There are two villains in this film, and one of them is a woman. She finally reveals herself as the true queen of spades in her cards after having been cheating all her life, but she is startlingly beautiful, especially in her first scenes as a singer at a high skiing resort for rich tourists in the French Alps, who spend their nights around the roulette while she entertains them by seductive singing, but she can't fool her fat rich husband, the owner of the resort, all the way.
The other lady is a very young Gina Lollobrigida, who is married to an old smuggler who is at the end of his tether, trying to turn a blind eye to it by medicine and liquor, not a good combination; but Gina really cares for him and loves him and replaces him in the smuggling gang, who are not all decent fellows.
It's actually a gripping drama off relationships and hardships in the smuggling business, contrasted against the luxury life of the lavish tourists, who have no idea of the drama that goes on around them. Amedeo Nazzari, employed by the owner to keep watch of the games, has one foot in both businesses and gets involved with the problems of the smugglers, especially when these become acute because of lack of discipline. The cinematography is excellent like also the music, the direction is efficient with never a dull moment in a flow of action that constantly keeps changing to higher gear. Above all, it's a great film of the western Alps, the scenery is magnificent, and the human drama is a good match for it.
The other lady is a very young Gina Lollobrigida, who is married to an old smuggler who is at the end of his tether, trying to turn a blind eye to it by medicine and liquor, not a good combination; but Gina really cares for him and loves him and replaces him in the smuggling gang, who are not all decent fellows.
It's actually a gripping drama off relationships and hardships in the smuggling business, contrasted against the luxury life of the lavish tourists, who have no idea of the drama that goes on around them. Amedeo Nazzari, employed by the owner to keep watch of the games, has one foot in both businesses and gets involved with the problems of the smugglers, especially when these become acute because of lack of discipline. The cinematography is excellent like also the music, the direction is efficient with never a dull moment in a flow of action that constantly keeps changing to higher gear. Above all, it's a great film of the western Alps, the scenery is magnificent, and the human drama is a good match for it.