Sophia Loren Archives - La fortuna di essere donna (1955)

FOREIGN TITLES & RELEASE DATES

Italy - December 30, 1955 - La fortuna di essere donna - 101'

West Germany -

April 4 1956 - Wie herrlich, eine Frau zu sein - 96'

France (Marseille) -

June 20, 1956 - La chance d'être femme - 1
USA (New York City) - 1956 - What a Woman / Mating Modern Style -

Spain - 1956 - La suerte de ser mujer - 91'


Belgian poster	Spanish poster	Italian poster	German poster

PLOT

A beautiful young woman, Antonietta, unknowingly ends up on the cover of a weekly. Her pose, which is somewhat audacious, vexes her, and she and her boyfriend decide to sue the photographer who took the photo. She soon reconsiders, however, having learned that the photographer has launched quite a few young women in show business. In reality Antonietta is attracted to the young man who is equally attracted to her, but doesn’t want to admit it, not even to himself. Thus Antonietta, to make him jealous, allows herself be courted bya count who specializes in launching ‘stars’. After a series of skirmishes, the two young people confess their feelings to one another, especially since Antonietta has come to realize the falseness of show business and the importance of true love. (Enrico Lancia)
Story and screenplay by Suso Cecchi D'Amico, Ennio Flaiano and Alessandro Contineza.

FILMING LOCATIONS

Rome (Italy)
Cinecittà, Rome (Italy)

Filming dates: September - October 1955

MAIN CAST

Sophia Loren (Antonietta Fallari)
Marcello Mastroianni (Corrado Vetti)
Charles Boyer (count Gregorio Sennetti)
Titina De Filippo (Antonietta’s mother)

CREDITS

Photography:
Otello Martelli
Costumes:
Orietta Nasalli-Rocca, Emilio Schuberth, Fontana sisters
Music:
Alessandro Cicognini
Makeup Artist:
Goffredo Rocchetti
Hair Stylist:
Maria Angelini
Still photographers:
Paul Ronald, Enzo Graffeo
Production:
Documento Films (Rome)
Le Louvre Films (Paris)

NOTES

Sophia dyes her hair nearly every other day. She begins as a brunette and ends up as a blond, with plenty of other shades in the middle. Luckily the film is in black and white, so audiences don't really notice.

La fortuna di esserer donna is the seventeenth film that Sophia has worked in during the past three years.

QUOTES AND REVIEWS

"When the girl's name is Sophia Loren we don't think Lucky to Be a Woman should be too complicated a task to achieve. Her adherence to the character she plays has given wings to Sohia's feet. And it has allowed her to give us a unusally good portrayal of that character. By abandoning those overly studied gestures, which we at times criticized, and eliminating certian exuberances that did not always serve her well, Loren has finally found her stride..."
Vittorio Ricciuti, Il Mattino, 4 feb 1956

"Unfortunately for Sophia Loren we can only repeat what has already been said: a beautiful woman but an uncertain acttress..."
Leo Pestelli, La Nuova Stampa, 4 feb 1956

"The result of the film did not meet the expectations that we, the scriptwriters, had put in our text. Sophia's beauty alleviated us."
Suso Cecchi d'Amico