Review of The Rose Tattoo (1955) by Carl S — 02 May 2009

I have seen three movies now with Anna Magnani---an Italian one, Open City, a French one, The Golden Coach, and this one, an American film. This one struck me as her best. She cries and she laughs and plays the emotional Sicilian to the hilt, baffling and frustrating everyone around her, most especially her daughter.

Then three years after her "saint" of a husband has died and on the day that she finds out about his long standing affair with another woman, she meets her soul mate, Burt Lancaster. He too is an emotional Sicilian---he cries when she cries, he laughs when she laughs---and he brings her out of her three year long grief and depression.

I have seen Burt Lancaster in several movies, but I have never seen him in such a funny, side-splitting role. They made an great combination, and I am gald I finally got to see these performances.