Rating: 
Summary: it has Bogie, what more does a movie need?
Review: ...O.K., so it's a tad soapy, a bit too glitzy and a shade or two over the top but it has Bogie, the flawless Ava and a stunning, Oscar winning turn by Edmund O'Brien...what more could anyone ask for?
Rating: 
Summary: Probably the worst of Bogart's later films
Review: Ava has matured a lot ~ Show ~. She is fantastic in this picture. More dancing would be expected. Very good work with Bogard that did not get along with her,during the filming. He did not acceped that Ava was much more popular than him at that point of his career. All the cast were superb.
Rating:
Summary: Ava,allways Ava
Review: Ava has matured a lot ~ Show ~. She is fantastic in this picture. More dancing would be expected. Very good work with Bogard that did not get along with her,during the filming. He did not acceped that Ava was much more popular than him at that point of his career. All the cast were superb.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Movie
Review: For Bogart and Ava Gardner fans this is an interesting movie. After the opening scene in the spanish cafe one wonders if this will be an undiscoverd Bogart gem. Is this another Casablanca? In retrospect, this scene was the movie high point - still it is an interesting movie.
Bogart worked with a number of famous ladies such as Bergman and Hepburn in some of his best movies, all with great success. In watching this movie one wonders if that performance will be repeated here. But it is not. Gardner is good but her part has a certain air of mystery and somehow she fails to connect with the viewer. Gardner has a very expressive face and a few close ups would have helped. Bogart is excellent and plays the familiar role of screen writer as he does in his earlier film In A Lonely Place, and acts as a mentor to Gardner so we see touches of the Bogart fatherly character as in the Left Hand of God.
But some of the other supporting actors fail to support. Oscar Muldoon played by Edmeund O'Brien seems like a distraction and not much more. Gardner's husband (in the movie) played by Rossano Brezzi is flat as is the Kirk Edwards character.
So the general impression is that Bogart acts well but Gardner is not properly utilized nor well directed, and the other characters fall short. It is not in the same league as say Africa Queen where we see two powerful and mutually supporting actors Bogart-Hepburn.
It is a shame because this movie could have been much better. Anyone who has seen On The Beach knows that Gardner can act - she is not just a pretty face and her liveliness and energy is lost in the present film. Not every Bogart film can be great even with Gardner, still it rates 4 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Soothing.
Review: Gardner is less hokey than in turkeys like Night of the Iguana. Even if you haven't seen the movie, you've seen it all before. But it's entertaining and soothing old Hollywood.
Rating:
Summary: Probably the worst of Bogart's later films
Review: Humphrey Bogart sleep walks through the role of the fatherly Hollywood movie writer/director who guides the career of Spanish dancer Maria Vargas from obscurity to international stardom. Most of this film is spent establishing that Maria, a major star after three films, has not sold out to Hollywood, lost her values, or forgotten where she came from. That's all that happens. Finally, she meets the prince she has saved herself for, but he tells her of his war injury on their wedding night. Maria hangs around anyhow, has an affair, and then there's the tragic ending. Great story, isn't it? The acting is marginal, there is no humor, the dialogue is contrived, nothing much happens, and Ava Gardner cannot dance. Humphrey Bogart had reasonably good judgment in choosing his later 50's roles, but he blew it on this one.
Rating: 
Summary: a gas
Review: I saw this movie in 1954 at the theater, and remember the audience howling with laughter AT Ava Gardner's acting. I would give this movie a --1.
Rating:
Summary: Intriguing...
Review: I usually don't like movies that end like this one, however, I didn't take my eyes off this movie. The writing was amazing, the acting first-class, and the story is still an original. Don't miss this one.
Rating:
Summary: What kinda answer is that against a 10 million dollar gross?
Review: I'd not heard anything about this Bogart film before; as such, I wasn't expecting much. What a mistaken assumption! What a wonderful though tragic film! It's fairly rare to see a film with an intelligent script and believable characters; the Barefoot Contessa has both. Ava Gardner is beautiful, classy, and self-assured; she has high expectations for life and is not willing to settle for less. Humphrey Bogart does well as the character we might expect: a wise and worldly director/writer--the tough guy with a heart who befriends Gardner--the woman every man wishes he could have. Edmond O'Brien is brilliant as the PR flack to two men who can buy anything--except Maria Vargas (Ava Gardner). O'Brien is the crass American, always running his mouth, always looking at the money angle. This film takes some broad swipes against big money and high society while retaining faith in big dreams. It has some of the most true-to-life dialogue I've heard in a long time. It is an unsung treasure.
Rating:
Summary: Rich Tones and a Sad Tale
Review: In the film, "The Barefoot Contessa," Humphrey Bogart indeed is a cynic from the very start. He niether likes his role of being a paid screenwriter on the payroll of a very moody boss and his talkative associate (Edmond O'Brien), nor does he enjoy exploiting himself. Ava Gardner as Maria is a very grounded dancer in Madrid, who cannot make up her mind between wanting stardom or wanting the simple life in her hometown. She is torn from the very start and feels she never quite belongs to the Hollywood scene. Nevertheless, all the men, except Bogart and O'Brien, are after her beauty and want a piece of her fragile being, only to end up a fatal end to her short life. The story is rather complex and if you don't pay attention to each word, you may get lost with what exactly is happening. Each word the player says is meant completely, and the film is dependent on each charactors wordplay. The actor Edmond O'Brien, for instance, uses this method effectively and grabs every scene from the film that he's in. He was fantastic in it and probably was the most humble of the characters. He really deserved his Best Supporting Actor Academy award for 1954. Ava Gardner, sorry to say it, was merely a ploy throughout the film to pretty much show the masterful direction of Mankanviez (sp?). She was marvelous, though, and completely made the film the success as it stands today. People watch it because of her screen presence, not to examine Bogart's duantless growl or O'Brien's snappy chit-chat; it's Gardner's presence and appeal that really brought the film into status. Overall, if you get the DVD, the clarity is remarkable and you can really notice how well Gardner spoke, see every grimace of Bogart's usual snarl and hunched back, and see some wonderful panoramic views that only Technicolor could produce. This is worth the buy; for the story and script.
|
