VIVA LA LOUISE!

In 1959, after winning a Golden Globe for her performance in God's Little Acre (1958) and starring in three films opposite megastars Richard Widmark, Robert Taylor, and Robert Ryan, fiery newcomer Tina Louise fled Hollywood because she felt the roles offered her were not worthy of her talent. I always wondered if Tina would have stuck around Hollywood if she would have copped roles that went to Stella Stevens or Jill St.John and would have had a much better film career than she did. Hopefully someone (and you know who you are out there) will write a book about her.

Tina landed in Europe and below is a clip of one of the "better" parts that came her way there. She played writer "George Sand" in Roberto Rossellini's epic Viva l'Italia (1961) about Italian hero Guiseppi Garibaldi who attempted to unite the Italian states during the 1800s.

Below is a rare clip for this hard-to-find film. Jump to 3:42 for Tina's entrance. Even for 1961, movie has a very strange feel to it.