If, like me, you’re a huge fan of Ina Garten (aka the Barefoot Contessa), it may surprise you to know that Barefoot Contessa was actually a movie before it was a lovely chef extraordinaire!

Barefoot Contessa was a highly entertaining movie starring Humphrey Bogart and one of my personal favorites, the insanely beautiful Ava Gardner.

In one of the last films before his death in 1957, Humphrey Bogart plays washed-up film director Harry Dawes, who sees another chance at success when he meets Spanish dancer Maria Vargas (Ava Gardner) and recognizes her star potential. Harry’s willingness to let Maria keep her independence, and his steadfast character, wins him her undying friendship; the two weather the Hollywood seas, made stormy by Maria’s own tempestuous spirit and the greedy nature of the film business. Maria’s final break from Hollywood throws her into the arms of a Prince Charming whose secrets lead her down a destructive path. Impatience with Hollywood is evident in every line of director-writer Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s dialogue (as in the unforgettable ALL ABOUT EVE), but he carefully plants the seeds of Maria’s decline in her character rather than simplistically painting her fate as a reaction to fame. Bogart, in an role atypical for him of platonic friend to his female costar, is the touchstone of the movie and its most sympathetic character, while Gardner’s eyes snap with passion as she searches for her fairy-tale ending.

Film director Harry Dawes (Humphrey Bogart) contemplates, in a series of flashbacks, the life of beautiful Hollywood star Maria Vargas (Ava Gardner). A flamenco dancer at a second-rate club when a trio of film business bigwigs discover her, soon Vargas has acquired fame, riches, and love. On the surface, it seems as if she has it all; but a dark secret in her marriage and Maria’s fiery spirit lead to tragedy. Spicy dialogue from director-writer Joseph L. Mankiewicz and the complex but platonic friendship between Harry and Maria make this film memorable.

When Ina Garten first launched into the food industry, she did so by buying and running a shop named after the movie, The Barefoot Contessa. The name stands for “elegance and earthiness,” which definitely describe the popular Food Network chef and cookbook author – so the name stuck.

Click the image or either one of the links to purchase this wonderful movie.  It should be in every movie lover’s collection.  Come on, it’s Ava Gardner for crying out loud!

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