“THE BLACK ORCHID” critique by Katherine Pulzone

You don’t see star chemistry like Loren and Quinn anymore! Released in

1959, B&W – starring Sophia Loren and Anthony Quinn - Produced by Carlo Ponti. Sophia won the Venice Film Festival award for this movie. Filmed in an Italian neighborhood in New York City after WWII. (First, let me say that even though this film is in black and white, the fireworks between these two are in color. Loren puts on an apron to fry sausage and comes off belonging on the cover of a fashion magazine.) Sophia (Rose) is a young widow with a 9 year old son who just buried her husband who was murdered – he was a thief. Rose sailed from Italy to marry this young Italian who arrived in New York before her. Arriving on the “streets paved with gold”, her young husband felt he should do anything to give her the things she wanted, so he steals. The neighborhood considers her a bad influence but still stick by her in her grief. Working in a factory with other neighborhood women, she can’t control her son who gets sent to a work farm. After 4 escapes, he faces juvenile jail if he runs one more time.

Quinn’s character “Frank” is a widower living with his teenage daughter who has been the lady of the house. He falls head over heels for Rose and proposes marriage. They find out that the boy can be released from the work farm if his mother and Frank get married and move to the farm he purchased in New Jersey. The boy gets his hopes up (moving performance) – but everything crashes down on them from an unexpected source. (You’ll have to watch this movie – you can see how New Yorkers built bocce courts behind their brownstones and how these neighborhoods were one big family.)

The movie’s title “The Black Orchid” comes from Quinn’s character as seeing Sophia, always dressed in widows black, like an exotic dark flower. A perfect description for her and the movie. You can see it on Turner Classic Movies and if you have On Demand, it may pop up there for later viewing. It’s on DVD.