Manina ragazza senza veli

On the face of it an unremarkable film concerning a young man's search for treasure with much murky underwater cinematography. However the young man is Jean-Francois Calve who is convincing and handsome enough to go on to considerable success in many albeit minor French films and the older guy looking to outwit him is played by Howard Vernon. Here, the much loved Vernon, is fine as he would be in many of his supporting roles including Wages of Fear (1953) but it is his work with Jess Franco for which he is probably best known and the poor man's quality of output tended to drift downward with that of his master, helped no doubt with a tipple or two. The main reason though for watching this is for the early cinema appearance of Brigitte Bardot, then seventeen. And even though the youngster does well enough it is probably the bikini wearing aspect that really caught the attention. Apparently one of the very first times a bikini would be seen on the screen and sufficiently scandalous, apparently, for the British censors to cut the film by almost half an hour, which must be all of poor Brigitte's screen time. As I say, there is nothing very special about the film apart from its participants and the place in history of an article of female swimwear but it is jolly enough and probably what used to be referred to as suitable Sunday afternoon fare, except for those 29 minutes, of course.

Admittedly, Miss Bardot had not yet honed her acting skills, but what an enchanting creature, even at this young age (her 2nd film, I believe). Her dancing work as a teenager must have helped her incredible physique - perfectly proportioned with a nice voice, screen presence and youthful spirit. She would develop over the years (talent), but his film has an appropriate soundtrack and beautiful b/w cinematography.

A 5 out of 10. Best performance = Bardot. Beautiful locale off island with nice forest setting hidden from a rocky beach (what a great place to film).

Manina may have been sold as a Bardot film but she is merely the love interest of lead Jean-Francois Calve, and she does not make an appearance until 40 minutes into the film. Calve gives an interesting, unique, and slightly mannered performance, yet does hold your attention when he is on-screen. Bardot is lovely to look at but the sections where she is supposed to be singing are poorly executed. There are a couple bits of nice dialogue, but overall most of the film isn't really all that engaging. The final section does however pick up and captivates, but by then it's a matter of a too little too late. If you're a Bardot or Calve fan than you will want to check Manina out, but for everyone else maybe not.

Yes, 18 year old Brigitte Bardot in her bikini really makes this film live on !

However, the most lasting part of the 'Manina'-shooting is a photo. It shows Brigitte naked on her belly, lying on a beach. Torso on the sand, legs in the water. Every BB-addict surely knows it, because it is the only shot showing young Bardot naked (nudity shots from the fifties are very rare anyway). Apart from the nudity this photo also is famous for its magnificent composition. BB's hooked right leg makes the picture alive, while the breaking waves make it move.

Did you know Brigitte's wealthy father was outraged after seeing 'Manina'? He sued the film company for showing his daughter indecently (and lost the case).

Another side of 'Manina': Brigitte is still very young, and her acting is downright terrible. Later on future husband Roger Vadim teaches Brigitte, that nudity alone is not enough to make it in the movies. So Brigitte progresses, reaching her peak in the second half of the fifties. Then she is at her best while playing light comedies.

As I said, back in 1952 BB's acting does not live up to the dream she tries to create. This bad acting gives 'Manina' a charm of its own, I think, because we know now what came afterwards.

Jean-François Calvé receives an amphora from a young girl while vacationing in Sardinia. A few years later, he learns that there was an almost legendary shipwreck with Phoenician amphorae filled with gold coins a couple of thousand years ago. He takes the amphora to the lecturer, who confirms it is a Phoenician one. Calvé decides that there are other amphorae down there, with hundreds of millions of francs worth of gold. He raises enough money to hire cigarette smuggler Howard Vernon and his boat for half the loot. When they arrive at Sardinia, he discovers that the girl has grown up to be Brigitte Bardot in her second movie. Eventually he will find out who he can trust.

Willy Rozier wrote and directed this as a straight adventure story, with Calvé exceedingly naive, and Mlle Bardot extremely fetching in her itsy-bitsy bikini. Cinematographer Michel Rocca shoots Miss Bardot and the ancient-looking rocks of Sardinia with equal verve, which should keep the audience distracted from the lack of novelty in the story, even though they'll have to wait for more than half the movie before seeing La Bardot.