Intended to be the pilot for an Orson Welles-directed European travel series, Portrait of Gina — also known as Viva Italia — is one of many seldom seen, or “lost,” projects.
In 1958, the ABC network rejected the pilot, which consisted of an interview with Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida, and it was never broadcast on U.S. television.
Welles left the only copy of Viva Italia in a Paris hotel room. The unmarked film cans were eventually moved to a storage facility. The film was thought to be permanently lost until it was found in 1986 and shown at the Venice Film Festival.
Reportedly, Lollobrigida was unhappy with the rediscovered film and took action. It subsequently aired on German television and can be found on YouTube (see below).
Recently, 10 color and black and white photographs taken on the set of Lollobrigida, Welles and his wife, Paola Mori, have surfaced on eBay from an Australian seller. Here is a look at those behind-the-scenes photographs.
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