The Barefoot Contessa

The Barefoot Contessa begins at the funeral of Ava Gardner, a former Spanish peasant, cabaret dancer and movie star, who at the time of her death was a full-fledged contessa. Her life story unfolds in flashback recollections from her mourners. Film director Humphrey Bogart recalls how his career was ...more

The Barefoot Contessa combines the flashback structure of Citizen Kane with an attention-grabbing variant of the standard showbiz rags-to-riches story. The film's cynical tone and shifting viewpoint is similar to writer/director Joseph L. Mankiewicz's earlier success, All About Eve. (Citizen Kane was co-written by Joseph L. Mankiewicz's brother, Herman Mankiewicz). The derivative nature of the story aside, The Barefoot Contessa is a beautiful-looking film, with cinematographer Jack Cardiff ...more