Anna

Hardly on a par with other Italian imports, Anna is entertaining mainly as a vehicle for Silvana Mangano's sensuous talents. Faced with a wellworn plot and a superinposed sound track, Mangano overcomes, both, and alternatey slinks and strides her way to a fine performance.

Originally filmed in Italian, the United States releasers tried to fit English into the actor's mouths, and were, as usual, unsuccessful. Often the sound track blares on when actors' lips, close, and is silent as they form words. And, since the highly cultured voices do not correspond with some of the more earthy characters, subtitles would have been much better.

Fortunately, Anna does put a few new twists in the story of bad girl turned nun. With the Italian brand of striking realism, the tensions of an operating room are exceptionally vivid. And Anna's song and dance in a disreputable night club is as sultry as any I have seen.

Billed as "Hollywood's newest heartthrob," hawk-faced Vittorio Gassman makes himself thoroughly despicable as Anna's chief debaucher. Raf Valone is the straight man who loves Anna for something besides the obvious. Jaques Dumesnil, playing an elderly surgeon-philosopher, and Patrizia Mangano, Silvana's sister, fill out a competent cast. Written by Nino Rota, the music smooths over some rough spots in the plot and dialogue, effectively supplementing the film's emotional crises.

I think Silvana Mangano, still new in movies, is an exceptional actress. But she needs better pictures and less cheap publicity to prove it.