The Black Orchid

The Black Orchid (1959)

More than a story of love... a story of life!

An aging widower fights family disapproval when he falls in love with a gangster's widow.

Date of release
1959-02-12
TMDB
6.4 / 10 (34)
Runtime
1h 34m
Genres
Romance, Drama
Director
Martin Ritt

Casting

Interesting facts

The Black Orchid is a 1959 American drama film directed by Martin Ritt and starring Sophia Loren and Anthony Quinn. Supporting actors include Peter Mark Richman, Virginia Vincent, Frank Puglia, Jimmy Baird, Naomi Stevens, Whit Bissell and Ina Balin.

Production

The Black Orchid's original title was The Flower Maker.

The Black Orchid was originally purchased by Paramount Pictures with the intent of having Anna Magnani in the lead role, however, with her schedule so busy and the hiring of producer Carlo Ponti, Ponti hired his wife Sophia Loren. She was paid $225,000.

Filming began February 1958. Ritt called Loren "a terrific lady. I enjoyed making it, it was an easy film to make. Tony [Quinn] and she were terrific together. I didn't have any illusions about the film."

The Black Orchid is the first Hollywood film of Italian composer Alessandro Cicognini released by Dot Records.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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