Alt Film Guide
Classic movies. Gay movies. International cinema. Socially conscious & political cinema.
Home Movie CraftsActors + Actresses Rosanna Schiaffino: Italian Film Star

Rosanna Schiaffino: Italian Film Star

2 minutes read

Rosanna Schiaffino, Vince Edwards in The Victors
Rosanna Schiaffino, Vince Edwards in Carl Foreman’s The Victors (1963)

Ramon Novarro Beyond Paradise

Rosanna SchiaffinoRosanna Schiaffino, the sensual leading lady of dozens of Italian (and a few international) productions of the ’60s and early ’70s, died on Oct. 17, ’09, at her home in Milan following a long battle with cancer. She was 69.

The Genoa-born (Nov. 25, 1938) actress, referred to by some as the “Italian Hedy Lamarr,” began her film career in the late 1950s. Among her best-known roles are those in Francesco Rosi’s first feature, La Sfida / The Challenge (1958); Mauro Bolognini’s La Notte brava / The Big Night / Bad Girls Don’t Cry (1959), winner of the Italian Film Critics’ Silver Ribbon for Pier Paolo Pasolini’s screenplay; and André Hunebelle’s historical drama Le Miracle des loups / The Miracle of the Wolves (1961), opposite Jean Marais.

Also, a supporting role in Vincente Minnelli’s Two Weeks in Another Town (1962); another lead for Bolognini in La Corruzione / Corruption (1963), with Alain Cuny, Jacques Perrin, and Isa Miranda; and she was one of the many big names in Carl Foreman’s all-star World War II drama The Victors (1963).

Plus Jack Cardiff’s Viking tale The Long Ships (1964), with Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier; Alberto Lattuada’s period comedy Mandragola (1966); Luciano Salce’s El Greco (1966), opposite Mel Ferrer in the title role; and Peter Collinson’s Western A Man Called Noon (1973), starring Richard Crenna and Stephen Boyd.

According to the IMDb, Schiaffino’s last appearance in front of the cameras was in the Italian television miniseries Don Giovanni in Sicilia (1977).

Schiaffino was married to producer Alfredo Bini from the early ’60s to the late ’70s. From 1982 to 1996, her husband was industrialist Giorgio Falck, who learned from Bini that “Rosanna was a good woman; one who deserves to be treated like a queen.”

Her “multi-millionaire” mid-’90s divorce from Falck – following a lengthy and nasty court battle – made headlines in Italy at the time.

Recommended for You

Leave a Comment

*IMPORTANT*: By using this form you agree with Alt Film Guide's storage and handling of your data (e.g., your IP address). Make sure your comment adds something relevant to the discussion: Feel free to disagree with us and write your own movie commentaries, but *thoughtfulness* and *at least a modicum of sanity* are imperative. Abusive, inflammatory, spammy/self-promotional, baseless (spreading mis- or disinformation), and just plain deranged comments will be zapped. Lastly, links found in submitted comments will generally be deleted.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. If you continue browsing, that means you've accepted our Terms of Use/use of cookies. You may also click on the Accept button on the right to make this notice disappear. Accept Privacy Policy