Anna Magnani

A volatile, commanding star of post-war Italian cinema, Anna Magnani was once described by director William Dieterle as "the last of the great shameless emotionalists." She gained international attention for her impassioned performance in Roberto Rossellini's "Open City" (1945). Though her early career had encompassed repertory work, musical comedy and vaudeville, Magnani subsequently tended to appear in tempestuous, earthy and maternal roles, such as the overbearing stage mother in Visconti's "Bellismima" (1951) and the passionate widow in her Oscar-winning Hollywood turn in "The Rose Tattoo" (1955), written by Tennessee Williams with her in mind.

Magnani became a symbol of seething, earthy, mature sexuality in the postwar years and throughout the 1950s. She was outstanding as the commedia dell'arte actress in Jean Renoir's "The Golden Coach" (1952) and as a deranged peasant who believes herself impregnated by St. Joseph in Rossellini's "L'Amore" (1948). Magnani's next important performance in film came with her galvanizing work in the title role of Pier Paolo Pasolini's powerful "Mamma Roma" (1962), and she was also successful in the enjoyable comedy "The Secret of Santa Vittoria" (1969). Her last screen role was a cameo in Fellini's "Roma" (1972).