Review of Woman of the River (1954) by G. A. S — 25 Sep 2011
Producer, Carlo Ponti cajoled Mario Soldati into directing Sophia Loren in "La Donna del Fiume," ("The River Girl" aka "Woman of the River") which he hoped would do for Loren what "Bitter Rice" had done for his producing partner's (Dino De Laurentiis) future wife Silvana Mangano.
A post-neorealist melodrama set among the exploited poorest of the poor in northern Italy, casts Loren as a voluptuous girl in an eel cannery who ultimately ends up cutting cane at the mouth of the Po River.
She sports ill-fitting shorts, rustic sweaters, and sun hats; although the film was not a success, it provide the press some sexy pin-ups of Loren, the title of ""Sophia the Sizzler" in the United States and give Pier Paolo Pasolini one of his first scriptwriting credits.
On the last day of shooting, Carlo Ponti visited the set and offered Sophia a ring - they were married two years later.
This review of Woman of the River (1954) was written by G. A. S on 25 Sep 2011.
Woman of the River has generally received mixed reviews.
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