Sophia Loren Archives - Chronicles 1958

"Any man who has suffered in his life could become a good actor; of course, he should also have a minimum of sensibility." – Sophia Loren

Opening Gala
Cannes Film Festival

Person to Person
Hollywood

The Black Orchid
Movie Still
Photo: Allan Grant

Keenan Wynn's Birthday
New York City

That Kind of Woman
Movie Still
Photo: Paul Hesse

Swiss Getaway
Bürgenstock

Yves Montand Concert
Théatre de L'Étoile, Paris
Photo: Giancolombo

La Croisette
Cannes Film Festival
Photo: Traverso

Champ de Mars
Paris

The Key
Off Stage

Criterion Restaurant
London

Sophia & her mother
Hollywood

Swiss Getaway
Bürgenstock

Opening Gala
Cannes Film Festival
Photo: Traverso

That Kind of Woman
Off Stage

Carlton Hotel
Cannes
Photo: Francis J. Grandy

Paramount Party

Hollywood

Candid at Market
Paris
Photo: Luc Fournol

Karl Braun Cameras
German advertisement

Photo Session
Venice Film Festival
Photo: Graziano Arici

Crescendo Club
Hollywood

French Riviera Holidays
Saint-Tropez
Photo: Louis Dalmas

Vie Parisienne
Palais Royal, Paris
Photo: Marcel Thomas

FILMS AND FILMING

The Black Orchid

USA, January - April

The Key
UK, April

Additional scenes with a different ending sequence for the US version.

That Kind of Woman
USA, June - August

FILM PROJECTS

Blaze of the Sun
Film based on a Jean Hougron book which was to be produced by Brecht-Lancaster. Newspapers report in April that Sophia signed the contract but the film is never made.

The Girl and the Suitcase
Film to co-star Sophia and Anthony Quinn after the Ponti-Loren couple and Quinn agreed on the production of the film as well as another called A Miraculous Fish.

Captive
Twentieth Century-Fox purchases the rights to a book written by Mildred and Gordon Gorden with filming scheduled to start in June. Sophia is cast to play a school teacher.

North by Northwest
The Hitchcock film is not a film offered to Sophia but Cary Grant does spend a lot of energy lobbying the master of suspense to cast Sophia as mysterious, dangerous Eve Kendall eventually played by Eva Marie Saint.

MOVIE PREMIERES

USA
Desire under the Elms
New York City (Odeon &Sutton), March 12
Attila
New York City (Palace), May 17 (Attila)
The Key
New York City (Odeon & Fine Arts), July 1
Houseboat
New York City (Capitol), November 13

ITALY
Legend of the Lost
March (Timbuctù)
The Black Orchid
Venice Film Festival - September 4 (Orchidea nera)
The Key
Rome (Excelsior) - September 30 (La chiave)

WEST GERMANY
Legend of the Lost
April (Stadt der Verlorenen)
The Key
September 23 (Der Schlüssel)

FRANCE
Desire under the Elms
Cannes Film Festival, May (Désir sous les ormes)
Legend of the Lost
Paris, July 2 (La cité disparue)
The Key
Paris, October 1 (La clé)

UNITED KINGDOM
Legend of the Lost
London, March 2
The Key
London, May 28

SPAIN
Pellegrini d'amore
Madrid roxy August 18 (Embajador del amor)
The Pride and the Passion
Madrid avenida September 29 (Orgullo y pasión)

BELGIUM
The Key
Brussels, June (La clé / De Sleutel)

AWARDS AND ACCOLADES

UN High Commission for Refugees (USA)
Special Award, Odeon Theater, New York City, July 1
The award is for the success Sophia has found after having had her childhood adversely affected by World War 2.

Venice Film Festival (Italy)
Volpi Cup for Best Actress, The Black Orchid, September 7

MAGAZINE COVERS

Italy
Candido, Cine Tipo, I Cineromanzi del Settimo Cielo, Epoca, Festival, Gente, Noi Donne, Novella, Novella Film, Oggi, Le Ore, Rotosei, La Settimana a Roma, La Settimana Incom Illustrata, Settimo Giorno, Tempo, Vie Nuove, Visto
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West Germany
Berliner Illustrierte, Bunte Illustrierte, Film Journal, Münchner Illustrierte, Neue Illustrierte, Quick, Der Stern, Weltbild
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France
Bonnes Soirées, Ciné-Révélation, Cinémonde, Elle, Festival, Le Film Complet, Les Folies de Paris et de Hollywood, France Dimanche, Jours de France, Lectures d'Aujourd'hui, Noir et Blanc, Paris Frou-Frou, Paris Match, Point de Vue, Radar, Radio Télévision Cinéma, Télé Magazine

Spain
Cine Mundo, Colección Idolos del Cine, Diez Minutos, Fotogramas, Gaceta Ilustrada, El Gráfico, Guía Semanal de Madrid Espectáculos, Hola, Picnic
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UK
Films and Filming, Picture Show, Picturegoer, Pix, 66, Top Spot
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USA
Cosmopolitan, Film Quarterly, Men's Digest, The National Police Gazette, Picture Sunday Magazine, Silver Screen, Star Weekly, True Strange
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Latin America
Carnaval, Cinevisión, Confidencias, Ecran, Estampo. Mundo Ilustrado, Mundo Uruguayo, Paquita, Radiolandia, Revista da Semana

ENDORSEMENTS

Lux

Braun Cameras
Sophia lends her name to the innovative German maker of box cameras at the time the novelty product becomes more and more popular.

Rodenstock Glasses
Publicity campaign for German manufacturer of lenses and frames.

PUBLIC APPEARANCES

Crescendo Club - January 29
Recently arrived in Hollywood, Sophia, an all-time jazz lover, attends with actor Kirk Douglas a Johnny Mathis concert at the famous Crescendo Club.

Thank-you Buffet Supper - March 18
Paramount Pictures tosses a party to celebrate year of US movie making for Sophia. The party, attended by many Hollywood celebrities and news reporters, is on the Paramount Studio lot in a sound stage. Sophia is also presented a diploma as an official wine tester by the California Wine Association.

Academy Awards - March 26
Wearing a sheath dress designed by Edith Head, Sophia makes her first appearance at the Academy Awards where she presents the Best Director Oscar to David Lean for The Bridge on the River Kwai. As she is strolling on stage to present the award, it looks momentarily that she is going to pull a Jayne Mansfield as one of the shoulder straps of her gown comes loose. While she adjusts it, she thanks the Academy members for the "recognition you've given Italian artists."

Cannes Film Festival - May 2
First public appearance of Sophia since the proxy wedding as she attends the Cannes Film Festival for the third time. Paramount sets up a press conference so that Sophia can answer questions to the mob of journalists and photographers with the condition that they leave her and Ponti alone for the balance of her visit. When a reporter calls her a sexpot, Sophia's poor command of English makes her say, "I am a sexy pot, yes". When Sophia finds out that her film Desire under the Elms will be screened during the day and not in the evening, furious, she leaves the Festival before schedule. Gina Lollobrigida also attends the Festival but the two rivals don't meet this time. Festival dates: May 2 through May 18.

London Premiere of The Key - May 28
Sophia and William Holden attend the London premiere of The Key at the Odeon in the presence of Princess Margaret who attends the screening and meets the two actors.

International Film Festival of Brussels - May 30
Sophia is introduced to king Beaudoin on opening night of the festival at the Heysel Palace as The Key has its Belgian premiere at the Brussels' World Fair.

Visit to Cinecittà -
Sophia leaves her Mercedes behind and goes to the Cinecittà Studios in Rome using the same tramway she would ride when she was not a star.

American Premiere of The Key - July 1
Sophia attends the American premiere of The Key at the Odeon Theater in New York City, where she also receives a recognition award from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

Venice Film Festival - September
On September 3, Sophia arrives in Venice after flying to Treviso on a private Vickers Viscount plane, rented by Ponti, for her express visit to the Venice Film Festival at the cost of $15,000. She then takes a motoscafo en route to the Lido dressed in an elegant Dior cyclamen tailleur with an ample Barthet hat of the same color. In the evening, at the screening of Black Orchid, she arrives late and wears a white satin dress. Many members of the audience remain outside the theater until she arrives, joining the crowd of almost 5,000 which shout, "Welcome back, Sophia." Beautiful pictures from photo sessions with Italian photographer Graziano Arici and French photographer Manuel Litran. Festival dates: August 24 through September 7.

Vie Mondaine - Paris
After settling down in Paris with Carlo Sophia now has an active participation in Parisian vie mondaine. She attends several concerts and events, including:
Yves Montand Concert
Théâtre de l'Étoile, October 6
Montand is a rising star as a singer and an actor and will two years later star opposite Marilyn Monroe in Let's Make Love directed by George Cukor.
La Vie Parisienne Operetta
Palais Royal Theater, November
Sophia meets backstage comedians Madeleine Renaud and Suzy Delair
Vu du Pont / A View from the Bridge
Théâtre Antoine, November
Sophia meets up with actor Raf Vallone again as she goes backstage to congratulate him for his performance in the play. Vallone and Sophia played in La donna del fiume and Il segno di Venere and will share the screen again in 1960 with La Ciociara.

SONGS & LP'S

Bing! Bang! Bong! (Columbia)
(Livingston, Evans - Frank De Vol & His Orchestra)

Almost in Your Arms (Columbia)
(Livingston, Evans - Frank De Vol & His Orchestra)
Oscar nomination for Best Song in 1959

TV SHOWS

People Are Funny - January 11
Short appearance of Sophia on the set of The Key in London on NBC show hosted by Art Linkletter.

Person to Person - March 21
Interview from Sophia's home in Hollywood with Edward. R. Murrow on CBS network.

Tonight - May 29
Interview on BBC's Tonight show with Cliff Michelmore.

Cinépanorama - May 8
Guest appearance on French TV show with host François Chalais

Toast of the Town - June 15
Snapshots of Sophia from Brussels World's Fair with TV host Ed Sullivan.

What's My Line - June 29
Mystery guest on American CBS network show with panellist Bennett Cerf and Dick Clark.

EDITOR'S NOTES

Bel-Air Hills - January

Sophia and Carlo fly to Los Angeles on January 19 for the making of The Black Orchid and move in a rented house in the Bel-Air hills along with their usual entourage of helpmates.

Elvis Encounter - February
Sophia runs into Elvis Presley, who is filming King Creole at the time, at the Paramount cafeteria. Photographer Bob Willoughby happens to be there and takes pictures of those unique moments.

First Trip to Vega - February
Weekend getaway to Las Vegas with Carlo, Marcello Girosi and his wife at the end of February.

Sophia's Tips on a Slimming Diet - March
American newspapers begin to publish, on a weekly basis, a series of menus for a slimming diet Sophia advocates as a result of her own experience.

Swiss Citizenship Denied - March
Sophia's application for Swiss citizenship is turned down because she has not been residing in the country ten years. Sophia's offer to pay the taxes she would have been subject to had she been a resident for that period was also rejected. Sophia and Carlo are welcome to Bürgenstock anytime but they cannot become for now Swiss citizens.

Bürgenstock - April
Sophia and Carlo fly to Europe on April 12 for the shooting of The Key's final scenes in London. Then they take a vacation break in Bürgenstock, where they rent Audrey Hepburn's a super luxurious resort complex high up in the Alps overlooking Lake Lucerne.

Maria Also Wants to Be a Star - May
Maria, Sophia's sister, is taking singing lessions in Rome and has been seen dating Romano Mussolini, a young jazz musician who is also the youngest son of the Italian dictator. The relationship is made public after they were photographed together at the Rome Jazz Festival. A wedding announcement is published in August. Maria was told by Frank Sinatra the previous year that she had a wonderful voice.

Vidor-Loren Affair - May
While in Cannes Charles Vidor and Sophia are dancing together when the director asks the actress what she thinks of his bed. She answers "It is the most wonderful bed I have ever slept in". The conversation is overheard and there is a rumor that the two have an affair. The suspense does not last long when reporters find out that Sophia is only renting Vidor's villa in Beverly Hills.

The Vikings Premiere - June 11
Sophia joins actor-producer Kirk Douglas at the opening of his film The Vikings, which is simultaneously held at the Astor and Victoria theaters, in New York City.

Trip to Los Angeles - August 15
Sophia flies from New York to Los Angeles for fittings and talks with George Cukor about Heller in Pink Tights before taking off for Europe with Carlo.

French Riviera Holidays - August
Sophia flies from New York to Paris on August 24 and spends a week with Carlo on the French Riviera, near Saint-Tropez, at the Castel Sainte-Thérèse, before going to the Venice Film Festival on September 3. Upon her arrival on the French Rivera Sophia is asked if she plans to meet her French counterpart, Brigitte Bardot, at the Festival, but her answer is that she has never heard of the name before. Ines Bruscia is hired as Sophia's personal secretary during their stay.

A New Home in Paris - October
Exiled from Italy, Sophia and Carlo settle in Paris in a beautiful apartment on rue Rivoli before returning to Hollywood to film Heller in Pink Tights in January.

Goodbye Party - December 11
Goodbye party in Paris with many guests, including Yves Montand, Simone Signoret, Kirk Douglas, Gérard Oury, before Sophia and Carlo fly to Los Angeles on December 21 where they spend Christmas at the Beverly Hills rented home.