The Barefoot Contessa

The Barefoot Contessa
Theatrical film poster
Directed byJoseph L. Mankiewicz
Written byJoseph L. Mankiewicz
Produced byJoseph L. Mankiewicz (uncredited)
StarringHumphrey Bogart
Ava Gardner
Edmond O'Brien
Rossano Brazzi
CinematographyJack Cardiff
Edited byWilliam Hornbeck
Music byMario Nascimbene
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Figaro
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • September 29, 1954 (1954-09-29)
Running time
130 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
Italian
Spanish
Box office$3.3 million (US and Canada rentals)[1]

The Barefoot Contessa is a 1954 American drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz about the life and loves of fictional Spanish sex symbol Maria Vargas. It stars Ava Gardner, Humphrey Bogart, and Edmond O'Brien. The plot focuses on social positioning and high-powered politics within the world of film and high society.

For his performance, O'Brien won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the corresponding Golden Globe. Mankiewicz was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

The majority of the film is explained by Harry Dawes (Bogart), narrating the events, with additional sections narrated by Oscar Muldoon (O'Brien) and Count Vincenzo Torlato-Favrini (Brazzi).

  1. ^ "1954 Box Office Champs". Variety. January 5, 1955. p. 59. Retrieved July 16, 2019 – via Archive.org.