MISS SADIE THOMPSON
T. it.: Pioggia. Sc.: Harry Kleiner, dalla commedia «Rain» e dal racconto «Miss Thompson» di Somerset Maugham. F.: Charles W. Lawton, Jr. Mu.: George Duning, diretta da Morris W. Stoloff. M.: Viola Lawrence. Scgf.: Carl Anderson. Su.: George Cooper. Ass.R.: Sam Nelson. Cast: Rita Hayworth (Sadie Thompson), Jose Ferrer (Reverendo Alfred Davidson), Aldo Ray (Sergente Phil O’Hara), Russell Collins (dr. Robert MacPhail), Diosa Costello (Ameena Horn), Harry Bellaver (Joe Horn). Prod.: Columbia; 35mm. D.: 91’ a 24 f/s. Col.
Film Notes
Rita Hayworth, who specialized in vamps for decades, is memorable as Miss Thompson, the tropical tramp who shows up on a Pacific Island occupied by the Marines just after WW II. Filmed in Hawaii, Miss Sadie Thompson was originally intended to be a musical, but the score was a bit flimsy, with only three songs performed by Hayworth (dubbed). In one of the songs, «The Heat is on», audiences get a taste of erotic dancing as seldom seen on the screen. We see Rita turn loose, shaking her curvy body, drenched in sweat, as she drives the ogling Marines into a frenzy. Hayworth weighed about 10 pounds more than usual here, but she’s packed into a dress so tight she could pop out of it any minute. Produced in 3-D, the film was released flat.
Philippe-Alain Michaud