Italian Heritage Month Film Series: “Two Women”
Italian Heritage Month Film Series: “Two Women”
Hollywood producer Joseph E. Levine came from the West End; in 1961, he bought North American distribution rights for Two Women after seeing no more than three minutes of its “rushes.” Two Women, which was based on a novella written by Alberto Moravia, had been directed by Vittorio de Sica, and starred Sophia Loren and Eleanora Brown, who acted out the respective roles of a mother and her young daughter whom World War II had displaced from their home.
Levine’s promotional campaign focused on one still photograph, which showed Loren, as the mother, wearing a torn dress, kneeling in the dirt, and weeping with rage and grief. Predicting that she would win the Academy Award for her performance, Levine brought Loren to the United States for interviews, bought space for, and placed, large advertisements in newspapers, and saw to it that Two Women appeared in the cities of residence of Academy Award jury members.
Levine’s efforts paid off when Loren became the first cast member of a foreign-language film to win the Academy Award for best actress. It came to be said of him that he “nursed” Two Women towards its ultimate popularity and success.