One of the most beautiful actresses in the history of cinema, Gina Lollobrigida, has passed away. She was from Italy but made herself an international figure in American cinema. I first saw her in John Huston's Beat the Devil (1953), an experimental, partially improvised adventure film in which she played opposite Humphrey Bogart. I was immediately impressed by her dark, voluptuous features.
She was perfectly cast alongside Yul Brenner in Solomon and Shiba. Watching her preside over an orgy in tribute to a pagan god leaves no question as to how King Solomon was seduced.
She was capable of a more straight-forward, dramatic performance, too. She's an excellent point of view character opposite Sean Connery and Ralph Richardson in the underrated 1964 film Woman of Straw.
She seemed never afraid to experiment. The strangest movie I saw her in was the Italian science fiction film Death Laid an Egg in which she conducts genetic experiments on chickens.
She later had a second career as a journalist. But burned in my memory are her curves and mysterious eyes in 1952's Fanfan la Tulipe.
Eyes like those will melt your soul. She certainly left her mark.
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