Five Yugoslav women who consorted with the German occupiers are publicly humiliated and banished by the Yugoslav partisans but they take up arms to fend for themselves.
Silvana Mangano
Jovanka
Jeanne Moreau
Ljuba
Vera Miles
Daniza
Barbara Bel Geddes
Marja
Carla Gravina
Mira
Van Heflin
Velko
Richard Basehart
Eric Reinhardt
Harry Guardino
Branco
Alex Nicol
Svenko
Steve Forrest
Paul Keller
Gérard Herter
Col. von Elm
Romolo Valli
Mirko
Sidney Clute
Milan
Teresa Pellati
Boja
Pietro Germi
Partisan Commander
Guido Celano
Drago
Franca Dominici
Aldo Silvani
Tiberio Mitri
Amedeo Trilli
Giacomo Rossi Stuart
Aldo Pini
Carlo Hintermann
Nona Medici
Serena Canevari
Gérard Landry
Tonio Selwart
Bob Cunningham
Carmen Scarpitta
Donatella Mauro
Gianni Solaro
Cyrus Elias
Vera Fusek
Erwin Strahl
Director
Martin Ritt
Novel
Ugo Pirro
Writer
Michael Wilson
Writer
Ivo Perilli
Writer
Paul Jarrico
November 20, 2024
7
As was traditional during wartime, women who were accused of collaborating with the Nazis had their heads rather brutally shorn so as to clearly brand them for all to see. Based on Ugo Pirro's quite interesting book "Jovanka e le altre" this tells the story of five such women, cast out by their Yugoslav community, who set about finding their own way of avenging themselves upon their oppressors - both foreign and domestic. Silvana Mangano ("Jovanka") leads the band of ladies who include Barbara Bel Geddes ("Maria"), Jeanne Moreau ("Ljuba") and Vera Miles ("Daniza") as they prove just as effective at carrying out their tasks as their menfolk - led by "Velko" (Van Heflin). This is one of those, quite rare, stories that demonstrates that women were no push over when it came to ruthlessness - and even though some co-operated with the soldiers more willingly than others, none did so without the permanent fear for the lives of themselves and their children - a series of scenarios well depicted here by a strong cast under good direction from Martin Ritt. It has it's fair share of ambushes, and plenty of action and double-crosses to keep the thing alive and engaging. Only a tiny bit of romance - and even that seems to engender a rather unpalatable degree of punishment - gets in the way of this plausible and at times quite gripping tale of freedom fighting.
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$0.00