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The Barefoot Contessa
Yes this is another Humphrey Bogart movie, and no I am not obsessed. In this one he doesn't play as much as the strong and silent type he usually does and certainly doesn't steal the screen as much as Ava Gardner: The Contessa (countess in Italian).
The beginning of the movie follows Maria, Ava Gardner's Character, as a dancer in a nightclub in Madrid where Bogart's character, Harry Dawes, is in this posse trying to recruit a "new" face for their upcoming film. The nightclub scenes here are so perticular and are stuck in your brain even after they leave. Makes you really want to book that Spain trip. It's interesting to see all these groups of people, sitting around these circular tables, laughing and throwing back drinks waiting for the band to start.
Storytelling
Maria is not actually shown dancing until around the midpoint of the movie but basically they try vigorously to recruit her to go leave everything and vanish to Hollywood. Only Harry is able to smooth talk her into coming. This sets the conflict of the film where barking at Maria sparks this rebellious demeanor in her.
Spoiler! You learn pretty early on that she dies at the end. Its revealed during the introduction in which we later return to this funeral scene multiple times in the film. A new character begins to narrate, each one being a close man to Maria that had felt this rebellious act she portrayed. The narration leads to a scene in which the main speaking and Maria met, and ends showing how they parted ways. It starts out with Harry and ends with the man that would end up killing her. This might be the thing that stuck out the most to me in the entire movie. It was such a beautiful way of storytelling by having the funeral scene be this thing the audience keeps coming back to, each time focused on a new character, with the backdrop always being about Maria.
Suitors
There are many "suitors" that become the focal point with Maria. 2 of the them that stuck out the most was, this South American aristocrat who kind of just flexers her around at these pretentious parties and the Count of all counts, who she ends up marrying. She came to stay with Alberto the aristocrat because Kirk Edwards, the guy who produced her first film and went to Spain to find someone to star in the movie, hes a dick btw, said to her "I forbide you to go with him". "Bad time to play dictator" she ended up clapping back and then left with the Alberto. Thats all it took. So she basically left Hollywood and the movie life to go with this guy. They basically stay together for a bit but she clearly doesn't like this dude but is intrigued with his glamor. Maria's not totally just a gold digger but genuinely wants to find love as a way to protect her self, she does not with this man. I don't believe she has actually been in love before until she meets Count Vincenzo, Im going to call him CV. Maria meets CV at one of Alberto's parties and then ends up leaving with him because Alberto insults Maria, CV steps in, backhands Alberto and then steals his girl. Pretty neat guy. They end up leaving and going to Italy and get married.
This is Alberto in one of his many crashouts. (Guy in the middle with the blue and yellow)
Death
Her death is very interesting. Before this, there are a couple scenes of Maria and CV getting to know each other. We flash forward to their wedding night, were everything goes down. The climax of the film is when CV tells Maria that he got injured in WW2 and can't have any children. Maria freaks out to this news and handles it in a very peculiar way... After sharing this tender moment and rambling about how much they love each other, she ends up sleeping with the chauffeur. For what reason you may ask? In her mind, she knew that CV just wanted to have children, and because she was all twisted being the first time in love and all, it made sense to her to get pregnant with someone else for him, so they could have a family. It is kind of endearing in a twisted way. CV ends up finding out and then just shooting Maria and the chauffeur BEFORE Maria even told him about her idea. I have to say I was not expecting that twist of events.
Conclusion
This film has some real charm. Maria is such an interesting person to hear from. She clearly has trauma fueling her ambition but is also depicted as this scared person who gains confidence in stardom. She is the highlight for sure. The villains fall a bit flat and used to mainly as props for Maria and some other character. The villains in this case being all the men that try to swoon Maria. There are a couple side characters I didn't mention that I really enjoyed like Oscar, he works for Kirk Edwards, who is this sweaty fast talking stress ball with a good heart. He balances Bogie's more grounded character pretty well and I love the couple scenes they have together. Overall, this movie has some great cinematography and character design. It was most likely a very topical when it released considering the main theme is classism and how fame/wealth can have negative affects. Its a quick watch at like an hour and a half and one I definitely recommend if you want to get lost in this one of a kind world.