Anita Ekberg

A 1951 Miss Sweden — she competed in the Miss Universe pageant — Anita Ekberg is best-known for her role as Sylvia in La Dolce Vita, directed by Federico Fellini.

Anita Ekberg
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Ethel Merman dubbed the well-endowed Ekberg (measurements 40D-22-36) "the thinking man's dunce cap: two of them." Bob Hope joked that her parents had received the Nobel Prize for architecture as she was touring with him and William Holden to entertain U.S. troops in 1954. Anita Ekberg is classic Hollywood's most naturally well endowed actress with Pam Grier being her only contemporary rival.

That tour led her to a contract with John Wayne's Batjac Productions. Wayne cast her in Blood Alley (1955) as a Chinese woman, a role that earned her a Golden Globe award.

Although many of her films are largely forgotten now, she appeared in several notable features: the low-budget Film Noir The Screaming Mimi (1958) directed by Gert Oswald who already used her the previous year opposite Sterling Hayden in Valerie; War and Peace where she played Henry Fonda's unfaithful wife, Princess Elena. She also appeared in two Frank Tashlin films with Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin: Artists and Models (1955) and Hollywood or Bust (1956). In Back from Eternity, (1956) she was cast as Robert Ryan's leading lady.

However it was Federico Fellini who gave Ekberg her greatest role in La Dolce Vita in 1960, in which she played the unattainable "dream woman" opposite Marcello Mastroianni; then Boccaccio '70 in 1960, a movie that also featured Sophia Loren. Fellini would call her back for two other films: I Clowns (1972), and Intervista (1987), where she played herself in a reunion scene with Mastroianni.

Fellini aside, she did not appear in many notable films in the 60's. There was 4 for Texas by Robert Aldrich (1963) with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Ursula Andress; Call Me Bwana (1963), a comedy for which she was billed above the title alongside Bob Hope; Woman Times Seven by Vittorio de Sica in 1967, with Shirley MacLaine; The Alphabet Murders (1966), again with Frank Tashlin; and Way...Way Out (1966), the latter introducing Linda Harrison in her first movie. Ekberg also accepted a small role in If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium in 1969.

La Dolce Vita (2-Disc Collector's Edition)

La Dolce Vita (2-Disc Collector's Edition)
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The English translation for "La Dolce Vita" as many know by now is "the sweet life". And, that's what Marcello Mastroianni seeks throughout this entire film. He plays a thrid-rate newspaper man who writes a gossip column. He thinks life would be so much better if he was wealthy, as does everyone else I know! He wants to be a respected reporter. This movie as with other Fellini movies contains things besides the story-line that keep your interrested. Movies like "Amarcord" can charm you with it's style and the wonderful music by Nino Rota. Or, "8 1\2" with it's brooding story-line as once again Mastroinni's mind drifts into the past. "La Dolce Vita" offers great location shots of Rome. There are many priceless visual shots in this movie, and I don't want to spoil them for those who've never seen this movie. But, there is one I feel I should tell you about. It deals with a hugh statue of Virgin Mary. That scene is shot beautifully. Those who have seen this movie know exactly what scene I'm talking about. The acting in this movie is enjoyable. Marcello as usual steals the show. Our hearts go with his character because sometimes we have wished for the same things. Maybe sometimes you yourself have thought, "There has to be something better out there"? This movie was nominated for 4 Oscars, in won one for "Best Costume Design". But, Fellini was up for an award as well. Here's some trival for everyone. Did you know that Paul Newman was the original choice for the lead? Can you imagine how that would of turned out?

Most critics consider the soulful "La Strada" to be Federico Fellini's masterpiece, but for just plain entertainment nothing beats "La Dolce Vita". From the opening shot of the hovering Christ statue suspended from a helicopter blessing the City of God to the final close-up of the Umbrian angel gazing after the debauched hero (literally stranded very much like Zampano in "La Strada') "La Dolce Vita" has one scene after another to fascinate on the first viewing or to anticipate time and again. I'm sure everyone has his favorite sequence: the sex goddess wading in the. . .