Legend of the Lost (1957), Sophia Loren’s first big Hollywood film. The movie was shot in the Libyan desert, about five hundred miles south of Tripoli; John Wayne and Rossano Brazzi were the stars. Carlo Ponti was connected to the film. He and Loren weren’t yet married, but he sent along a sort of chaperone – a communist professor from Rome University. Everyone was crazy about Sophia, including the cameraman, Jack Cardiff. Cardiff was so busy lighting Loren, a second cameraman had to be brought in from Rome to see that Wayne and Brazzi were properly lit. The film company shot everyday except Sunday, which was my day to get the occasional still shot of Sophia. Cardiff, who was also a photographer, would pack a camera, tripod and iconic lunch and disappear with Sophia to photograph her. Where was the chaperone? While all this was going on, Cardiff’s wife Julie was on the set. At communal dinners, Cardiff would sit opposite Loren, his wife would sit next to him, and Cardiff would stare at Sophia, ignore his wife, and not eat anything. It was like an Italian comic opera.
