FAB UK magazine had already published, a couple of years ago, photos taken by Solange Podell back to 1972 at the Cannes film festival. We wish again to pay tribute to the unforgettable Italian icon of the movie industry.
What do the Biblical figure the Queen of Sheba, the gorgeous gypsy woman Esmeralda in « The Hunchback of Notre Dame » and Pauline Bonaparte – Napoleon’s sister – have in common? An actress who was nicknamed « La Lollo » and who was dubbed most beautiful woman in the world : Gina Lollobrigida.
Montage by Cyriaque Griffon – music Bella Ciao
The Queen of Sheba fires imagination and is also part of the Quranic and Jewish writings. Among Gina Lollobrigida’s memorable roles was the figure of the Queen that she played in the U.S. epic historical movie « Solomon and Sheba ». The American entertainment magazine « Variety » described her then in the role as « a woman of sharp brain as well as sensual beauty ». In the 1956 film The Hunchback of Notre Dame, based on Victor Hugo’s novel, La Lollo was the bewitching beauty and gypsy girl Esmeralda. She also slipped into Pauline Bonaparte’s shoes in a loose movie depicting the life of the sister of Napoleon, a performance for which she was awarded prizes.
Lollobrigida, 1972 Cannes Film festival, photos by Solange Podell, montage Cyriaque Griffon
The Italian 50’s sex bomb embodied beauty, exhibiting an exuberant physicality and a ravishing cleavage She was dubbed « The most beautiful woman in the world » after starring in a film of the same name. Lollobrigida started with minor roles in the late 40’s but, like a goddess emerging from the ruins of the Second World war, she was rapidly considered the first European sex-symbol before being supplanted by Bardot several years later. After co-starring with her in the 1953 movie « Beat the devil », Humphrey Bogart best summarized a man’s feeling of that time when he said Gina made « Marilyn Monroe look like Shirley Temple » !
The Italian screen legend flew to Los Angeles in February 2018 to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
By Cyriaque Griffon / Photographer : Solange Podell