''Wild is the Wind'' is a 1957 film directed by

George Cukor George Dewey Cukor (; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO when David O. Selznick, the studio's Head ...

and starring

Anna Magnani Anna Maria Magnani (; 7 March 1908 – 26 September 1973) was an Italian actress.Obituary ''Variety'', 3 October 1973, pg. 47 She was known for her explosive acting and earthy, realistic portrayals of characters. Born in Rome, she worked her ...

Anthony Quinn Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001), known professionally as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican-American actor. He was known for his portrayal of earthy, passionate characters "marked by a brutal and elemental v ...

, and Anthony Franciosa. It tells the story of an American rancher who, after his wife dies, goes to Italy to marry her sister, but finds that she falls in love with his young ranch hand. The screenplay was adapted by Arnold Schulman from the 1947 Italian film '' Fury'', which was in turn loosely based on

Giovanni Verga Giovanni Carmelo Verga di Fontanabianca (; 2 September 1840 – 27 January 1922) was an Italian realist ('' verista'') writer, best known for his depictions of life in his native Sicily, especially the short story and later play ''Cavalleria ...

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) fact ...

'' La Lupa''. The title song, " Wild Is the Wind", was performed by

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

. The Italian title was 'Selvaggio è il vento', literal translation of the original English.

Plot

Gino (Anthony Quinn) is a sheepherder in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

who travels to Italy to marry Gioia (Anna Magnani), the sister of his wife, who died a number of years previously. He brings her back to his ranch, but struggles with the memory of his dead wife, even calling Gioia by his last wife's name. With Gino feeling disappointed with her, Gioia feels neglected and resentful that she is constantly being compared with her late sister and found wanting. She turns outside of her marriage to fulfill her needs and has an affair with Bene (Anthony Franciosa), a ranch hand whom Gino raised from boyhood and considers as almost a son. Only then does Gino realize how much he needs Gioia; he pleads with her to stay at the ranch instead of returning to Italy.

Cast

as Gioia *

as Gino * Anthony Franciosa as Bene * Joseph Calleia as Alberto * Dolores Hart as Angela/Angie * Lili Valenty as Teresa * James Flavin as Wool Buyer * Dick Ryan as Priest * Iphigenie Castiglioni as Party Guest * Joseph Vitale as Party Guest * Ruth Lee as Party Guest * Frances Morris as Party Guest

Release

The film was the official American entry at the

8th Berlin International Film Festival The 8th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 27 June to 8 July 1958 with the Zoo Palast as the main venue. The festival was opened by then West Berlin's newly elected mayor Willy Brandt. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Swed ...

Awards and nominations

References

External links