''The Vintage'' is a 1957 American

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

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 Jeffrey Hayden and starring Pier Angeli,

Mel Ferrer Melchor Gastón Ferrer (August 25, 1917 – June 2, 2008) was an American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He achieved prominence on Broadway before scoring notable film hits with ''Scaramouche'', '' Lili'' and ''Knights of the Roun ...

, John Kerr,

Michèle Morgan Michèle Morgan (; née Simone Renée Roussel; 29 February 1920 – 20 December 2016) was a French film actress, who was a leading lady for three decades in both French cinema and Hollywood features. She is considered to have been one of the g ...

and

Theodore Bikel Theodore Meir Bikel ( ; May 2, 1924 – July 21, 2015) was an Austrian-American actor, folk singer, musician, composer, unionist, and political activist. He appeared in films, including '' The African Queen'' (1951), ''Moulin Rouge'' (1952), ' ...

. The screenplay was written by

Michael Blankfort Michael Seymour Blankfort (December 10, 1907 – July 13, 1982) was an American screenwriter, writer of books and playwright. He served as a front for the blacklisted Albert Maltz on the Academy Award-nominated screenplay of '' Broken Arrow (1 ...

, based on a novel by Ursula Keir. The film was distributed by

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

Plot

Italian brothers Ernesto and Giancarlo Barandero are fugitives, Ernesto having accidentally killed a man. They cross the border to France and hope to find work picking grapes. While vineyard owner Louis Morel is away, wife Leonne and young sister-in-law Lucienne make the brothers feel welcome. Louis does not offer them a job, but Ernesto and Giancarlo are given temporary shelter in a shack where Louis' elderly uncle Tonton stays. They are brought food by Lucienne, whose interest makes her intended husband Etienne extremely jealous. A crew of Spanish pickers led by Eduardo Uribon are willing to let the brothers work with them. Yolande, the young daughter of Louis and Leonne, comes upon Ernesto carving a sculpture of her mother. He asks her not to mention it. The police are tipped off by Etienne to check on these two strangers, Etienne wanting the brothers to be gone. Louis decides to fire them, but Eduardo's crew have taken a liking to Ernesto and Giancarlo and refuse to work without them. Louis desperately needs this year's crop, so he concedes. A chicken thief has been active and dogs are sent out, but they attack Giancarlo, incorrectly causing Louis to accuse him of being the thief. Lucienne now loves Giancarlo and comes to his defense. When the sculpture of Leonne carved by Ernesto is found by Louis, he accuses his wife of infidelity. She slaps his face. It is revealed Uncle Tonton has been stealing the chickens, trading them to a merchant for chocolate. Giancarlo, no longer suspected, is told by Lucienne that if they marry, her dowry would be a small vineyard nearby. Ernesto realizes that Giancarlo could be happy here, so he decides to flee alone. The police arrive, however, and when young Yolande calls out his name, Ernesto is shot. Despite his sorrow, Giancarlo hopes he and Lucienne together can begin a new life.

Cast

* Pier Angeli as Lucienne *

as Giancarlo Barandero * John Kerr as Ernesto Barandero *

as Léonne Morel *

as Eduardo Uribari * Leif Erickson as Louis Morel * Jack Mullaney as Etienne Morel * Joe Verdi as Uncle Ton Ton

Music

The score for the film was composed and conducted by

David Raksin David Raksin (August 4, 1912 – August 9, 2004) was an American composer who was noted for his work in film and television. With more than 100 film scores and 300 television scores to his credit, he became known as the "Grandfather of Film Music ...

. Additional source music included guitar solos performed by actor

. Raksin's music from the film received its premiere release, in any format, on CD in 2009 on ''

Film Score Monthly ''Film Score Monthly'' is an online magazine (and former print magazine) founded by editor-in-chief and executive producer Lukas Kendall in June 1990 in music, 1990 as ''The Soundtrack Correspondence List''. It is dedicated to the art of Film sco ...

'' records.

Box office

According to MGM records the film earned $260,000 in the US and Canada and $1,020,000 elsewhere resulting in a loss of $1,072,000.

References

External links

* * * * 1957 films 1957 crime drama films Films shot in Saint-Tropez Films set in France Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films CinemaScope films Films scored by David Raksin 1950s English-language films {{1950s-crime-drama-film-stub