by Stephen Vagg
Claudia Cardinale became a star relatively quickly via an incredible run of classic European movies – Big Deal on Madonna Street, Rocco and His Brothers, The Girl with the Suitcase, 8 ½, etc. Being so beautiful, talented and famous, it was only natural that Hollywood would come calling. She never fully gave in to the lure of the City of Angels, but big studio money did help produce some of her most entertaining and interesting films. Here’s a top ten.
- The Leopard (1963)
An Italian movie but made with a solid dollop of Hollywood finance (from 20th Century Fox) and a big Hollywood star (Burt Lancaster). Both came about due to the international success of Luchino Visconti’s Roccho and His Brothers (1960), which also starred Claudia Cardinale. The Leopard is a sweeping, sumptuous epic made with an incredible amount of love, which many think is the best film of all time – the Italian version, that is, not the American one, which was re-edited by Fox. You may not really care for the characters, but Cardinale never looked better. She and Visconti would reunite again on Sandra (1965) (with Michael Craig, randomly) and Conversation Piece (1974) (with Lancaster again, less randomly).
- The Pink Panther (1964)
Cardinale’s first English language movie was a comedy – the smug British farce Upstairs and Downstairs (1959) in which she had a small role. She had a far bigger part in The Pink Panther, playing the princess who owns the title jewel. Cardinale doesn’t get to join in on the farcical fun enjoyed by David Niven, Capucine, Robert Wagner and Peter Sellers, but she looks terrific and has a long flirtation scene with David Niven (who is too old for her, but gets away with it by virtue of being David Niven). Cardinale reprised her role in Son of the Panther.
- Circus World (1964)
Cardinale was unusually cast as the adoptive daughter of John Wayne in this Samuel Bronston big top epic, which like many of Bronston’s films had a huge budget, was shot in Spain, featured several big stars (John Wayne, Rita Hayworth), had a completely chaotic schedule and a script that was constantly rewritten in a way that shows up on screen. Cardinale’s love interest in the movie was meant to be Australia’s own Rod Taylor, who flew to Spain, became concerned that his part was being whittled away, and quit the movie prior to the start of filming and had to be hurriedly replaced by John Smith from TV’s Laramie. Quitting the movie did not seem to damage Taylor’s career or friendship with Wayne – Circus World was a flop, although there are terrific sequences.
- Blindfold (1966)/The Hell with Heroes (1968)
We’re grouping these two movies together because they were both made by Universal and have that medium budget blandness that crippled many films from that studio during the Lew Wasserman era. Both feel like programmers designed with one eye on a television sale and Cardinale supporting an American lead. Blindfold was her first movie shot in Hollywood itself – a dull thriller with Rock Hudson based on a novel by Lucille Fletcher (Sorry Wrong Number). The film helped kill off the directorial career of Philip Dunne and Hudson’s reign as a box office powerhouse. Still, Cardinale has some first-rate outfits and the two make a nice team (she had chemistry with most of her co-stars): and they reunited on A Fine Pair (1969) for National General.
The Hell with Heroes is an adventure tale set in North Africa with Rod Taylor, who did the movie under an old commitment he had with Universal. It’s also cheap and bland, although the movie has its fans and Rod and Cardinale have sizzling chemistry.
- The Lost Command (1966)
A rare Hollywood movie to look at the Algerian War, this was almost completely overshadowed by The Battle of Algiers, which came out around the same time. However, The Lost Command is of interest, with Anthony Quinn leading a troupe of legionnaires that includes Alain Delon and George Segal in blackface. Cardinale plays an Algerian who romances Delon.
- The Professionals (1966)
Cardinale often played a smurfette in her movies i.e. the only woman in an all-male environment – this is an excellent example. It’s a Pancho Villa era Western with Cardinale as a rich man’s daughter who is abducted by bandit Jack Palance; Lee Marvin leads a team to go get her. One of director Richard Brooks’ most popular films.
- Don’t Make Waves (1967)
The last feature directed by cult figure Alexander Mackendrick (Whiskey Galore, Sweet Smell of Success), this is a spoof of Southern California beach culture with Cardinale as a manic pixie dream girl falling for Tony Curtis. The movie is best remembered for giving a solid role to Sharon Tate. As a film, it’s a mess, although there’s always something happening and it is bright and silly. You can see why it didn’t make money, but you can also see why it was always on TV.
- Once Upon a Time in the West (1969)
The huge success of Sergion Leone’s first three spaghetti Westerns with Clint Eastwood led to Paramount offering the director a large budget and the services of Henry Fonda for this film. We’ve read that Cardinale was cast in part to have the film qualify for a tax break – but she was never used more effectively or was more beautiful. She has the best female role in a Leone movie, not that that’s saying much. The movie was notoriously cut by Paramount for its North American release.
Incidentally Cardinale later made a Western with Brigitte Bardot, The Legend of French King which had a Hollywood name (Michael J Pollard). She suited the genre, it’s a shame she didn’t make more.
- The Adventures of Gerard (1970)
Little remembered swashbuckler based on a series of stories by Arthur Conan Doyle about a Napoleonic officer (played by Peter McEnery who did not become a star as a result), financed by United Artists. It was directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, a top Polish filmmaker and occasional collaborator, who was capable of great work (Deep End) but was perhaps out of his element in this big budget tale. The Doyle stories were an inspiration for George MacDonald Fraser’s Flashman novels and the failure of the film presumably contributed to United Artists pulling the plug on the proposed film version that Richard Lester was going to make of Flashman at UA with John Alderton.
Interestingly, around this time Cardinale appeared in another historical epic made by an auteur who was perhaps out of his element with a big budget – The Red Tent from Mikhail Kalatozov, co-starring Australia’s own Peter Finch.
- Escape to Athena (1978)
One of Lew Grade’s all-star action-adventure movies from the late ‘70s, this is a frustrating watch – it’s got great things inside it struggling to get out, but is too flabby. Cardinale is wasted.
Claudia Cardinale was correct to base herself in Italy for the bulk of her career – that country gave her far more decent roles than Hollywood would have if she’d moved there. But it’s got to be said, Hollywood didn’t do too badly by Claudia Cardinale.
