Eva (1962 film)


Eva, released in the United Kingdom as Eve, is a 1962 Italian-French co-production drama film directed by Joseph Losey and starring Jeanne Moreau, Stanley Baker and Virna Lisi. Its screenplay is adapted from James Hadley Chase's 1945 novel Eve.

Plot summary

A raw Welsh novelist in Venice is humiliated by a money-loving Frenchwoman who erotically ensnares him.

Cast

It was shot partly on location around Venice. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Richard Macdonald and Luigi Scaccianoce. Losey said he never would have normally chosen to make a film out of Chase's novel "but I made the film mine more than anything I have ever done."
Losey said later the producers made cuts without his permission and the film was a disappointment to him.

Critical reception

The New York Times concluded "Mr. Losey said the producer ruined it by cutting. The rejoinder is: He didn't cut it enough"; while in a similarly unfavourable review, Dennis Schwartz opined "The story itself is the film's main problem, because it is so unsettling and perverse. It never lets in any sunlight"; however Derek Winnert noted "Losey's dark thriller is really rather effective and underrated, and the actors are spot on in tailor-made roles."