La strada

1954 Italy Black/White 104 Minutes

Richard Basehart Anthony QuinnGiulietta Masina

Review

Anthony QuinnItinerant carnival strongman Zampanò (Anthony Quinn) buys the weak-minded Gelsomina (Giulietta Masina) from her mother, even though an older sister left with him before and died. Zampanò makes a living by drawing a crowd to a square, expanding his chest to break a chain, and then passing the hat. He's an animal but Gelsomina has an odd compassion for the brute and sees this life as having purpose.

Giulietta Masina Eventually, the pair join a tiny circus and she develops a friendship with Il Matto, The Fool (Richard Basehart), a weird tightwire walker. Matto gets on Zampanò's enemy list for two reasons-cruelly mocking Zampanò's strongman act at the circus and mesmerizing Gelsomina. His jealousy results in a confrontation between himself and the Fool and ends in tragedy.

Cast

Federico Fellini

Links and more

Listen to: Here is Zampano (Small mp3 file, 14kb) Here is Zampano
Listen to: I thought so (Small mp3 file, 18kb) I thought so
Listen to: She don’t work with this bum (Small mp3 file, 39kb) She don’t work with this bum
Listen to: Telephone for Zampano (Small mp3 file, 32kb) Telephone for Zampano
Listen to: Your’e ugly (Small mp3 file, 13kb) You're ugly
Federico Fellini's Cinema
Fellini's Magic-Neo-Realism

 

Anthony Quinn + Aldo Silvani

Trivia

Release date: September 6, 1954

Academy awards:
The very first Oscar for Best Foreign Film.

The film was hailed by the Catholic church as “A parable of charity, love, grace and salvation”

La Strada means the road


Bio

Anthony Quinn

Anthony Quinn
I never get the girl, I wind up with a country instead.

Remarkable:

In 1993 Quinn was dubbed The mighty Quinn when, at the age of 78, he fathered his 11th child.

Born:

April 21, 1915

Born as:

Antonio Rudolfo Oaxaca Quinn

Died:

June 3, 2001

Anthony was born in Chihuahua, Mexico of Irish-Mexican parentage. In the U.S. from childhood, Quinn had a variety of jobs: prizefighter, painter, musician and he was considering to be an architect.

He entered films in 1936 after brief stage experience. Anthony played supporting parts through the 40s, usually as a foreign heavy or indian.

His first lead role came in 1947 in Black Gold. That same year Quinn went to New York City and made his Broadway debut. Then Elia Kazan offered Quinn the role of Stanley Kowalski in Streetcar Named Desire for two years on tour.

Returning to Hollywood, Quinn won an Oscar for Viva Zapata! (1952). His career picked up following his Oscar win; he began playing leading parts in films that emphasized his brute masculinity. Several of these were filmed in Europe, the most notable of which was La Strada (1954).

Back in the U.S.A. Quinn's went on to roles in memorable motion pictures like Lust for Life (1956), The Guns of Navarone (1961), Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and Zorba the Greek (1964). The 1970s saw the beginning of a decline in acting for Quinn, but he became a successful artist and sculptor.

Academy awards:

1965 Nominated Actor for: Alexis Zorbas (1964)
1958 Nominated Actor for: Wild Is the Wind (1957)
1957 Won Oscar Best Actor for: Lust for Life (1956)
1953 Won Oscar Best Actor for: Viva Zapata! (1952)

Selected Movies:

Books:

Anthony Quinn -> The Original Sin (1972)
Anthony Quinn -> One Man Tango (1995)