Film Forum

(1955, Daniel Mann) Tough day for still-in-mourning-after-three-years seamstress Anna Magnani: she learns her beloved husband was a cheater and that her daughter’s got a new boyfriend – and then gets into a fight with Burt Lancaster’s hunky but dim truck driver Mangiacavallo (“eats like a horse”). Best Actress Oscar for Magnani, in her first Hollywood role, written for her by Tennessee Williams. 35mm print courtesy UCLA Film and Television Archive. Approx. 117 min.

Reviews

“They say that Mr. Williams wrote the play with Miss Magnani in mind. Her performance would indicate it, for she fits the role—or it fits her—like skin… Her widow may be a slight enigma, but she—with her eyes and those hands to lend eloquence to her expression—is not hard to understand.”
– Bosley Crowther, The New York Times