''The Visit'' is a 1964 French, Italian, German and American

international co-production A co-production is a joint venture between two or more different production companies for the purpose of film production, television production, video game development, and so on. In the case of an international co-production, production companie ...

film distributed by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

. It was directed by

Bernhard Wicki Bernhard Wicki (28 October 1919 – 5 January 2000) was an Austrian actor and film director. Life and career Wicki studied in the city of Breslau such topics as art history, history and German literature. In 1938, he transferred to the d ...

and produced by

Darryl F. Zanuck Darryl Francis Zanuck (September 5, 1902December 22, 1979) was an American film producer and studio executive; he earlier contributed stories for films starting in the silent era. He played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of ...

and Julien Derode. The film's stars Ingrid Bergman and

Anthony Quinn Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001), known professionally as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican-American actor. He was known for his portrayal of earthy, passionate characters "marked by a brutal and elemental v ...

also served as coproducers. The screenplay was written by Ben Barzman and adapted by

Maurice Valency Maurice Valency (22 March 1903 – 28 September 1996) was a playwright, author, critic, and popular professor of Comparative Literature at Columbia University, best known for his award-winning adaptations of plays by Jean Giraudoux and Friedric ...

based on

Friedrich Dürrenmatt Friedrich Dürrenmatt (; 5 January 1921 – 14 December 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant-g ...

's 1956 play '' Der Besuch der alten Dame'' (literally, ''The Visit of the Old Lady''). At the film's end, protagonist Serge Miller's life is spared, but in the original play, the character (named Alfred Ill) is killed. Along with Bergman and Quinn, the cast includes Irina Demick,

Paolo Stoppa Paolo Stoppa Knight Grand Cross (6 June 1906 – 1 May 1988) was an Italian actor. Biography Born in Rome, he began as a stage actor in 1927 in the theater in Rome and began acting in films in 1932. As a stage actor, his most celebrated ...

Hans Christian Blech Hans Christian Blech (20 February 19155 March 1993) was a German film, stage and television character actor who found success in both Germany and Hollywood. He made his English film debut in the 1951 picture ''Decision Before Dawn''. In this a ...

Romolo Valli Romolo Valli (7 February 1925 – 1 February 1980) was an Italian actor. Valli was born in Reggio Emilia. He was one of the best known Italian actors from the 1950s to his death. He worked for both the stage and the silver screen. Among the ...

Valentina Cortese Valentina Cortese (1 January 1923 – 10 July 2019) was an Italian actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in François Truffaut's ''Day for Night'' (1973). Personal life Cortese was born ...

, Claude Dauphin and

Eduardo Ciannelli Eduardo Ciannelli (30 August 1888 – 8 October 1969), was an Italian baritone and character actor with a long career in American films, mostly playing gangsters and criminals. He was sometimes credited as Edward Ciannelli. Early life Ciannelli ...

. Bergman and Quinn would later costar again in the 1970 romantic melodrama ''

A Walk in the Spring Rain ''A Walk in the Spring Rain'' is a 1970 American romantic drama film in Eastmancolor made by Columbia Pictures, directed by Guy Green and produced by Stirling Silliphant, from his own screenplay based on the novel by Rachel Maddux. Outside loca ...

''.

Plot

Karla Zachanassian, a fabulously wealthy woman, returns to a decaying village that she had been forced to desert years earlier in disgrace. She bore a child by Serge Miller, who denied paternity. The purpose of Karla's visit is to arrange a deal with the town's inhabitants: in exchange for a vast sum of money, she wants Miller killed. At first reluctant, the townspeople eventually accept the arrangement and Miller is condemned to death. At the last moment, Karla stops the execution and tells the citizens that they will have to live with the guilt of their murderous choice for the rest of their lives, while Miller will have to live with the knowledge that his friends and neighbors were willing to kill him for money.

Cast

* Ingrid Bergman as Karla Zachannassian *

as Serge Miller * Irina Demick as Anya * Claude Dauphin as Bardick *

as Doctor *

as Town Painter *

as Mathilda Miller *

as Innkeeper * Jacques Dufilho as Fisch *

Leonard Steckel Leonard Steckel (18 January 1901 – 9 February 1971) was a German-JewishSiegbert Salomon Prawer, ''Between Two Worlds: The Jewish Presence in German and Austrian Film, 1910-1933'', Berghahn Books (2007), p. 213 actor and director of stage and scr ...

as Priest * Ernst Schröder as Mayor *

Fausto Tozzi Fausto Tozzi (29 October 1921 – 10 December 1978) was an Italian film actor and screenwriter. He appeared in 70 films between 1951 and 1978. He wrote the script for ''The Defeated Victor'', which was entered into the 9th Berlin Internation ...

as Darvis *

as Captain Dobrik *

Lelio Luttazzi Lelio Luttazzi (27 April 1923 – 8 July 2010) was an Italian composer, musician, actor, singer, conductor, writer, and television and radio presenter. Born in Trieste, Luttazzi began playing the piano at Radio Trieste and composing his first s ...

as First Idler *

Marco Guglielmi Marco Guglielmi (6 October 1926 – 28 December 2005) was an Italian actor, screenwriter and author. Life and career Born Augusto Guglielmi in Sanremo, he graduated from ragioneria, then he enrolled at the university in the faculty of economi ...

as Chesco *

Renzo Palmer Renzo Palmer (20 December 1929 – 4 June 1988) was an Italian film, television and stage actor. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1957 and 1988. Life and career Born in Milan as Lorenzo Bigatti, Palmer was the adopted son of the ...

as Conductor *

Dante Maggio Dante Maggio (2 March 1909 – 3 March 1992) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 115 films between 1940 and 1975. Born in Naples into a family of actors, Maggio had a turbulent adolescence that led his father to send him in an institu ...

as Cadek * Richard Münch as Teacher

Reception

According to Fox records, the film needed to earn $6,100,000 in film rentals to break even but earned only $2,635,000, losing money for the studio.

Awards

* Bernhard Wicki was nominated for the

Golden Palm The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

at the

1964 Cannes Film Festival The 17th Cannes Film Festival was held from 29 April to 14 May 1964. On this occasion, the Palme d’Or was renamed "Grand Prix du Festival International du Film", a name that remained in use through 1974, after which it became the Palme d'Or ag ...

. * The film received a nomination for Best Costume Design-Black and White ( René Hubert) at the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

References

External links