Animals were harmed in these films
Italian actress Sophia Loren is greeted by a crowd of astonished caricature faces as she arrives at the Venice International Film Festival in 1958.
A bearded Paul Newman in tuxedo and bow tie during a trip on a water taxi across St. Mark's Basin while attending the International Venice Film Festival 1963. Whether or not the sailor's cap was part of the actor's wardrobe was never ascertained...
Hollywood golden couple Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall take to the canals in a gondola while attending the International Venice Film Festival in 1951.
American actor Clark Gable, looking very dapper in a double-breasted suit and tie, is photographed standing on a restaurant terrace during his visit to the 1953 edition of the International Venice Film Festival. The landmark Santa Maria della Salute provides a suitably historic backdrop.
A smart and formal-looking Burt Lancaster sits among moored gondolas while reading a letter before a movie premiere at the International Venice Film Festival in 1962.
Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dalí strikes a typically eccentric pose wearing a shantung blazer and a fancy silk waistcoat topped out with straw hat while reclining in a gondola and taking in the sights as a guest of the Venice International Film Festival in 1961.
Gary Cooper, in Venice in 1955 for the 16th International Venice Film Festival, signs autographs for fans in St. Mark's Square.
Italian actress Claudia Cardinale enjoys an excursion across St. Mark's Basin in a taxi boat while attending the Venice International Film Festival in 1958.
Bond takes to a boat by way of Scottish actor Sean Connery, who made quite a splash at the International Venice Film Festival in 1967.
American actor and singer Harry Belafonte appears deep in thought while taking in the sun at the Venice International Film Festival in 1958.
Influential Italian film director Federico Fellini and his wife, actress Giulietta Masina, hold hands and smile while relaxing in a gondola during the International Venice Film Festival in 1955.
French screen and music celebrities Brigitte Bardot and Sacha Distel are all eyes and smiles at the Venice International Film Festival in 1958.
A waiter serves Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida during one of the many celebratory dinners held during the International Venice Film Festival in 1959.
Hollywood legend Joan Crawford appealed to fans everywhere after making a suitably elegant appearance at the International Venice Film Festival in 1970.
Rolling Stone front man Mick Jagger and his then-wife Bianca took to the canals while in town attending the International Venice Film Festival in 1971.
Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman admires St. Mark's Square from the portico of Doge's Palace during her appearance at the 16th International Venice Film in 1955.
American actress Gene Tierney peers over the shoulder of French director Jean Renoir as they scan the program for the International Venice Film Festival in 1945.
Jane Fonda and her husband, French film director Roger Vadim, along with Fonda's brother Peter, smile broadly for the cameras as they take a cruise along the city's canals while attending the International Venice Film Festival in 1966.
Revered French film actor Jean Gabin is almost unrecognizable behind sunglasses as he admires the canals while in Venice for the 17th edition of the film festival in 1956.
Smiling Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune meets some feathered friends in St. Mark's Square while taking time off from the International Venice Film Festival in 1967.
French actor Jean Marais and French writer and filmmaker Jean Cocteau take time out for coffee in 1947 during the International Venice Film Festival.
Legendary film director Michelangelo Antonioni and Italian actress Monica Vitti arrive at the International Venice Film Festival in 1962 in appropriate style, while still finding time to pause for the paparazzi.
British actress Claire Bloom and her husband, American actor Rod Steiger, brave wet weather during the International Venice Film Festival in 1963.
Well-groomed British actor James Mason relaxes during the Venice International Film Festival in 1956.
Mexican actress Mária Félix, in Venice for the 1959 film festival, enjoys an ice cream while sightseeing in Campo San Zulian.
Pretending to take a nap together at the water's edge, American actor Van Heflin and Italian film stars Silvana Manganoa and Carla Gravina, plus French actress Jeanne Moreau, take part in a sleepy photoshoot during the Venice International Film Festival in 1958.
Sources: (Britannica) (La Biennale di Venezia)
Kirk Douglas, perhaps preempting his 1956 role as Vincent Van Gogh, signs his name during a break from the International Venice Film Festival in 1953.
Actress, dancer, and singer Ginger Rogers applies lipstick while her husband, French actor Jacques Bergerac, chats with guests at a restaurant reception during the International Venice Film Festival in 1953.
The International Venice Film Festival, founded in 1932, is the world's oldest film festival and one of the big European three, alongside Cannes and Berlin. The annual movie showcase attracts some of the biggest names in world cinema: A-list actors, actresses, and directors, as well as a wealth of celebrity artists, entertainers, and musicians.
Some of the most memorable editions of the festival took place during the 1950s and early 1960s during Hollywood's Golden Age, when familiar big-screen heartthrobs from America rubbed shoulders with the finest and most respected names working on the continent. In this gallery, let's reload the camera and admire these rare snapshots from previous editions. Click on for more.
Rare snapshots of the Venice Film Festival in its vintage heyday
The world's oldest film festival attracts some of the biggest names in world cinema
MOVIES Cinema
The International Venice Film Festival, founded in 1932, is the world's oldest film festival and one of the big European three, alongside Cannes and Berlin. The annual movie showcase attracts some of the biggest names in world cinema: A-list actors, actresses, and directors, as well as a wealth of celebrity artists, entertainers, and musicians.
Some of the most memorable editions of the festival took place during the 1950s and early 1960s during Hollywood's Golden Age, when familiar big-screen heartthrobs from America rubbed shoulders with the finest and most respected names working on the continent. In this gallery, let's reload the camera and admire these rare snapshots from previous editions. Click on for more.