Vendetta

Vendetta is a 1950 American crime film based on the 1840 novella Colomba by Prosper Mérimée, about a young Corsican girl who pushes her brother to kill to avenge their father's murder. The film, produced by Howard Hughes as a vehicle for his latest discovery, Faith Domergue (pronounced "Dah-mure"), began principal photography for United Artists in 1946, but was not released until four years later through RKO Pictures, which Hughes had recently purchased. Hughes fired director Max Ophüls as well as his producing partner, Preston Sturges, who replaced Ophüls. Stuart Heisler completed the film, but Hughes decided he wanted more changes and brought in actor/director Mel Ferrer, who is the only credited director on the film. Hughes himself did some direction of pick-up scenes. The screenplay was credited to W. R. Burnett, but the script was worked on by a number of writers, including Sturges, who originated the project at Hughes's behest. Vendetta is estimated to have cost around $4 million, an extraordinary amount for the time. The film was neither a critical nor a box office success.