Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Photo of the Day

Leo Genn and Marina Berti are doomed lovers in QUO VADIS

The two had more chemistry than the Robert Taylor/Deborah Kerr pairing.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I always throught that Marina was just as beautiful as (if not more beautiful than) her Italian contemporaries such as Sophia Loren. Unfortunately Marina wasn't as buxom as Sophia, Gina L. et al., and (after all) the fifties WAS a period of mammary-madness. It's a wonder that Audrey Hepburn survived that decade, as slim as she was ! Kerr's Quo Vadis character was written as a stuffy British aristocrat. Either that, or that's how she chose to act the part. I read that Clark Gable (wisely) turned down Taylor's role, mocking the idea of having to show his legs in a "skirt and a brush on a hat".

PEPLUM cinema said...

Well, if Clark said that he doesn't sound too bright because you need to wear a "skirt and a brush on a hat" when playing a Roman soldier.

Marina was eclipsed by Sophia and Gina because 1) she was already advanced in age: when she made Quo Vadis she was nearly 30 while Sophia was 18 or 19 around that time. 2) Marina's first film was in 1941 and her career peaked with QV 3) she wasn't as busty and 4) her accent was much more pronounced than Sophia's or Gina's. It's a shame because she was really beautiful. Oh well...

Homask said...

You seriously think Sophia Loren became one of the greatest film actresses of all time and eclipsed all her contemporaries because she has/had big tits?

Anyway, thank you for giving Mr. Genn and Ms. Berti their righteous due in this overblown and horribly directed film. Though I don't know if any director could have filled the void known as Robert Taylor. Cheers.

PEPLUM cinema said...

Well, if you ask anyone about Sophia and what's the first thing that comes to mind? Go to Sophia's imdb forum and what do they talk about? 38c-24-38.

She's a great actress but her breasts were used to good advantage all the time. I watched Madame Sans Gene recently and her bosom was the focus of the entire film. Let's just say her ample physical attributes didn't hurt her, as one can see with the hundreds and hundreds of cheesecake photos on the internet.

http://jpcatavento.wordpress.com/2010/11/04/233/

Homask said...

I concede I'm in the minority when I think 'actress' before 'headlights'... Cheers!