Femmes damnées

I've had the opportunity to watch this film in both its Italian version and English-dubbed release version. There are some great women in the cast, including Linda Darnell, Valentina Cortese, Lea Padovani, and Giulietta Masina before she appeared with Quinn in "La Strada." This obscure little rarity is a noirish character study about three dispossessed prostitutes evicted from a bordello and about a sucker (Anthony Quinn) who wants to run off to Venezuela with one of them. Giulietta Masina became friendly with Quinn during the filming, introduced him to her husband Federico Fellini, and got him the role of Zampanò in "La Strada." Unlike "La Strada," where Quinn was dubbed in Italian for the home version, here he spoke his own Italian, probably coached by Valentina Cortese and Masina. Although the reviews were not overly kind to this picture, it is worth seeing because of its atmosphere, its extraordinary cast, and its rarity.

Where can i see this movie? is it available or ever televised? grazie pietro

As a producer Giuseppe Amato was involved in some of the most renowned of neo-realist films. As the popularity of this genre declined in the early 1950's so the demand grew for comedies, romances and melodramas. One such melo is 'Donne Proibite' for which Amato is wearing his director's hat. While no one would pretend this is a classic it is very well made and features sympathetic performances from Linda Darnell, Valentina Cortese and Lea Padovani as a trio of luckless tarts. Darnell has a dicky ticker, Cortese has a chance of happiness with Mr. Wonderful until her 'infamous profession' is revealed and Padovani is a single mother. All three are simply splendid. Nice performances too from Giulietta Masina and Anthony Quinn who would both appear in 'La Strada' the same year. Quinn is a tremendous presence and has the unbeatable combination of machismo and sensitivity. Linda Darnell looks every inch a Latin and is very well dubbed. The cinematography of Anchise Brizzi and the score of Renzo Rosselini add to the atmosphere and the drama. I suppose this would now be classed as a 'chick flick' but don't let that put you off.