The Rose Tattoo (1955)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Daniel Mann

Writers:

Tennessee Williams (play)
Hal Kanter (adaptation)
(more)

Release Date:

1956 (West Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Her blood boiled with desire...raged with jealous fury!

Plot:

An Italian-American neighborhood in Louisiana is disturbed when truck driver Rosario Delle Rose is killed by police while smuggling...

Plot Keywords:

Widow | Italian American | Louisiana | Daughter | Truck Driver

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Anna Magnani	...	Serafina Delle Rose
Burt Lancaster	...	Alvaro Mangiacavallo
Marisa Pavan	...	Rosa Delle Rose
Ben Cooper	...	Seaman Jack Hunter
Virginia Grey	...	Estelle Hohengarten
Jo Van Fleet	...	Bessie
Sandro Giglio	...	Father De Leo
Mimi Aguglia	...	Assunta
Florence Sundstrom	...	Flora
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Albert Atkins	...	Mario (uncredited)
Don Bachardy	...	Passenger in Back Seat of Car (uncredited)
Larry Chance	...	Rosario Delle Rose (uncredited)
Lewis Charles	...	Taxi driver (uncredited)
Roger Gunderson	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Jean Hart	...	Violetta (uncredited)
George Humbert	...	Pop Mangiacavallo (uncredited)
Dorrit Kelton	...	Schoolteacher (uncredited)
May Lee	...	Mamma Shigura, tattoo artist (uncredited)
Augusta Merighi	...	Giuseppina (uncredited)
Natalie Murray	...	Townswoman (uncredited)
Virgil Osborne	...	Taxi driver (uncredited)
Margherita Pasquero	...	Grandma Mangiacavallo (uncredited)
Rosa Rey	...	Mariella (uncredited)
Rossana San Marco	...	Peppina (uncredited)
Georgia Simmons	...	The Strega (uncredited)
Zolya Talma	...	Miss Mangiacavallo, Alvaro's sister (uncredited)
Fred Taylor	...	Grocery cashier (uncredited)
Roland Vildo	...	Salvatore (uncredited)
Hal B. Wallis	...	Man at Mardi Gras Club (uncredited)
Tennessee Williams	...	Man at Mardi Gras Club (uncredited)

Directed by
Daniel Mann

Writing credits
Tennessee Williams		(play)
Hal Kanter		(adaptation)
Tennessee Williams		(screenplay)

Produced by
Hal B. Wallis	....	producer

Original Music by
Alex North

Cinematography by
James Wong Howe

Film Editing by
Warren Low

Art Direction by
Tambi Larsen
Hal Pereira

Set Decoration by
Sam Comer
Arthur Krams

Costume Design by
Edith Head

Makeup Department
Wally Westmore	....	makeup supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Richard McWhorter	....	assistant director

Art Department
Gene Lauritzen	....	construction coordinator (uncredited)

Sound Department
Gene Garvin	....	sound recordist
Harold Lewis	....	sound recordist
Carl Mahakian	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Bill Wistrom	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
John P. Fulton	....	special photographic effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Farciot Edouart	....	process photographer

Music Department
Alex North	....	musical director

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1955) (USA) (theatrical)
• Paramount Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount (1956) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Paramount (1956) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1973) (USA) (TV)

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Norway:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:16 (w) | USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

Key West, Florida Keys, Florida, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

This was Magnani's first English-speaking role in a Hollywood film. She was very nervous about her English, and her heavy accent during filming, and in fact had turned down the role in the stage version earlier for the same reason. Magnani's performance was widely applauded and she walked home with the Oscar for Best Actress as a result.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Padri e figli (1957)

Soundtrack:

OUT OF NOWHERE (YOU CAME ALONG)

worth watching for the outstanding acting of Magnani

I recommend this film solely to witness Magnani's performance, which was an utterly beautiful piece of acting, indeed. Although I did not feel pulled into the plot very much, I did sympathize with Magnani's character because she played her part with such heart. I must admit that I was disappointed by Lancaster's overacting, and the minor actors also were not at all impressive. Also, I do not feel inspired to read the play itself because I don't think that reading it could compare to watching Magnani's riveting performance through which Magnani's soul itself seems to bleed.

Although I cannot think of another film with such an engaging actress, the beginning tone and ambiance of this film reminded me of other Tennessee Williams works. The atmosphere is open, naked, and almost frightening; Williams's plays always introduce characters that are very human--weak, lonely, unsettled--and deeply passionate. He doesn't take care to hide the frightening and desperate side of people even though we may not want to see that. He makes no exception in this piece, and this sense of humanity is most effectively portrayed through Magnani.