Ah, Italian cinema, the home of some of the most beautiful women in the world. Today we look at L’arcangelo, aka The Archangel, which features a glamorous blonde in the lead role. Where might this stunning beauty hail from? What bustling, historic Italian town produced this breathtaking blonde?
*Checks notes* Oklahoma City? The hell?
L’arcangelo – The Film
The plot, as I read online because I do not speak Italian, involves a terrible attorney whose services are retained by a beautiful model who says she killed her husband. We learn she did not, but she’s not done telling tales to the lawyer, who is, of course, falling in love in the process. Is he getting set up? Yeah, sure, that’s the plot.
L’arcangelo – The Furs
The beautiful blonde in question is Gloria Bianchi, played by the American actress Pamela Tiffin. Early on, we get an unfortunately brief shot of her wearing a hooded fur that is either lynx or lynx-dyed fox. I’m betting on the latter.
Later we see Gloria briefly in feathers while doing model stuff.
After work, she puts on a dyed fox fur stroller, which we will happily see more of later in the film.
We then meet Signora Tarocchi Roda (Irina Demick, who is French), the wife of a man Gloria may be having an affair with. She’s wearing a more conservative mink, but a least it is not brown.
After dinner, Gloria and her lawyer conference while wearing white fox.
For my own amusement, mainly, I present the following extra wearing a fur coat who shows up multiple times during a sequence in an airport. For some reason, I could pick her out of the crowd.
Gloria and her pastel-dyed fox arrive, and we see far more of it in the following part of the film.
We also add a large, matching fox fur hat to the ensemble. This set appropriately is given some significant time on screen.
Gloria later describes a crime she may commit, which is why there’s a funny camera angle. She wears what appears to be a sheepskin-trimmed coat.
Mrs. Roda appears shortly after with a white fox hat.
We have to stay to the credits for one important reason: there is a great scene right before the movie’s end where both women wear the same red fox hat and collar.
It’s a bit brief, but a fine way to end a film if you ask me, and you read this, so I guess you did.
L’arcangelo turns in about eight minutes of really lovely fur. I’d say it doesn’t seem like a ‘60s film, but that’s likely because it is from the tail-end of the decade when trends towards the (objectively superior) more oversized furs of the ‘70s were already underway.
Since this is the internet and some people have no sense of humor, I have no issue with Pamela Tiffin. I think she’s absolutely gorgeous. I just thought it was funny to find out the sexy lady lead from an Italian film was an American.
- Fur Runtime: approx 08:01 minutes
- Film Runtime: 106 minutes
- On-Screen Ratio: 7.56%
Find-a-Fur: L’arcangelo, 1969
(all times are approximate and are affected by the cut of the film)
- 15:45 – hooded lynx-dyed fox
- 38:00 – feathers to light blue dyed fox coat
- 39:00 – white mink
- 41:10 – white fox coat
- 45:15 – 48:40 – light blue dyed fox
- 1:11:30 – light blue dyed fox coat + hat
- 1:16:00 – sheepskin trim coat
- 1:16:30 – white fox hat
- 1:38:20 – (end) red fox hat and collar 2x
Fur Fashion Gallery: L’arcangelo, 1969
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