Trailer
Plot summary
Serafina Delle Rose sews for a living in a community near the Gulf of Mexico, and she is proud of her husband Rosario, a truck driver, loyal to him and pregnant with their second child. Estelle asks her to sew a rose-colored shirt from costly silk for the man Estelle loves. That night Rosario dies, killed while smuggling as he tries to get away from the police. Serafina collapses, and the doctor tells her daughter Rosa that her mother has lost the baby. Three years on, Serafina lives as a recluse and lets her appearance slide. She agrees to attend Rosa's graduation, and when Rosa brings home a sailor, Jack Hunter, Serafina makes him swear in front of a statue of the Virgin Mary to respect Rosa's innocence.
Cast
Show all 20 cast
- Dorrit Keltonas Schoolteacher (uncredited)
- May Leeas Mamma Shigura (Tattoo Artist) (uncredited)
- Augusta Merighias Giuseppina (uncredited)
- Rosa Reyas Mariella (uncredited)
- Rossana San Marcoas Peppina (uncredited)
- Zolya Talmaas Miss Mangiacavallo (uncredited)
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Rose Tattoo (1955)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Tennessee Williams wrote The Rose Tattoo's female lead for Anna Magnani to play on Broadway in 1951, but she turned the offer down because her English was not good enough at the time; she was ready by the 1955 film.
- Maureen Stapleton was passed over for the female lead because Hal Wallis felt she was "too young and too American", while Tennessee Williams insisted Anna Magnani be given the part.
- Much of The Rose Tattoo was shot on location in Key West, Florida, though the film never names the setting; the house used still stands, known as the "Rose Tattoo House", and was dressed with Italian furniture and wallpaper not typical of Key West.
