Wichita's Vera Miles in "Five Branded Women" (1960)

Starring Wichita's, Vera Miles

"Five Branded Women" (1960) is an Italian-American film directed by Martin Ritt (his only war film) and produced by Dino De Laurentiis. It features an international cast including Silvana Mangano, Vera Miles, Barbara Bel Geddes, and Jeanne Moreau. This was Moreau's first American production. The film is set during the Nazi occupation of Yugoslavia and was shot in Italy and Klagenfurt, Austria.

Ritt later said he made the film just for money. "It just about wrecked me. I became ill. It was a terrible mistake.”

Howard Thompson, critic for The New York Times, wrote:
"Even with the battle scenes and the ripsnorting finale, this Dino De Laurentiis production moves like molten lead under Martin Ritt's direction. ... only the tender relationship of Jeanne Moreau and Richard Basehart, as a captured Nazi, holds the slightest interest. Harry Guardino, Alex Nicol and Steve Forrest are sturdy sideliners in a thuddingly flat import that, once the five picked chickens begin to regain their tresses, seems like many predecessors."

Plot:
Five Yugoslav women who consorted with the German occupiers are publicly humiliated and are ostracized by partisans for their relationships with Nazis. As they face shame and banishment, they ultimately decide to arm themselves in pursuit of survival and self-preservation, and to fend for themselves during the turbulence of World War II.

Cast:
Silvana Mangano as Jovanka
Vera Miles as Daniza
Jeanne Moreau as Ljuba
Barbara Bel Geddes as Marija
Carla Gravina as Mira
Van Heflin as Velko
Richard Basehart as Capt. Reinhardt
Harry Guardino as Branko
Alex Nicol as Svenko
Steve Forrest as Sgt. Keller
Gérard Herter as Colonel von Elm
Romolo Valli as Mirko
Sidney Clute as Milan
Pietro Germi as the partisan commander
Guido Celano as Drago
Giacomo Rossi Stuart

The producers wanted to film some of the scenes in Yugoslavia, but the Yugoslav government refused to cooperate; according to one source, officials felt that foreigners could not do justice to the country's past. Some scenes were instead shot in Italy and Austria. Filming started July 1959.

The movie was also known as "Jovanka and the Others."
Dino De Laurentiis says when he heard the story he instantly decided on a poster of five women with shaved heads.

Gina Lollobrigida was initially cast as Jovanka. However, in mid-July 1959, she left the production. Various sources gave conflicting reasons for her departure: that she did not want to shave her head, that she objected to blacklisted screenwriters Wilson and Jarrico. Another source claimed that director Ritt got her removed. She was replaced by Silvana Mangano.

It was reported that four of the five main actresses really had their heads shaved, the exception being Bel Geddes, who was to perform in a Broadway play immediately after the film ended production. A source stated that Moreau wore a skullcap.

Moreau said "I accepted the film only to pay my taxes and not because I liked it. I was justly punished for it. But I’m pleased I did it. I became friends with Silvana [Mangano] and it was fun to work with Martin and I learned Italian."

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