Often the difference between ordinary beauties and beauties who find success in motion pictures is not the degree of photogeneity in the face but knowing how to use it. Such was the case with Alida Valli who appeared in more than 100 films over the course of a mostly-European career that spanned eight decades. For all her success playing everything from ingénues to character roles, both comic and tragic, Italian-born "Valli" (as she was credited during her brief career away from the continent) made a name for herself in the English-speaking film world during the late 1940s and early '50s playing some of the movies' most enigmatic women, fascinating audiences not only with her looks, but with her ability to simultaneously hide and reveal a character's thoughts and emotions. Set in a flawless porcelain face, her wide, expressive eyes could demonstrate a depth of emotion while at the same time leaving the audience guessing the true nature of the thoughts and feelings behind it.  From suspected murderesses to wounded young women clinging to the past, Alida Valli's English-speaking characters were few but affecting and memorable.

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Multimedia Clips:

• "The Paradine Case" (clip) from THE PARADINE CASE (1947) by Franz Waxman (a .MP3 file).

• "Theme" (clip) from THE THIRD MAN (1949) by Anton Karas (a .MP3 file).

• "Original Theatrical Trailer"  from THE THIRD MAN (1949) with Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten (a .MOV file).

  (For help opening the multimedia files, visit the plug-ins page.)

Memorable Quotations:

• "A person doesn't change just because you find out more." --as Anna Schmidt in THE THIRD MAN (1949).
• "You know, you ought to get yourself a girl." --as Anna Schmidt in THE THIRD MAN (1949).
• "When you're not around, I sometimes wonder if you aren't the strangest man I ever met.  When you are around, I'm absolutely sure of it." --as Elaine Corelli in WALK SOFTLY, STRANGER (1950).
• "A dream is alright.  It's an island everybody can sail to.  But you can't stay on it, or make a life on it, or walk on it." --as Elaine Corelli in WALK SOFTLY, STRANGER (1950).

More Alida Valli Links:

• Alida Valli
• Alternative Film Guide: Alida Valli
• Screen Sirens: Alida Valli by Doug Stickney
• Alida Vallli's monthly schedule at TV Now - when her films will be on TV
• Greatest Films: THE THIRD MAN
• A review of THE THIRD MAN by Roger Ebert.
• Bright Lights Film Journal: THE THIRD MAN

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