Alida Valli @ 100: Star of The Third Man, Suspiria, and Hitchcock’s The Paradine Case
Monday, May 31, 2021 at 2:00PM by Brent Calderwood
Alida Valli, who was born 100 years ago today in Pola, Italy (now part of Croatia), became a legend of Italian cinema in classics ranging in style from Luchino Visconti’s operatic epic Senso to Dario Argento’s supernatural slasher Suspiria. In a career that spanned 68 years, international directors were repeatedly drawn to her dark, inscrutable beauty and haunted green eyes. She's still admired by film lovers worldwide for three noir-tinged movies she made while abroad: The Third Man opposite Orson Welles (where she gets one of the most famous screen exits in history), Alfred Hitchcock’s The Paradine Case, and the French horror film Eyes Without a Face.
In 1947, producer David O. Selznick invited Valli to Hollywood, hoping to repeat the success he’d had with two of his other European “discoveries,” Ingrid Bergman and Vivien Leigh. He gave her the full star treatment, even briefly abbreviating her name to the one-word “Valli” à la “Garbo” and having Hitchcock helm her first American picture...
in a publicity still for "The Paradine Case". Don't we all have portraits of ourseves on our headboards?
The Paradine Case, though, ended up being more star-crossed than star-making, due in part to Selznick’s Benzedrine-fueled overnight script rewrites and his penchant for cutting and re-editing the Master of Suspense’s carefully staged single takes. (The stifled auteur channeled his frustration into his future work, notably using Selznick as the visual inspiration for the nocturnal, saw-wielding philanderer played by Raymond Burr in Rear Window.)
Today, The Paradine Case is still one of Hitchcock’s lesser-known American films, but when it is remembered, it’s usually for the moments with Valli—which is pretty impressive considering her costars were Gregory Peck, Charles Laughton, Ethel Barrymore (in an Oscar-nominated supporting role), and another new Selznick contract player, Louis Jourdan. In fact, Valli is the focal point of the best shot in the film, one that still shows up in Hitchcock docs and highlight reels.
Accused of murdering her wealthy husband, Valli as Mrs. Paradine sits frozen in the prisoner’s dock of London’s Old Bailey courtroom, surrounded by jurors and white-wigged barristers; as the young valetplayed by Jourdan passes behind her to the witness stand, Valli’s face is an icy, imperious mask that can’t quite disguise her snarl of fear and lust. As Hitchcock told Francois Truffaut about the scene, “We wanted to give the impression that she senses his presence…as if she could smell him.”
Since the dynamic deep-focus effect the director wanted wasn’t possible with 1947 lenses, Hitchcock concocted one of his most masterful process shots, with help from cameraman Lee Garmes, whose name was by then already a byword for the kind of chiaroscuro spotlighting favored by Marlene Dietrich and other Hollywood glamour goddesses. First, the camera was placed inside the dock with wooden guardrails and prison guards in the foreground as Jourdan walked through the crowded room; next, the same film was projected onto a screen while Valli, seated alone on a stool in front of the camera, was turned counterclockwise and pulled out of the frame. The result is a seamless take that heightens our anticipationabout what this gentleman’s gentleman will reveal regarding his intimate history with both his mistress and his former master.
a famous shot from "The Third Man"
Valli has some of the best lines in The Paradine Case and delivers them with convincing venom, like when she warns Peck, her besotted and very non-Atticus Finch attorney, “You are not to destroy him—if you do, I shall hate you as I have never hated a man.” She got more to sink her teeth into with The Third Man (1949) playing Anna Schmidt, a Czech refugee in war-torn Vienna. Again surrounded on all sides by men who control her fate—British, Soviet, French, and American soldiers and police—she risks deportation rather than provide information about her boyfriend played by Orson Welles. Valli owns the subjective center of most of the scenes she’s in, whether walking through graveyards, sparring with Joseph Cotten, or alone in her crumbling apartment and crying beautifully under Robert Krasker’s Oscar-winning cinematography. Only Welles holds our attention more intensely.
Throughout Valli’s most acclaimed films, all directed and lensed by exquisite visual storytellers, it’s the images that are most often talked about. In the iconic final shot of The Third Man, Valli walks resolutely through Vienna’s Central Cemetery. At first barely discernible in the distance, she heads straight towards the camera, blanking Cotten, our ostensible American hero, as Anton Karas’s zither score plays her wryly off the screen. In that moment, she takes back the power that police, soldiers, and suitors have all tried to strip from her and, to my mind anyway, comes away being the true hero of the film. (To Selznick’s credit, he supported coproducer Alexander Korda and director Carol Reed in adding this downbeat ending despite the author Graham Greene’s misgivings—a change that Greene realized was “triumphantly right” when he saw the finished film.)
in "Senso"
in "Suspiria"
After her stint in Hollywood and into her early eighties, Valli used her maturing allure in service to other virtuosic auteurs, often in increasingly dark parts. In Visconti’s Senso (1954), she’s the top-billed star, and though she’s again betrayed by a lover—this time it’s Farley Granger in form-fitting soldier duds—now she’s a powerful countess who gets revenge. In Eyes Without a Face (Les yeux sans visage, 1960), she drives around Paris looking for beautiful young women to abduct. In another classic horror film, Suspiria (1977), Valli plays a beyond-stern head instructor at a German ballet school, with assistance from Joan Bennett, a fellow veteran of ’40s femme fatale roles. The film drips with rich, jewel-toned Technicolor and copious amounts of blood, but Suspiria is too classy (or at least too stylish) to be classified as grande dame guignol; this is “giallo,” a uniquely Italian shocker genre of which Argento was a master.
Viewed alongside the best-known actresses of Hollywood’s Golden Age—stars that Selznick hoped she’d outshine—Valli’s screen persona remains harder to define. In most of her films, her character is an intentional enigma. Gorgeous, languorous, tortured, and maybe a little bit sullen. More composed and guarded than Vivien Leigh; less vulnerable and lit-from-within than Ingrid Bergman. As defiant as Barbara Stanwyck but without the laughs. Something of Joan Crawford’s bone structure, minus the outsized quirks that can make an actress even more famous than her movies. But I never get the sense watching Valli’s films that she wanted to be a one-word star like Garbo anyway, at least not in America; and with over 100 screen roles, she certainly wasn’t interested in early retirement. True, she exudes Garbo’s continental aloofness, but maybe in a way that seems less calculated; maybe in a way that makes us want to keep our distance after all, even while we go on watching in the dark.
Reader Comments (24)
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I just watched The Third Man again a couple of weeks ago, and was impressed all over again at its perfection. Alida Valli is absolute perfection. How she didn't get an Oscar nomination is beyond me (was she being promoted as a lead, maybe?). I also saw Senso for the first time recently, and I have to say that it makes a good case for dubbing. Farley Granger looks perfect for the part, but can anyone imagine him playing the cad with his real voice? The Italian voice he was given sounds nothing like his natural voice, and it's perfect!
Amy (I love Yma Sumac too!) - I agree about dubbing Granger. There was an American release called "The Wanton Countess" where Granger and Valli speak with their own English voices and everyone else is dubbed! You can see it on the Criterion Channel and the Criterion DVD/Blu-ray. It confirms your opinion! :)))
She has a line in The Third Man - "he liked to laugh" - that's possibly my favorite line reading of all time.
Marvelous piece. You've come closer to capturing Alida Valli's extraordinary essence in words than I ever thought anyone could. I think she's magnificent in Hitchcock's film - the best thing in it. And I actually love the whole picture. And amidst all the color saturated sensations of "Suspiria", her entertainingly wicked double act with Joan Bennett always stands out as a special delight.
Mike in Canada - that line from The Third Man kills me too, thanks for the reminder! ❤️
Even though I had seen Suspiria first, I consider Senso to be my actual introduction to her work and she's MARVELOUS in it! It would make a perfect addition to the "Women Who Lie to Themselves" genre that was coined here years ago.
Just showed my friend The Third Man the other day. It was his first time watching it. I am still impressed with the way she switches languages on a dime in that film. The camera sure did love her. The close ups are almost like gentle caresses- almost as if the audience wants to hold and comfort her (later shake her out of her devotion to Harry) but we know she is untouchable, somehow above all of us.
Alida Valli has always reminded me of Hedy Lamarr. Their careers started in the 1930s, but Hedy stepped away in late 1950s, while Valli continued into the 21st century.
Excellent piece Brent. Thank you
What a great read! Thanks for putting into words what happens when some performances just leaves you breathless.
This writing is as gorgeous as its subject. Bravo!
I think she was a fine actress but whether it was truly herself or just how she projected onscreen there is always a remoteness to her that keeps the audience at a distance. With the right part and director that definitely worked to her advantage but it was what I think kept her from full fledged international stardom.
She's much akin to Garbo but rather than the intriguing mystery that the Swedish Sphinx always seemed to hold back to draw you in Alida's read as an aloof unapproachability that kept the viewer at arms length. I've seen several of her films, both European and American, and never seen anything that came close to humor or comedy emanating from her. Perhaps that wasn't in her skill set and she certainly did fine without it but that lack of variety may be another reason for not being as successful on the world stage as the other ladies mentioned.
Great writing- she was a beauty- now I want to see " The Paradine Case" again- even dull Hitchcock is better than most directors
Brent, great article, thank you! Say what you will about Selznik and his iron grip--he had an eye for talent--Jennifer Jones, Ingrid Bergman, Vivien Leigh, and this most elusive figure, Valli. I just watched her in The Paradine Case. She has an indefinable allure--her costars struggle to hold the camera when she's in the scene. I didn't realize what a long and varied career she had. What a fascinating actress.
First of all, great write-up. This was a pleasure to read and that last paragraph is especially beautiful.
Second, since it hasn't been mentioned yet, I thought I might as well recommend THE LONG ABSENCE to those interested in exploring Valli's filmography. She's the best part of that oft-forgotten Palme d'Or winner, delivering a performance of marrow-deep yearning, blossoming romance tempered by doubt. Her usual aloofness molds itself into a melancholy so absolute it'd be alienating were it not for the high-strung emotions of the melodramatic scenario.
"Senso" (1954) and "Une aussi longue absence " (1961)
both are the high-points of her career a must see for everyone.
"Piccolo mondo antico" (1941) and "Noi vivi" (1942)
The development of a great actress can be discovered
"Eugenia Grandet" (1946)
Her first fully developed performance
"The Paradine Case" (1947)
unbelievable that she wasnt nominated for an academy award in such a weak year
"The Third Man" (1949)
already said from others
"Il Grido" (1957) "This Angry Age" (1958) "Les yeux sans visage" (1960) "Le dialogue des Carmélites" (1960) "El hombre de papel" (1963)
She can only be seen in supporting roles, but who can evade her presence once she appears on the screen
"Strategia del ragno" (1970)
a must see, not to describe
I loveee her in Senso.
She is also great as a prostitute in " El hombre de papel " a Mexcan film with Ignacio López Tarso .
She also does memorable work in Pasolini's EDIPO RE and three Bertolucci films: THE SPIDER'S STRATAGEM, 1900, and LUNA.
Absolutely exquisite writing, Brent - this may be the best film-related piece I've read in a while, and around these parts that's saying a lot!
THE THIRD MAN really is the perfect film. I don't like making all-time best lists because there's so much I have yet to see and my feelings shift over time, but THE THIRD MAN has been a pretty constant contender for my #1 spot. Certainly that final sequence is up there among the greatest of all time.
When I was a child I discovered Valli thanks to her severe mature roles in films or fiction. Growing up I discovered she had been an Italian sweetheart at beginning of 1940s and then she had had a very interesting international career. Italian Cinema gave us a lot of natural beauties but Alida Valli was among them one of the most fascinating, along with Silvana Mangano. I adore her in SENSO. Pity Venice Film Festival jury in 1954 was so hostile to the Visconti’s film they didn’t give any prize (instead of giving Volpi Cup to Valli they stayed with just Best Actor prize that year)
That final shot from 'The Third Man' is a work of art.
Loved her in The Paradine Case (another of many films I never would have watched w/o the forever-cherished Smackdown) - but her Mrs. Tanner in Argento's Suspiria will always be closest to my heart.