''The Widow'' ( it, La vedova X) is a 1955 romantic

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Lewis Milestone Lewis Milestone (born Leib Milstein (Russian: Лейб Мильштейн); September 30, 1895 – September 25, 1980) was a Moldovan-American film director. He is known for directing '' Two Arabian Knights'' (1927) and ''All Quiet on the Weste ...

and written by Milestone and Louis Stevens, based on the novel ''La Vedova'' by Susan York. The film had a theatrical release in Italy in 1955, limited release in the United States in 1957, and was released in France on 4 June 1959 under the title ''La Veuve''. This was the last Milestone film involving his own writing.

Plot

Countess Diana Gaston (

Patricia Roc Patricia Roc (born Felicia Miriam Ursula Herold; 7 June 1915 – 30 December 2003) was an English film actress, popular in the Gainsborough melodramas such as ''Madonna of the Seven Moons'' (1945) and '' The Wicked Lady'' (1945), though she only ...

) meets Vittorio Serra (

Massimo Serato Massimo Serato, born Giuseppe Segato, (31 May 1916 – 22 December 1989) was an Italian film actor with a career spanning over 40 years. Serato was born in Oderzo, Veneto, Italy and started appearing in films in 1938. He played leading roles in ...

), the grandson of Carlo Serra, a prominent businessman. Convinced that she has met the man for her, she does all she can to keep him in her life. Unfortunately, both of them are self-centered and this leads to repeated conflict. Vittorio's passion for auto racing leads to continued disagreements between him and the countess. Though remaining civil, the two separate over their disagreements even though both believe that they cannot live without the other. When Vittorio attends a party thrown by the countess, he meets Adriana (

Anna Maria Ferrero Anna Maria Ferrero (18 February 1935 – 21 May 2018) was an Italian actress. Early life and career Born Anna Maria Guerra, she changed her last name to Ferrero in honor of the composer Willy Ferrero. Her film debut came at the age of 15 in '' ...

), who immediately falls in love with him. His indecision over Adriana's attentions causes her to try to make him jealous, but he does not fall for the ploy. Vittorio then leaves on a trip to Sicily, he learns that Diana and Adriana have been corresponding and the jealousy does arise. Even though he loves the countess more, Vittorio asks Adriana to marry him. She refuses. When Diana learns of his proposal, she throws a tantrum and breaks objects precious to Vittirio, objects which she knows he superstitiously depends upon for luck. Vittrio then learns that out of spite, Adriana has married Bonelli ( Leonardo Botta), his friend and fellow auto racer. About to compete against Bonneli in a race, and distraught at the news of the marriage, Vittorio removes his lucky bracelet. Diana has a premonition of bad fortune just before she learns the news that Vittorio has died in a racing crash.

Cast

as Countess Diana Gaston *

as Vittorio Serra *

as Adriana * Leonardo Botta as Leonardo Botta * Akim Tamiroff as Uncle Carlo Serra

Background

Lewis Milestone was affected by blacklisting during the 1950s and found it difficult to find work. He and his wife went to Paris to wait out the " red scare". While working abroad, Lewis Milestone and Diana Vedova directed ''La Vedova X'' as a joint British-Italian production. This film followed upon his work in England on '' Melba'' in 1953 and ''

They Who Dare ''They Who Dare'' is a 1954 British Second World War war film directed by Lewis Milestone and starring Dirk Bogarde, Denholm Elliott and Akim Tamiroff. The story is based on Operation Anglo that took place during World War II in the Dodecanese ...

'' in 1954. This marked the last Milestone film involving his own writing. When he returned to the United States, he had to "scrape by" directing episodes for

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

such as '' Alfred Hitchcock Presents'', ''

Schlitz Playhouse ''Schlitz Playhouse of Stars'' is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both Television comedy, comedies and Dramatic programming, drama, the series was sponsored by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The ti ...

'', ''

Suspicion Suspicion is a feeling of mistrust. Suspicion(s), The Suspicion, or Suspicious may also refer to: Film and television Film * ''Suspicion'' (1918 film), an American silent film directed by John M. Stahl * ''Suspicion'' (1941 film), an American ...

'', and ''

Have Gun – Will Travel ''Have Gun – Will Travel'' is an American Western series that was produced and originally broadcast by CBS on both television and radio from 1957 through 1963. The television version of the series starring Richard Boone was rated number t ...

'', before directing '' Pork Chop Hill'' in 1959.

Reception

''Cinematografo'' wrote that the plot was unoriginal and uninteresting, and that Lewis Milestone's connection with the film was not enough to overcome its many flaws.

Release notes

While

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

shows the film release year as being 1959, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' , ''

Rovi TiVo Corporation, formerly known as the Rovi Corporation and Macrovision Solutions Corporation, was an American technology company. Headquartered in San Jose, California, the company is primarily involved in licensing its intellectual property ...

'',

The British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

and the 1987 book "''World Film Directors: 1890–1945''" show the release year as 1955. While 1954 is shown as a release date in the Joseph R. Millichap book "''Lewis Milestone''", news reports in June 1954 spoke toward Milestone "about to direct" or "currently producing and directing" the film under its working title of ''The Black Widow'', and the British Film Institute was writing in 1954 "Lewis Milestone is to start work soon on The Black Widow, with Patricia Roc..." 1954 appears to mark the beginning of production, with 1955 as the correct release year of the film in Italy, a U.S. release in 1957, and 1959 as reported on IMDb coinciding with the film's later French release.

References

External links

* *
The Widow
at

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Widow, The 1955 films 1955 romantic drama films Films about widowhood Films directed by Lewis Milestone Films scored by Mario Nascimbene Films set in Italy Films shot in Italy French auto racing films French black-and-white films 1950s French-language films French romantic drama films Italian auto racing films Italian black-and-white films 1950s Italian-language films Italian romantic drama films 1950s Italian films 1950s French films