevert...