The Barefoot Contessa

THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA is one of those movies that one remembers as better than they actually were. O'Brien won an Oscar for his role and Joe Mankiewicz was nominated as writer, but that's about it. A very complex story finds Gardner dancing in a Madrid nightclub. Stevens has hired Bogart, a faded director, to write and direct a movie about a glamorous woman. Gardner likes Bogart and hates Stevens but agrees to make the movie. She is an instant star. Stevens, in a thinly disguised portrayal of Howard Hughes, throws a party for fellow millionaire Marius Goring. Bogart and Elizabeth Sellars, his girl friend/script girl, arrive. Goring has eyes for Gardner and invites ...