Musings!

Belinda Lee is Messalina in MESSALINA (1960) 

I like this movie. Production is excellent. Cast is excellent. Cinematography is excellent, etc. The one thing that I truly find odd about it is the tone. It's almost entirely this super serious dram but halfway through there's this long scene that's straight out of slapstick. It's so jarring. This is not unusual since the director is Vittorio Cottafavi. His style is unique and often shifts gears throughout a movie. Belinda Lee is excellent in her role. It's definitely her best PEPLUM role. Belinda would die a year later in a car accident in California. There are a couple of Blu-rays out there so this is good but the movie always had nice prints.