Heller in Pink Tights

Heller In Pink Tights is a 1960 Technicolor western film adapted from Louis L'Amour's novel, Heller with a Gun. It stars Sophia Loren and Anthony Quinn and was directed by George Cukor. The movie is noted for its lavishly ornate costumes by Edith Head and its impressive photography and use of Technicolor. Though not a commercial success, Heller In Pink Tights is thought by some film historians to be George Cukor's most lavishly visual film. Cukor never had been pleased with the "look" of most westerns, and he hired George Hoyningen-Huene, a famous Russian-born fashion photographer and 1920s illustrator who was an expert at art and design. The final result is a unique film that looks like a cross between a Frederic Remington painting and a Toulouse-Lautrec rendering of music hall performers. Heller in Pink Tights co-stars Margaret O'Brien, Ramon Novarro and Eileen Heckart. It also marks Loren's lowest weight on film. The normally voluptuous and full-figured actress lost almost 20 pounds at Cukor's request and donned a blonde wig. As is the case in L'Amour's novel, there is no character in the film named "Heller".