(1950; b/w, Italian with English dubbing and subtitles) Director Michelangelo Antonioni's first feature, a film noir, concerns the suspicions of a wealthy cotton tycoon, Enrico Fontana (Ferdinando Sarmi), about his young, stunningly beautiful wife, Paola (Lucia Bosé), such that he hires a private detective, Carloni (Gino Rossi), to investigate her past.

Married for seven years and having just had her 27th birthday, Paola is unhappy and restless as a princess of privilege, but until she sees Guido (Massimo Girotti), her former lover, she hasn't been unfaithful to her husband.

Guido has come to see Paola following receipt of a letter from their mutual friend of years before Maria, writing to say that someone had been to see her asking questions about a girl's death. Guido's 19-year-old fiancée Jennifer had been killed in an accident on an elevator two days before their expected wedding; Paola had been with the couple at the time. Guido says to Paola: "What have we done? Nothing."

At a night club with a prearranged plan for Paola's husband to meet with an automobile dealer, with Guido acting as the go-between, Paola becomes jealous when she sees Guido dancing with Joy (Marika Rowsky), a blonde model and the mistress of the car salesman. While Enrico takes a spin in a new car with the salesman, Paola cuddles up to Guido: "I love you. I've always loved you."

In Guido's room, Paola says of Jennifer's death: "Why didn't we try to save her?" to which Guido replies that they were paralyzed with fear. "We're not happy," he says to her. "We never can be."

Carloni fails to come up with any solid evidence of Paola's having had a previous love affair, only theories. Enrico admits to his wife his having had her investigated and apologizes. Paola tells Guido that she hates her husband and can't stand being with him any longer.

Anxious to be free again, Paola asks Guido, who is broke and unemployed, to take her away, though she confesses: "Even in love, money is everything." She then hints that the right opportunity might present itself. When Guido objects taking offense, she says she was just joking, forget about it, before accusing him of murdering Jennifer: "You saw the open shaft."

At night Guido waits with a pistol at a bend in the road for Enrico to pass in his car with a copy of Carloni's final report of the investigation. When the police come to her home, Paola runs away, and finds Guido: "It was your plan. I'm not taking the blame." After explaining what happened, he says: "But I wonder if we're not guilty of murder just the same."

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in video and/or DVD format, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2007 Patrick Ivers. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

Patrick Ivers can be reached via e-mail at .