''The Love Specialist'' ( it, La Ragazza Del Palio) is an Italian-French movie filmed in 1958, and released in the U.S. in 1959 with the title ''The Love Specialist''.

Plot

Diana Dixon, a Texan girl (played by Dors), wins a

quiz show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, sh ...

jackpot, and uses her winnings (a prize in cash and a brand new

Cadillac The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...

car) for a trip to Italy. Her car breaks down near

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

where she meets Prince Piero di Montalcino (

Gassman Gassman is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Alessandro Gassman (born 1965), Italian actor * David Gassman (born 1949), American politician * Tedd Gassman (born 1943), American politician *Vittorio Gassman (1922–2000), Italian ...

), a handsome Italian nobleman. He believes that she must be rich, and she also thinks that he must be wealthy, but that's very far from the truth.
The romance reaches its climax at the traditional

Palio Palio is the name given in Italy to an annual athletic contest, very often of a historical character, pitting the neighbourhoods of a town or the hamlets of a ''comune'' against each other. Typically, they are fought in costume and commemorate som ...

horse race where, after Diana breaks up with the prince upon hearing that he bribed the jockey of the rival ''

contrada A (plural: ) is a subdivision (of various types) of Italian city, now unofficial. Depending on the case, a will be a ''località'', a ''rione'', a ''quartiere'' (''terziere'', etc.), a '' borgo'', or even a suburb. The best-known are the 1 ...

'' into throwing the race so that his horse could win, she fast-talks the rival horse's owner into letting her ride. After winning the Palio, she will accept to marry the Prince.

Cast

Diana Dors Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer. Dors came to public notice as a blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. Dors was pr ...

- Diana Dixon *

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 ...

- Piero di Montalcino *

Franca Valeri Alma Franca Maria Norsa (31 July 1920 – 9 August 2020), known professionally as Franca Valeri, was an Italian actress, playwright, screenwriter, author, and theatre director. Life and career Born in Milan as Alma Franca Maria Norsa, she manage ...

- Contessa Bernardi *

Bruce Cabot Bruce Cabot (born Étienne de Pelissier Bujac Jr.; April 20, 1904 – May 3, 1972) was an American film actor, best remembered as Jack Driscoll in ''King Kong'' (1933) and for his roles in films such as ''The Last of the Mohicans'' (1936), Fri ...

- Mike *

Teresa Pellati Teresa (also Theresa, Therese; french: Thérèse) is a feminine given name. It originates in the Iberian Peninsula in late antiquity. Its derivation is uncertain, it may be derived from Greek θερίζω (''therízō'') "to harvest or re ...

- Laura *

Tina Lattanzi Tina Lattanzi (born Annunziata Concetta Costantini; 5 December 1897 – 25 October 1997) was an Italian actress and voice actress. Biography A native of Licenza and the daughter of Ercole Costantini and Geltrude Montori, Lattanzi began her actin ...

- Madre di Piero *

Enrico Viarisio Enrico Viarisio (3 December 1897 – 1 November 1967) was an Italian theatre and cinema actor. Biography Equipped of a fine and elegant humour, Viarisio was discovered by actress Paola Pezzaglia Paolina Pezzaglia Greco (13 September 1886 &ndas ...

- Il zio di Piero *

Nando Bruno Nando Bruno (6 October 1895 – 10 April 1963) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 84 films between 1938 and 1961. He was born in Rome, Italy and he died there. Selected filmography * ''A Lady Did It'' (1938) - Un collego di Pasquale ...

- Papà ferrari *

Ronaldo Bonacchi Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, being also prevalent in Italy and Spanish-speaking countries. People Notable people known as Ronaldo include: As ...

- Tino

Production

The film was based on a novel which was published in 1957/ The film was known as ''The Girl from Palio'' or ''The Girl Who Rode the Padlio''. The casting of Dors and Gassman was announced in April 1957. Dors was one of a number of English and American stars making movies in Italy - others included

Mamie Van Doren Mamie Van Doren (born Joan Lucille Olander; February 6, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and sex symbol. She is perhaps best known for the rock 'n' roll, juvenile delinquency exploitation film ''Untamed Youth'' (1957). Early life Van Do ...

and Steve Reeves. Dors arrived in Rome in July 1957. Many of the extras for the horse race scenes were real jockeys, some of which quite known to the Sienese. One of them, Pietro De Angelis (nicknamed ''"Pietrino"''), winner of two previous

races, died of a heart attack while the movie was being filmed in August. The movie was also a springboard for the career of the sole woman jockey of the modern

horse race,

Rosanna Bonelli Rosanna may refer to: * Rosanna (given name) * "Rosanna" (song), a 1982 song by Toto * ''Rosanna'' (film), a 1953 Mexican film * Rosanna, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne ** Rosanna railway station * Rosanna, a community in the township of Norwi ...

, nicknamed ''"Diavola"'' but better known as ''"Rompicollo"'' ("breakneck") from the name of an operetta written by her father. She raced first in a mock

race staged for the shooting crew, in place of the jockey of the ''"Pantera"'' team (unbeknownst to the film production) and then as a stuntwoman for Ms. Dors in the victory scenes, riding the mare ''Gaudenzia''. That helped the girl's rise to local fame and to crown her dream to run in the real Palio race of August 16, 1957 racing for the ''"Aquila"'' team, her first and last race on

's scenic ''Piazza del Campo'', and although she didn't finish in first place like the film's heroine, she was bestowed the title of "honorary jockey" by the ''"contrada"''. Filming was completed by October. Dors and Gassman were to be reunited in ''Strange Holiday''.

Reception

''Variety'' called it "colorful, splendidly lensed." The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' called it "sheer pulp fiction".LOVE SPECIALIST, The "(La Ragazza del Palio)" Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 27, Iss. 312, (Jan 1, 1960): 39. ''Filmink'' called it "a gorgeous-looking movie, incidentally, in which Dors never appeared more beautiful on screen; there’s also a climax where she gets to win a horse race, the Palio di Siena – more of a triumphant finale than British cinema ever gave her. However, the film was little seen outside Europe."

References

External links

* *https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6bf218b4 The Love Specialist] at BFI
The Love Specialist
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of Atl ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Love Specialist, The 1958 films 1958 comedy films 1950s Italian-language films English-language Italian films English-language French films 1950s English-language films Films directed by Luigi Zampa Films set in Siena Films set in Tuscany Films scored by Renzo Rossellini 1950s multilingual films French multilingual films Italian multilingual films