Eva

Eva, released in the United Kingdom as Eve, is a 1962 Italian-French co-production drama film directed by Joseph Losey and starring Jeanne Moreau, Stanley Baker, and Virna Lisi. Its screenplay is adapted from James Hadley Chase's 1945 novel Eve. Plot summary Tyvian Jones, a Welsh author from a working-class coal mining background, comes to Venice, rich and famous from the success of his first novel and its film adaptation by the Italian director Sergio Branco Mallone. Sergio and Tyvian compete for the affections of Sergio's assistant Francesca, who falls in love with Tyvian and gets engaged to him, but wants to keep her job with Sergio. Tyvian resents Sergio's demands on Francesca's time, but still accepts an advance from Sergio to begin writing a new novel, which Sergio hopes to film. Francesca leaves on a business trip to Rome with Sergio, and Tyvian returns to his Venice house to find it occupied by local businessman Pieri and his "friend", the erotic call girl Eva "Eve" Olivieri. The couple broke in to take shelter after their boat's rudder failed in a storm. Initially angry, Tyvian finds himself strongly attracted to Eve and, after throwing Pieri out of the house, tries unsuccessfully to seduce her. Eve knocks him unconscious and leaves. Tyvian tracks Eve to her penthouse apartment in Rome, where she has many clients. After pursuing her for several days, he finally succeeds in having sex with her. She indicates her primary interest is money, and warns him not to fall in love with her. His friends see him out with Eve, causing an upset Francesca to confront him and Sergio to berate and threaten him. Despite this negative fallout, Tyvian cannot resist spending an expensive weekend in Venice with Eve, where he reveals to her that his best-selling book was actually written by his deceased brother. Tyvian has begun to drink heavily and ends up publicly humiliated and rejected by Eve, who used the weekend to make money gambling and connecting with wealthy new clients.