''The Lady Without Camelias'' ( it, La signora senza camelie) is a 1953 Italian black-and-white

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 Michelangelo Antonioni and starring

Lucia Bosé Lucia may refer to: Arts and culture * ''Lucía'', a 1968 Cuban film by Humberto Solás * ''Lucia'' (film), a 2013 Kannada-language film * '' Lucia & The Best Boys'', a Scottish indie rock band formerly known as ''LUCIA'' * "Lucia", a Swedish c ...

Gino Cervi Luigi Cervi (3 May 1901 – 3 January 1974), better known as Gino Cervi (), was an Italian actor. He was best known for portraying Peppone in a series of comedies based on the character ''Don Camillo'' (1952-1965), and police detective Jules ...

, and

Andrea Checchi Andrea Checchi (21 October 1916 – 29 March 1974) was a prolific Italian film actor. Biography Born in Florence, Checchi appeared in over 150 films in his lengthy career, which spanned from 1934 to his death in 1974. The son of a painter, ...

. Based on a story by Antonioni, the film is about a new starlet who is discovered and her experiences in Italian films. The film has been called "Antonioni's most unjustly neglected fiction feature." Filmed on location in Rome and Venice, ''The Lady Without Camelias'' was released on 27 February 1953 in Italy.

Plot

A young shop assistant named Clara Manni (

) is selected by movie executive Gianni (

) for his new film, ''Woman without Destiny''. When test screenings reveal that the public is enamoured with Clara, but less enthusiastic about the film itself, producer Ercole (

) sees an opportunity to take advantage of his actress' shapely presence and spice the film up a bit, with less attention to detail and more overt displays of passion. Clara becomes compromised when she marries Gianni, who becomes jealous over the provocative marketing for her film, and categorically states that he doesn't want her involved with it anymore. She reluctantly agrees, and after requesting a more serious vehicle for her, they set about on a new version of the daunting trial of Joan of Arc, with Gianni in the director's chair. The film is panned when premiered at the Venice Film Festival, and with both their reputations in tatters, Clara is forced to evaluate their marriage and the career that she has embarked upon.

Cast

as Clara Manni *

as Ercole *

as Gianni Franchi * Ivan Desny as Nardo Rusconi * Monica Clay as Simonetta * Alain Cuny as Lodi *

Gisella Sofio Gisella Sofio (19 February 1931 – 27 January 2017) was an Italian actress. Life and career Born in Milan, Sofio started her career at the age of 16 as a model. In 1951 she began her acting career in Mario Mattoli's film '' Accidents to the ...

as Simonetta's Friend *

Anna Carena Anna Carena (30 January 1899 - 15 April 1990) was an Italian actress. She appeared in more than thirty films from 1941 to 1983. Filmography References External links * 1899 births 1990 deaths Italian film actresses {{Italy-fi ...

as Clara's mother *

Enrico Glori Enrico is both an Italian masculine given name and a surname, Enrico means homeowner, or king, derived from ''Heinrich'' of Germanic origin. It is also a given name in Ladino. Equivalents in other languages are Henry (English), Henri ( French), ...

as Director

Production

The film's sets were designed by the art director

Gianni Polidori Gianni Polidori (1923–1992) was an Italian art director. He designed the sets for several films by Michelangelo Antonioni.Chatman p.266-67 Selected filmography * '' Bellissima'' (1951) * '' Honeymoon Deferred'' (1951) * ''The Overcoat'' (1952 ...

. It was made at the

Cinecittà Studios Cinecittà Studios (; Italian for Cinema City Studios), is a large film studio in Rome, Italy. With an area of 400,000 square metres (99 acres), it is the largest film studio in Europe, and is considered the hub of Italian cinema. The studios we ...

, which also appear as a setting in the film. ;Filming locations *

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Lazio, Italy *

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

, Veneto, Italy

Release

The movie was released on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

on 21 March 2011 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

References

External links

*(24 March 1981)
ANTONIONI'S 'LADY'
''

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 ...

''. 1953 films Italian black-and-white films 1950s Italian-language films 1953 drama films Films set in Rome Films directed by Michelangelo Antonioni Films with screenplays by Suso Cecchi d'Amico Films scored by Giovanni Fusco Films shot at Cinecittà Studios Films shot in Venice Films set in Venice Italian drama films 1950s Italian films {{1950s-Italy-film-stub