Valentina Cortese
Valentina Cortese (January 1, 1923 - July 10, 2019) was an Italian film actress. The Milan-born actress starred in The House on Telegraph Hill (1951) directed by Robert Wise, and costarring Richard Basehart and William Lundigan. Cortese, aged 28, married Basehart in 1951, and... Read full bio →
Featured Characters
Roles you can spot in Whatthemovie snapshots
La classe américaine
Following the death of the world classiest man, George Abitbol, three journalists investigate to try to understand his last words: "Monde de merde!" La Classe Américaine is a montage of scenes taken from the Warner Bros. catalog and dubbed to fit the narration.
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
An aristocrat, his henchmen and a little girl try to save a town sieged by the Turks.
When Time Ran Out...
An active volcano threatens a south Pacific island resort and its guests as a power struggle ensues between the property's developer and a drilling foreman.
Jesus of Nazareth
Dramatizes the Birth, Life, Ministry, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, largely according to the Holy Bible's New Testament Gospels.
Gli amici di Nick Hezard
Nick Hezard, a young con man, wants to avenge the death of a friend of his and organizes a swindle trying to cheat Robert Turner, an American businessman he thinks responsible for his friend's death. He succeeds in getting a hundred thousand swiss francs and uses them to carry out the second part of his plan.
La città sconvolta: caccia spietata ai rapitori
After his son is kidnapped, a millionaire industrialist (James Mason) seeks revenge, in spite of the potential danger that his rash actions will bring about for his child and another kidnapped boy, the son of a poor mechanic (Luc Merenda).
Appasionata
Two teenage friends conspire to find out how much their youthful sensuality can disrupt one of their households, headed by a dentist and his mentally-ill wife.
La nuit américaine
A committed filmmaker struggles to complete his latest project while coping with a myriad of crises, personal and professional, among the cast and crew.
The Assassination of Trotsky
A Stalinist assassin tracks exiled revolutionary Leon Trotsky to Mexico in 1940.
Imputazione di omicidio per uno studente
During a clash between demonstrating laborers, a policeman and a student are both killed. In charge of the case are a magistrate and two commissioners.
Fratello sole, sorella luna
In his delirium from his return from war, Francesco Bernardone goes back in his memories to the days when he lived for parties and carnal pleasures. He slowly recovers, but after the illness he is no longer the Francesco that everybody knew.
L'iguana dalla lingua di fuoco
A corpse is found in the trunk of a car that belongs to the Swiss ambassador to the UK. Speculations run wild, as more people around the ambassador keep falling victim to the vicious killer. A former detective is hired to investigate.
Les caprices de Marie
Marie, a young provincial girl, is seduced by an American billionaire. She agrees to stay with him if he moves her village to New York.
Erste Liebe
The story of two young lovers takes a tragic turn as the girl falls in love with the boy's father.
The Secret of Santa Vittoria
In the beginning there was Bombolini the fool, Bombolini the drunk, Bombolini the joke. In the end there was Bombolini the mayor, Bombolini the hero, Bombolini the beautiful. In between is the secret of Santa Vittoria.
The Legend of Lylah Clare
A dictatorial film director (Finch) hires an unknown actress (Novak) to play the lead role in a planned movie biography of a late, great Hollywood star.
Soleil noir
A young Gallic heiress Christine is looking for her long-lost brother in Algeria. She's not looking for danger, but that's what comes in her way from every nook and cranny.
La donna del lago
When a visitor arrives in a small Italian village, he discovers that the residents are acting like soul-less zombies--and he begins to suspect that they may be under the influence of a mysterious local woman.
Giulietta degli spiriti
Visions, memories, and mysticism all help a 40-something woman to find the strength to leave her cheating husband.
The Visit
Carla Zachanassian had a child by Serge Miller as a teenager. When Serge refused to marry her, she was driven out of town. By her own wit and cunning, she has returned as a multi-millionaire for a visit. The town lays out the red carpet expecting big things from Carla, only to learn that her sole purpose is to see Serge Miller killed...
La ragazza che sapeva troppo
A tourist witnesses a murder and finds herself caught up in a series of bloody killings.
Barabba
Epic account of the thief Barabbas, who was pardoned for his crimes and spared crucifixion when Pilate offered the Israelites a choice to pardon Barabbas or Jesus.
Amore e guai
Three vignettes about couples trying to get together and the problems that continue to keep them apart.
Calabuch
Teacher Hamilton, a navie wise who thought bombs were good for humanity, when found out his mistake, runned away and took with him his inventions. He hided in Calabuch, a beautifull town where people still believe in humor and friendship and wait death as an old friend who comes without rush.
Le amiche
A self-made woman, coming from humble means, travels to Turin to scout locations for her successful beauty salon chain. At the hotel, she encounters some upper-middle class bourgeoise women to whom she finds herself drawn into their friendships.
The Barefoot Contessa
The life of a Hollywood film star is recalled by the different men who knew, worked with, and loved her.
The Secret People
This tale of intrigue finds Valentina Cortese involved in an assassination plot. She helps the police apprehend the conspirators after an innocent bystander is accidentally killed.
The House on Telegraph Hill
Concentration camp survivor Victoria Kowelska finds herself involved in mystery, greed, and murder when she assumes the identity of a dead friend in order to gain passage to America.
Thieves' Highway
War-veteran truck driver "Nick" Garcos (Conte) arrives at home to find his father, a farmer, crippled. He learns that his father was crippled at the hands of an amoral produce dealer in San Francisco, Mike Figlia (Cobb). Garcos vows revenge.
Black Magic
Hypnotist uses his powers for revenge against King Louis XV's court.
Roma città libera
In a post-war Rome (1946) a cat burglar inadvertently saves the life of a would-be suicide man who returns from the war to find that he has been betrayed by his fiancée while fighting in the war. From that moment the thief takes the ex-soldier under his wing. They leave house together for a night full of misadventures.
La cena delle beffe
In Florence, at the time of Lorenzo de Medici, known also as Lorenzo the Magnificent, the aristocrat brothers Chiaramantesi rule with an iron fist the streets of the city. Ruthless and fierce, the two brothers have chosen as their special victim the innocent and harmless Giannetto.