Furs on Film – Seven Golden Men (1965)

Who is that team member? The Professor’s main squeeze, Giorgia, played by Rossana Podestà.

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Giorgia is the team’s “inside (wo)man” who plays a crucial role in the heist. We are introduced to the pair as they arrive at the hotel across the street from the bank, where they’ll run the heist. Giorgia is wearing a lovely white fox-trimmed hood, and we are treated to some nicely framed shots of Miss Podestà’s face surrounded by white fur.

Giorgia spends the film’s first half running infiltration on the bank, gathering intel, and planting bugs. She disguises herself with a cute black bob and a white mink coat.

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The film leaves us to assume that Giorgia’s mere presence is distracting enough to the male staff. I could complain about the inherent sexism, but who am I kidding? I’d be easily distracted by Rossana Podestà cruising by looking all goth-adjacent like that.

There is a brief interlude where Giorgia wears a different wig and mink-trimmed coat for another distracting stroll.

Back in the hotel, Giorgia spends some time in feathers. This is the kind of ‘adjacent’ I’m less enthusiastic about, but I’m in my ‘completist’ era. I will break down runtime figures for both fur and fur+feathers for those, like me, that appreciate the distinction. I will concede most of the time, Giorgia is wearing feathers; the film is non-too-subtly reminding us of just how attractive Rossana Podestà is.

Giorgia returns to the bank in her mod goth mink disguise.

And she departs the scene the way she arrived, in her white fox-trimmed hood.

There are a couple of other furs in the movie, including this black mink that appears while the Professor gives his ‘job well done’ speech after the successful heist. Eagle-eyed viewers will note the remaining runtime and may well be concerned this success may not last.

Yes, the Professor and Giorgia double-cross the rest of the team and make off on a train, where Giorgia’s fondness for looking spectacular in feathers returns.

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Giorgia executes a double cross of her own, of course. She leaves the Prof behind while picking up a spotted fur jacket that you’ll see a lot of across the third act.

Now, for those, unlike me, who love a probably outlawed for years natural leopard coat, you’ll be eating well for the next twenty minutes or so.

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I was far more pleased to see the white fox-trimmed hood return for a much-deserved final encore just before the credits rolled.