The Angel Wore Red

The Angel Wore Red
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Nunnally Johnson
Produced by	Goffredo Lombardo
Written by	Nunnally Johnson Bruce Marshall (novel)
Starring	Ava Gardner Dirk Bogarde Joseph Cotten Vittorio De Sica Aldo Fabrizi Enrico Maria Salerno
Music by	Bronislau Kaper Angelo Francesco Lavagnino
Cinematography	Giuseppe Rotunno
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Titanus
Release date	September 28, 1960
Running time	Italy: 95 min USA: 99 min
Country	United States Italy
Language	English Italian
Budget	$1,843,000
Box office	$935,000

The Angel Wore Red, also known as La Sposa Bella in its Italian version, is a 1960 Italian-American romantic war drama starring Ava Gardner and Dirk Bogarde made by MGM and Titanus. It was directed by Nunnally Johnson and produced by Goffredo Lombardo, from a screenplay by Johnson based on the 1953 novel The Fair Bride by Bruce Marshall.

Giorgio Prosperi wrote the dialogue for the Italian version. The music score for the American version was by Bronislau Kaper and by Angelo Francesco Lavagnino for the Italian version. The cinematography was by Giuseppe Rotunno.

Young Catholic priest Arturo Carrera (Bogarde) sympathizes with the poor in the Spanish Civil War, but finds that his fellow priests have little concern for the poor, because they support the Nationalist rebels. He then resigns from the priesthood. Hours later, the city is bombarded and he takes shelter with a mysterious beautiful woman named Soledad (Gardner).

They part. As night falls, Loyalist speakers induce a mob to torch the church, whose ranking cleric moves to hide the Blood of St John relic by giving his deputy the task of taking it to Franco's Nationalists. Both the deputy and Arturo become hunted men. Arturo seeks shelter in a local cabaret, where he again meets the mystery woman, who turns out to be a prostitute.