crime film
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
directed by
Luigi Comencini
Luigi Comencini (; 8 June 1916 – 6 April 2007) ''The Guardian'' was an Italian
. It stars
Eleonora Rossi Drago
Eleonora Rossi Drago, born Palmira Omiccioli, (23 September 1925 – 2 December 2007) was an Italian film actress. She was born in Quinto al Mare, Genoa, Italy, and had the leading role in ''Le amiche''. She appeared in ''Un maledetto imbro ...
,
Marc Lawrence
Marc Lawrence (born Max Goldsmith; February 17, 1910 – November 28, 2005) was an American character actor who specialized in underworld types. He has also been credited as F. A. Foss, Marc Laurence and Marc C. Lawrence.
Early life
Lawrence w ...
,
Ettore Manni
Ettore Manni (6 May 1927 – 27 July 1979) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1952 and 1979.
Life and career
Born in Rome, Manni debuted as an actor in 1952, when in spite of his acting inexperience he wa ...
,
Tamara Lees
Tamara Lees (14 December 1924 – 22 December 1999), born as, Diana Helena Tamara Mapplebeck was an Austrian-born English film actress. She appeared in 48 films between 1947 and 1961.
Selected filmography
* ''While the Sun Shines'' (1947)
...
,
Barbara Florian
Barbara Florian (born 1931) is a retired Swedish film actress known for her work in Italian cinema.Small p.129
Selected filmography
* ''The Devil in the Convent'' (1950)
* '' Carcerato'' (1951)
* '' Rome-Paris-Rome'' (1951)
* '' Red Moon'' (1951) ...
,
Silvana Pampanini
Silvana Pampanini (25 September 1925 – 6 January 2016) was an Italian film actress, director and singer. She was also the niece of the well-known soprano of the golden era of opera, Dame Rosetta Pampanini. Silvana Pampanini caused a sensation ...
, and
Vittorio Gassman
Vittorio Gassman (; born Gassmann; 1 September 1922 – 29 June 2000), popularly known as , was an Italian actor, director and screenwriter.
He is considered one of the greatest Italian actors, whose career includes both important productions ...
.
In 1954, the film was released in the United States as ''Girls Marked Danger''. For its American release, the film was dubbed in English.
Plot
A man invites Italian women to become
cabaret dancer
''Cabaret Dancer'' is a 1986 Cinema of India, Indian Malayalam language, Malayalam film, directed by N. Sankaran Nair and produced by S. Kumar. The film stars Anuradha (actress), Anuradha, M. G. Soman, Santhosh (actor), Santhosh and Sathaar in ...
s in South America, but he is actually forcing them into sexual slavery.
Cast
Production
Sophia Loren
Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress. She was named by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest female stars of Classical Hollywood ci ...
had a small role in the film as a fainting dancer in a marathon. Despite her minor role, Loren appeared in advertisements for the film's release in the United States. The only well-known American member of the cast was
Marc Lawrence
Marc Lawrence (born Max Goldsmith; February 17, 1910 – November 28, 2005) was an American character actor who specialized in underworld types. He has also been credited as F. A. Foss, Marc Laurence and Marc C. Lawrence.
Early life
Lawrence w ...
, who had moved to Rome from Hollywood after being called before the
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...
, but many of the Italian cast were also already known to Americans. The film was dubbed into English for its U.S. release.
Reception
George Burke, of the ''
Miami Herald
The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a List of communities in Miami-Dade County, Florida, city in western Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the M ...
'', said, "It is possible that ''Girls Marked Danger'' had some merit before it was dubbed with English dialogue that is not always in the mood or movement of the action".
In 1959,
Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...
had the Catholic Church's
National Legion of Decency
The National Legion of Decency, also known as the Catholic Legion of Decency, was a Catholic group founded in 1934 by Archbishop of Cincinnati, John T. McNicholas, as an organization dedicated to identifying objectionable content in motion pictu ...
classify films for the Association of Catholic Motion Picture Theater Operators of Italy's anniversary. Catholics were not supposed to watch those classified as morally objectionable. The article for ''Girls Marked Danger'' stated: "Objection: The theme of this picture employs throughout material morally unsuitable for entertainment motion picture theaters. Moreover, in treatment, it contains offensive and suggestive sequences." The National Legion of Decency is now known as the National Catholic Office for Motion Pictures.
Advertising material for the film's theatrical release is held at the
Harry Ransom Center
The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pur ...
at the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
within its Hoblitzelle Interstate Theatre Circuit Advertising Collection.