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BarkellWH -> "The Barefoot Contessa" Showing on Turner Classic Movies Tonight (Jul. 24 2017 15:35:58)
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For those in the US with access to Turner Classic Movies, tonight (Monday) a very good film, "The Barefoot Contessa" is showing, starring Ava Gardner and Humphrey Bogart. Ava Gardner plays a dancer in a Madrid nightclub and Humphrey Bogart plays her confidante who remains her friend throughout her tumultuous life and career. As Maria Vargas (the Barefoot Contessa), Gardner becomes a famous film star, but her life ends tragically. (Bogart never seems to get the girl--witness "Casablanca.")
Actually, Ava Gardner had a strong connection with Spain. About the time "The Barefoot Contessa" came out (1954), she was having a pretty torrid love affair with the famed matador Luis Miguel Dominguin. Subsequently, in 1959, Dominguin and Antonio Ordonez were involved in a rivalry in the Corrida. Ernest Hemingway chronicled that rivalry in his book entitled "The Dangerous Summer," which still makes good reading today.
At any rate, if you are interested in a good, old-fashioned film that does not involve car crashes, explosions, or Hip Hop, but does involve Spain, deep emotions, and tragedy, "The Barefoot Contessa should fit the bill.
Bill
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