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Anna Magnani: Rose Tattoo
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Magnani is all sex and shame in The Rose Tattoo, a mixture of Old World classicism and New World haughtiness molded into a defiant, somewhat desperate woman. Though she is dowdy and depressed throughout most of the film, Magnani manages to hint at both the life and the love still locked inside Serafina. Saddled with a couple of obvious showpiece moments (her visit to the church bazaar and the confrontation with Rosario's mistress come to mind), she still managed to cement this overwrought work with the earthy neo-realism of her amazing performances from Italian cinema. She is the heart and soul of The Rose Tattoo, and after watching her for nearly two hours, it's hard to see anyone else in the role.
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By the late 1950s, Brando and Magnani were the male and female actors whose names were most closely identified with Williams's work. In 1948, Brando's stage performance as "Stanley Kowalski" in William's play A Streetcar Named Desire electrified Broadway audiences and propelled him toward super-stardom; and Magnani, with her performance in The Rose Tattoo, personified, in many peoples' minds, the typical Williams female character. Thus, a Williams-Brando-Magnani collaboration seemed highly appropriate, and it turned out to be The Fugitive Kind, an adaptation of Orpheus Descending, one of William's earlier and lesser-known plays.
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The stage was literally set for Magnani to take Broadway by storm. Problem was, as the time came to essay the role of Serafina Delle Rose, Magnani balked, claiming her English wasn't good enough to effectively bring the character to life. She refused to appear, and Williams was left to recast the part. He got the far younger Maureen Stapleton for the lead, and The Rose Tattoo opened on the Great White Way in February 1951. It was another Tennessee Williams smash, going on to win four Tonys, including Best Play and acting honors for stars Stapleton and Eli Wallach (as Mangiacavallo). When the time came to make the movie, Magnani was again approached.
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THE ROSE TATTOO is about an Italian widow (Anna Magnani) in the bayou country who grieves over the memory of her dead husband. She is courted by the village clown (Burt Lancaster) who tries to help her let go of her memories. The rose tattoo is significant because the deceased had one on his body.
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"Their highly charged personal and professional involvement ... put her at the forefront of the media until her place in his life was taken by Ingrid Bergman," according to the La Magnani announcement. "When her career began to flounder, another important admirer and kindred artistic spirit entered her life, Tennessee Williams, who wrote the role of Serafina in The Rose Tattoo for her. Nervous about her English and unwilling to leave her polio-stricken son, she declined the offer to do the role on Broadway."
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