Review of The Naked Maja

I'm an avid Ava Gardner fan, but this film ranks near the bottom of her career efforts, with 'The Bible', 'The Blue Bird', etc. 'The Naked Maja' is beautiful enough to look at, but is poorly directed, narrated, and edited. The story of the Duchess of Alba, could have been the basis for a much more interesting film, but this film is a lesson in missed cinematic opportunities. Ava, more commonly called 'the most beautiful animal in the world', possessed a raw, exciting sexuality, that provided the few sparks, in an otherwise lifeless film. I definitely did not consider her the most beautiful women in films, but certainly one of the most sensuous. This was not a major film, and Anthony Franciosa was not a major star; even though I loved his work in 'A Hatful Of Rain'. I wanted to love this film, when it was released, and I was hopelessly smitten with Miss Gardner. Ultimately, I had to admit that it was not as good as some of her other disappointing films, like 'The Sun Also Rises', 'The Little Hut', 'Bhowani Junction', just to name a few. 'Mogambo', 'The Barefoot Contessa', 'Showboat', and 'The Night of the Iguana', were my personal favorite Ava Gardner films. Ava Gardner would rank right behind Hedy Lamarr and Elizabeth Taylor, as the most beautiful women in the world. Costumes for Ava, in 'The Naked Maja', were quite good.