Come September (1961) User Reviews

Hudson and Lollobrigida in Italy

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 25 April 2006]

Rock Hudson and Gina Lollabrigida star in "Come September," a 1961 comedy beautifully photographed to showcase the glorious scenery of Portafino, Italy, and the exquisiteness of Gina Lollabrigida, a knockout if there ever was one. Haven't seen her lately, but 25 years later, she was every bit as gorgeous.

Hudson plays a millionaire who comes to Italy to spend time in his villa each September. This year, he arrives early, looking forward to a dalliance with Lollobrigida as well. But she's through with him and planning to marry someone else - until she hears his voice. When Hudson arrives at his fabulous villa, he discovers that his major domo (expertly played by Walter Slezak) has, for the last six years, been turning his place into a hotel. There is a bus load of young girls staying there with their chaperone, who slips on a champagne cork and is put out of commission. Thus, the girls can't leave and Hudson feels compelled to chaperone them. When Lollobrigida hears the advice he's giving the young women to keep them out of the clutches of some young men who have arrived with reservations - she's not happy. The young men figure Hudson is too old to compete with them so they try exhausting him, hoping to get some time alone with the women.

Though this comedy sags in the middle, it's a cute story and the cast is delightful, including Sandra Dee and Bobby Darrin, who sings the title song and also "Multiplication" at a night club. A great talent, his is a sad story of a gifted song stylist who didn't live to mine his full potential. It is during this film that he met his future wife, Dee.

Hudson is handsome and fit and again shows his ability for comedy, and Lollabrigida gives an energetic, sexy performance. Their dance together in the nightclub is a high point.

One of the posters mentioned that Hudson's films today are diminished because of his now-known sexual preference. I submit this is ridiculous. Straight people have played gay people for years, and vice versa. The fact that we may not be aware of it doesn't make it any less true. Hudson plays a straight man in this, and he's effective. When did it become a mandate that actors could only play themselves? It's not called acting for nothing.

Great early 60s fun!

[Oblomov-2 · 7/10 · 17 July 2007]

For some reason, this lightweight comedy from 1961 became something of an icon in India, where I come from. We were kids when it was first released but Bobby Darin's theme music became so popular that it was played practically everywhere for the next few years. I think the film was re-released three times between 1961 & 1964 in Bangalore, with the locally edited trailers mistakenly adding footage from other films of the era like Palm Springs Weekend! I first saw the film as an 8-year old in 1963, but had to wait 28 more years before I saw it as an adult - on British TV in 1991. On the whole, I like this film as a period piece of what some people call "Kennedy era entertainment" - lightweight, fluffy comedies that are nice to watch now and then.

Typical Sixties Romantic Comedy

[atlasmb · 6/10 · 20 October 2013]

Come September contains few surprises in that it's a light comedy that represents its time (1961). You get the expected romantic complications, misunderstandings, scheming, and a suitable resolution. No drama here; you know how it will all turn out. But that's okay. When you watch a comedy like Come September, you would be disappointed if it didn't follow formula.

Come September has a few things to recommend it. All the actors do a fine job. Rock Hudson is the focus of the film and he holds it together. Gina Lollabrigida is sexy and funny; she plays her part with spirit.

In addition, the scenery--shot along the Italian Riviera--is beautiful. The villa where the story unfolds is perfect as the vacation home of a rich American businessman.

To top it off, in what other film do you get a joke about a drunken parakeet?

Casual Sex Farce

[wes-connors · 6/10 · 7 July 2009]

"Come September", handsome Rock Hudson (as Robert Talbot) goes to his luxurious Italian villa, to hook up with gorgeous part-time lover Gina Lollobrigida (as Lisa Fellini). Suddenly changing plans, Mr. Hudson surprises Ms. Lollobrigida by arriving two months before their annual rendezvous. Looking for more commitment, Lollobrigida has made plans to marry another man; but, she agrees to meet Hudson for one more fling. Their love nest is disrupted by entrepreneurial "major domo" Walter Slezak (as Maurice Clavell).

Since Hudson never appears before September, Mr. Slezak has turned Hudson's villa into a hotel for sightseeing teenage girls. Hudson takes a fatherly interest in them, most notably sunny Sandra Dee (as Sandy Stevens). And, he tries to keep Ms. Dee and her girlfriends away from a group of amorous young men, most notably singer Bobby Darin (as Tony). And, yes, that's Joel Grey (as Beagle) years before his overnight success in "Cabaret" (1972). Eventually young and old have a meeting of the minds.

This was Mr. Darin's first feature film appearance as an actor; despite being slightly miscast, he is good. Darin's single "Multiplication" was an accompanying hit (in the film, Hudson has a cute line about sexual mathematics). In real life, Darin and Dee (already a big movie star) married after an off screen romance. Oddly enough, on screen, the young lovers are no match for Hudson and Lollobrigida. The production is first class, with photographer William Daniels highlighting the beauty of the sets, locations and Lollobrigida.

****** Come September (8/8/61) Robert Mulligan ~ Rock Hudson, Gina Lollobrigida, Bobby Darin, Sandra Dee

location of film

[itapeter-kay · 25 June 2005]

We love the film and have watched it countless times. Last year we were lucky to find out where the location of Mr Talbot's "villa" was. It is in reality one of the most luxurious hotels in the world dominating the the hill overlooking the bay of Portofino in the Italian Riviera. The staff in the hotel confirmed that the film was shot there. However, when we view the film, the shots from the terrace down to the harbour don't quite line up, so we imagine that another location was also used. If you ever get to Portofino, it is worth the climb to see the view and the coffee wasn't as expensive as it was down in the harbour. Best wishes Peter and Ita Kay.

Rock rocks

[jotix100 · 7/10 · 28 December 2007]

This Universal International film was a vehicle for Rock Hudson who showed an uncanny gift for comedy. As such, "Come September" is a product of the times in which it was made. That was the time when Hollywood had an advantage in using natural beautiful European scenery which was affordable then. Robert Mulligan directed this comedy that although pleasant didn't fare as well as other, better made comedies, of that era.

Probably one of the best scenes in the movie involves Rock Hudson dancing a fast number with Gina Lollobrigida, something probably no one could have expected for an actor not associated with musical comedies. Mr. Hudson, an actor not known for his dancing abilities, comes across as having the time of his life. The chemistry between the actor and Gina Lollobrigida saves the movie because the story is thin.

Also in the movies we see Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin, who later became a couple. Walter Slezak and Brenda DeBanzie, both veterans actors, also appear in the movie. A very young Joel Grey has a small part.

The Ligurian region of Italy is shown in all its splendor. Great views of Portofino can be seen from the top of the Talbot mansion. The film is mildly entertaining if one doesn't expect too much out of the material.

Hilarious

[v4aholm · 10/10 · 20 January 2001]

I loved this movie. I have watched it over and over again . Rock,Gina,Sandra and Bobby were all fantastic. They don't make movies like this anymore. The countryside where it was filmed was beautiful. The chemistry between Sandra Dee and Bobby Darrin was exciting. A lot of fun!

Always Spefify Walter When You Say Slezak!

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 30 January 2017]

Any film with Walter Slezak is a potentially interesting movie, and "Come September" with its attractive photography and clever film editing, is no exception. In this one, Slezak has an opportunity to speak Italian. In one of the film's cleverest sequences, he mistranslates Rock's protestations to the police. His Italian is fluent but still spoken with his characteristic German accent. And as usual, he is a sheer delight. Bobby Darin is much less amusing. In fact, he's as boorish as usual. I wasn't enamored of the strident Miss Dee either, but Lollo is exquisitely clothed and dishabille. Good old Rock looks appropriately confused, but there's some clever directorial work at the climax in which Rock and the police gesticulate on one side of the train window to the silently mouthing Lollo on the other!

Pretty Soon You've Got A Room Full Of Rabbits!

[Noirdame79 · 9/10 · 1 August 2005]

I had a hard time finding this delightful film on DVD, so I ordered it through a local video store, and it arrived on the late Sandra Dee's birthday, how fitting. I hadn't seen it since it aired on television a few years ago, and I'd forgotten how humorous and entertaining it was.

Robert Talbot (Rock Hudson, proving his comedic talent)has a beautiful Italian villa he only uses during the month of September, which also fits his beautiful local girlfriend, Lisa (Gina Lollobrigida)for that same month a year. Lisa is so frustrated that she is preparing to marry an English gentlemen (Sidney Howard), but she reconsiders when Robert decides to fly in in July. What the business man does not know is that his butler, Maurice (Walter Slezak, who nearly steals the show), has been using the villa as a hotel. Talbot finds his place swarming with tourists, including a group of college girls. And then the college boys make a landing, headed by Tony (Bobby Darin) who immediately sets his sights on Sandy (Sandra Dee), while Talbot cunningly tries to keep these young fellows away from the girls, which leads to more funny and romantic complications.

This movie is fantastic all around. From the breathtakingly gorgeous Italian scenery, to the costumes, wonderful chemistry between the actors, and the music (with Darin crooning one of his own tunes, "Multplication" in a dance sequence), "Come September" is priceless. The electricity between Darin and Dee is so apparent, and this is a fitting tribute to both of them, and the fact that they married after filming wrapped makes the viewing of the film all the more enjoyable. Some hilarious lines too! "Those boys are quite capable of dividing and multiplying!" "Do it to others before they do it to you!" "There's a body missing! A body I don't want to have missing!" I'd come to this villa every month of the year!

You Should Have Let Me Know You Were Coming Early

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 16 March 2008]

Come September is the first of two films that Rock Hudson co-starred with Gina Lollabrigida and it's the story of a man who comes only in September to Italy to spend time at his villa where his factotum, Walter Slezak has things in hand.

That he has, since Hudson only shows up in the fall for a few weeks, why let this beautiful grand villa go to waste. So Slezak for years has been turning it into a hotel and turning a few bucks doing it. This summer though Hudson shows up early and boy is he surprised to find a group of teenage girls, Sandra Dee and friends chaperoned by Brenda DaBanzie staying there.

Things are compounded worse when DaBanzie does a Woman Who Came to Dinner number and slips on a champagne cork after being given an eviction by the irate Hudson. Now she can't move. She and the girls are stuck there.

But Slezak is not the only one creating problems for Rock. For years he's been taking fiancé Gina Lollabrigida for granted and now she's set to marry the v-e-d-d-y proper British Ronald Howard. Add to that some boys led by Bobby Darin also arrive with reservations at the Hudson hotel. In fact in one of his earliest screen roles, young law student Joel Grey rightly informs Hudson the group might sue if their reservations aren't honored.

It's quite a mess as you can see, but in these comedies things do have a way of working out. Personally I think the guy who should have been sued is Slezak.

Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee met and were fated to be mated as it were. Darin also gets to sing one of his classic hits, Multiplication on the sound track. He was quite a talent, what a very sad and early loss Bobby Darin was.

Though the story is too silly at times, Rock and Gina have a nice working chemistry together. I rather liked them better in Strange Bedfellows. This one's all right though.

Dull, Unfunny and Disappointing

[claudio_carvalho · 4/10 · 2 April 2012]

The wealthy American executive Robert Talbot (Rock Hudson) comes to Italy in a business trip and anticipates his annual vacation a couple of months before the usual month of September. He invites his Italian girlfriend Lisa Helena Fellini (Gina Lollobrigida), who had decided to get married with her British fiancé Spencer (Ronald Howard), to go with him to his villa and she immediately calls off her engagement with Spencer.

When Robert arrives in his villa with Lisa, he learns that his butler Maurice Clavell (Walter Slezak) has been using his property as a hotel for six years while Robert is in the United States. Further, the "hotel" is booked with six female teenage students that are controlled by the tough Margaret Allison (Brenda De Banzie). Robert fires Maurice and asks him to send the tourists away. However, Margaret slips on a champagne cork and the girls are forced to stay a little longer.

When four American male students arrive in Robert's villa, they flirt with the girls. However Robert protects them and advises one of them, Sandy Stevens (Sandra Dee), telling that easy women do not get married since men do not take them seriously. Sandy tells Lisa what Robert told her and Lisa changes her behavior and leaves Robert alone.

"Come September" is a dull, unfunny and disappointing romantic comedy despite having Rock Hudson and Gina Lollobrigida in the cast. The story is awful and it is absolutely incoherent that a businessman with the profile of Robert Talbot be so stupid.

A successful tycoon like him, instead of sending the teenagers away to stay alone with his lover, nurses them. How could Robert be so naive and trust on a despicable scum like Maurice for so many years? And how can he be serious with a shallow and promiscuous character like Lisa? My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Quando Setembro Vier" ("When September Comes")

"I don't have to make sense! I'm Italian",

[Galina_movie_fan · 8/10 · 10 March 2008]

"Come September" (1961) is a light, funny, and delightfully old-fashioned romantic comedy which is as charming as the colorful dresses the girls were wearing during "Age of Innocence," a period that extended roughly from the end of World War II into the mid-1960s, and as pretty as the Italian seaside where American millionaire Robert Talbot (dashing Rock Hudson) has a luxurious villa. For six years, he's been spending his vacation there in September with his Italian girlfriend, Lisa Fellini - a stunningly beautiful and sensual Gina Lollobrigida. One year, he changed his plans and arrived in July. To Talbot's utter surprise he found out that his devoted major-domo, Maurice (Walter Slezak stole all his scenes as an employee who has his very own ideas of loyalty and devotion) , has been making nice money by turning his villa into a popular and posh hotel "La Dolce Vista" once his employer leaves for America. Lisa is tired of being a " September girl" and decides to marry another man. On the top of all, Talbot finds himself chaperoning a group of six American teenage girls vacationing in Italy, and fighting a generational war with the group of four American college boys whose hotel reservation he canceled and who settled in a tent just outside the villa and began courting the girls. Talbot's biggest concern is Tony (Bobby Darin), the leader of the gang, a medical student who wants to seduce young and innocent blonde Sandy (Sandy Dee), the psychology major. The film is a nice way to spend two hours. Darin sings the song" Multiplication" that he had composed for the movie and I wonder if the song was one of the reasons Dee and pop idol Bobby Darin fell in love with each other in real life and were married just after the filming was over. Hudson and Lollobrigida have a nice chemistry and there is also their dance together. While watching her dance, you would wholeheartedly agree with Tony that never 206 bones that a human body includes were constructed so perfectly. To quote him further, "She is a beaut; you don't see many like that". So is the movie - they simply don't make them like that anymore.

One of the best movies of all time

[akashkapoor · 7/10 · 30 November 1999]

I don't know what other people have said about this movie, but if they said anything bad, they need to be shot. The casting is perfect and the acting is great. It has Gina Lollobrigida which is a definite plus to any movie. Rock Hudson pulls off his character with perfection. The story line is one of the best of all romantic comedies. I heartily recommend the movie to all.

"Teenagers are like the H-Bomb...you don't wanna be around when one goes off!"

[moonspinner55 · 3/10 · 15 April 2006]

Rock Hudson plays a millionaire American businessman who returns to his Italian villa only to find that, in his absence, his valet has turned the palace into a hotel--and it is currently overrun with college kids on holiday. Lushly-produced tedium aimed squarely at the youth market; Hudson is portrayed as a stuffed-shirt who needs humanizing when anyone in their right mind would want these juveniles to vamoose! Bobby Darin falls for Sandra Dee, on-screen as in real-life, but neither gives a charismatic performance. Joel Grey, some 11 years before "Cabaret", shows up as an annoying pre-law student, while Gina Lollobrigida is mostly used for her fiery temper (she has no character to play and ends up shouting at everyone in Italian). *1/2 from ****

Reflective of the time period, and its comedy style of film-making

[Ripshin · 8 January 2005]

Beautiful locations, beautiful people, beautiful cinematography and glossy direction, combine with a pedestrian script to create a satisfactory viewing experience.

Rock is Rock, and Gina is Gina, and the two manage to spice up an extremely predictable storyline. The dialogue adheres closely to basic early 60s comedy requirements. Cute and polite sexuality is tossed into a situation driven by confusion that could easily be avoided if characters would simply ask the logical questions.

Darren and Dee surprisingly have little chemistry, considering this is the film that began their real-life relationship.

Minor complaint.......the final shot telegraphed its conclusion the minute the happy couple drove up to the villa. I said to myself, there are going to be ________ at the table, and sure enough, I was correct.

The casting of the college kids is bland, I suppose in order not to overshadow Darren and Dee.

COME September (Robert Mulligan, 1961) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 6/10 · 15 January 2009]

I can't tell you how many TV screenings of this one I've missed out on in the past – so I got to it now that its director has passed away (though the copy I acquired displayed the occasional glitch!); being a glossy romantic comedy, it seems Mulligan – who would come to specialize in meaningful dramas – had yet to find his niche by this time. On the other hand, ever since PILLOW TALK (1959), leading man Rock Hudson had flourished in the genre and would continue to do so for the next few years; however, this isn't among his best-regarded efforts – and neither, incidentally, is his follow-up teaming with co-star Gina Lollobrigida, STRANGE BEDFELLOWS (1965), which I've yet to watch. Even so, COME September proved surprisingly engaging (if distinctly overlong) and, if anything, the idea of having a couple rekindling their affair for one month every year and the complications which arise when the hero turns up unexpectedly at the rendez-vous is nice enough. Though the stars have to share screen-time with a bunch of teenagers – virtually a pre-requisite during this era – led by Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin (who would hitch up in real-life after this, and the latter gets to sing too!), they're all given sufficient space…as is, for that matter, chief supporting player Walter Slezak (wonderful as Hudson's amiably shrewd butler – and who knew he was so fluent in Italian?). Being set in Europe, the film-makers can't resist making this, at least partly, a travelogue; that said, a number of the situations – especially the initial mix-up at the villa-cum-hotel, the resilience shown by middle-aged Hudson when he's chaperoning the kids, and Slezak's wiles at the end to get hero and heroine back together – provide more than enough felicities along the way…even if the only really laugh-out-loud moment is reserved to a drunken parrot keeling over while clutching to its stern (and obviously perplexed) mistress' finger!

Sure was funny at times

[jewelch · 7/10 · 20 November 2020]

This was really good and the cast was amazing. James Welch Henderson Arkansas. 11/20/2020

Lauughing out loud

[Farzeen · 10/10 · 21 July 2005]

Come September is a film which shall make you smile all along. At times,it will also make u laugh out loud. It's a film you will like to see with your friends and family, anytime, anywhere. It is a wholesome family entertainer.

I saw this film in a cinema hall in Munich, where it was dubbed in German. Though I did not understand the language, I had a gala time identifying various places of Italy as I was there previously for a period of 1 year , taking a course on Italian cooking.

Later, I got to see the film on VHS.It was fabulous, now that I could identify what the characters were talking. Rock shines, Gina sparkles. Bobby grinds and Sandra is bubbly. It's a sure shot entertainer. I would love to see this film on screen once again.

This has become better!

[teleadm-persson · 7/10 · 23 December 2006]

This movie actually becomes better with each viewing.

The first time I thought it was a so-so 60's farce Though many scenes now might look old-time nonsense! This movie is actually directed by Mulligan who's next pic was To kill a Mockingbird!

Gina is so much better in comedies than she ever was in biblical Movies (and that horrible Solmon and Sheba).

Rock is Rock but on the light side! Even with a gray Rolls Royce.

After watching Kevin Spacey movie about Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee, This movie has sure become more interesting.

Walter Slezsak is for once not playing a nazi, as if Conrad Viet would have lived, as a matter of fact I've never seen Walter in a nice guy role as this before.

Brenda de Banzie has a small role too, I remember her in Man who knew too much" 1956 Hitchcock, aqnd olde English farce about shoemaker Hobson's choice

An Italian rendezvous

[ani218122 · 10/10 · 15 November 2006]

Come September is a unique comedy, sparkling with the touch of the Italian summer, American opulence and oriental moods. A must see for people who love cinema and want to keep smiling. This escapist saga is about two people who are in love but cannot get married due to various reasons, the principal one being the hero's unpreparedness. Paradoxically, the time he really decides to tie the knot, he faces the most bizarre week of his life which leads to another September, god knows, how many more.

The best part of the film is that it leaves a lot to the imagination, at at the same time guarantees that you go home feeling good, having spent some quality time. Icing on the cake is the beautiful Italian landscape , it evokes both a sense of grandeur and nostalgia, though Mulligan has ensured that the film does not become a tourist's guide to Portofino and Italian Riviera.

The film is a showcase for Lollos beauty and pneumatic appeal and Rock's masculinity. Assistance in the form of the comic skills of Walter Slezak makes this film a laugh riot in the climactic scenes. This is Lollobrigida's biggest hit in the US and India, and deservedly so; Rock Hudson makes a great partner for her, much as he was doing in this early 60's era with Doris Day in many films.

Childish it may be, Come September is loved even today. I have spent many afternoons viewing the film and admiring the Italian sun.. it acts as an relaxant in my otherwise busy work schedule

A good comedy romance set in scenic pastoral Italy

[SimonJack · 7/10 · 28 November 2016]

"Come September" is a light comedy and romance that mixes two movie generations. The one, with Rock Hudson and Gina Lollobrigida, were stars for the baby boomer generation in its teens (1950s-1960s). The other, with Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee, represented those teens. Although, when this film was made, Darin and Dee were married (Dec. 1960). He was 25 years old and an established singing star and Dee already had a dozen movies behind her as a 19-year-old. In this film, they are both college students.

Hudson plays a wealthy American, Robert Talbot, who spends a lot of time in Europe creating business mergers and other deals to build his empire. A few years earlier, he had bought a villa in Italy, and each September he retreats to his villa to relax. He has a local female love interest who looks forward to his annual retreats. Gina Lollobrigida plays Lisa Fellini. The movie was filmed at locations around Italy.

The source of much of the humor in this film is Walter Slezak who plays Maurice Cavell, major domo of Robert's villa. When the cat is gone, the mice come out to play. And, Maurice turns the villa into a posh hotel for 11 months of the year. Guests staying there now include some young college girls. Among them is Sandy Stevens (Sandra Dee); and camping out nearby are some American college guys touring Europe. Bobby Darin is one of them – Tony.

The film has some very funny scenes, and plenty of witty lines. Suffice it to say that the two generations clash at times, and the "older" folks pick up some pearls of wisdom from the younger ones. In the end, love triumphs, and Robert and Lisa tie the knot. I correctly guessed the last scene, which should give everyone a smile. This is a film that everyone should enjoy. Here are some sample lines of dialog.

Robert, "Teenagers are like the H bomb. When they go off, it's better to observe them from a distance."

Maurice, "She loves you. She wants to marry you." Robert, "Yeah, she has a funny way of showing it." Maurice, "Women are emotional, She's been hurt. She wants time to think." Robert, "Yeah, well, I want to go back to America where people get married without thinking."

Lisa, "Why be miserable with someone you don't love? It's better to be miserable with someone you do love."

come september

[mossgrymk · 5/10 · 20 May 2023]

A code crippled Eisenhower era comedy that somehow found its way into the Kennedy 60s, this movie is basically a sex romp with no sex and alarmingly little romp. Co scenarist Stanley Shapiro, who would go on to do much better work in this area in "Pillow Talk", said that he worked steadily on the screenplay from eight in the morning to five at night and then some after dinner. And maybe that's the problem. The dialogue feels labored, worked over, trying too hard, with one decent joke followed by ten or twenty that don't even raise a half smile. And if you noticed, as I did, a distinct dearth of physical comedy maybe that's because the director is someone who is more at home in an Alabama courtroom or a New York inner city high school than at a swingy Italian villa. Oh well. At least Gina's got charm to go along with her other, more assertive attributes. And it's nice to see Walter Slezak not playing a sleaze or a Nazi. Give it a C.

Among the best of this type of comedy!

[laurel21000 · 10/10 · 6 March 2008]

I came to this picture expecting to only skip through parts of it.

I had watched Kevin Spacey's "Beyond the Sea." That sent me to seek out Dodd Darin's book about his parents, Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee.

This autobio/bio (Dream Lovers:The Magnificent Shattered Lives of Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee), by the way, turned out to be one of the best written and compelling bios ever. Dodd Darin came across as so obviously a person of very high integrity and he wrote about his life and his parents with a very strong priority on finding and presenting the truth. So different from the many bs-laden, so-called autobiographys with all of their "composite characters" (code for I'm lying)littering the market.

And then that book led me to want to watch "Come September." It was on this picture that Darin and Dee first met. It was also Bobby Darin's first role.

So I was mainly curious to get insight about them and was prepared and expected to have to wade through a mostly boring comedy to do so.

But, surprise on me, "Come September" turned out to be Terrific! Fantastic! Wonderful!

The script was very sharp and clever. There were tons of extremely witty lines. The laughs just kept coming. Quite a few were of the laugh out loud variety.

The film had great timing. It just kept zipping along delivering the entertainment big-time scene after scene.

The casting was superb. Every part was maximized by the respective actor. Walter Slezak was excellent. He contributed a lot to the overall warmth and good-natured tone of the film. Gina Lollobrigida was stunningly beautiful. The cinematography of Italy was stunningly beautiful.

This is just a truly first-rate film. Well worth seeing and well worth adding to a film library.

It has also made me enthusiastic to search out other work by its very talented director, Robert Mulligan and its equally excellent screenwriter, Stanley Shapiro.

Awful, trite, misogynist, and badly dated dreck!

[1953calif · 1/10 · 14 August 2014]

What a mixed up mess of an awful script, poor direction (surprisingly from Robert Mulligan), and a drearily, predictable and trite plot. Not too mention, the screenplay is condescendingly racist toward Italians.

The movie's comedy fell completely flat and the entire production reveals such stereotypically sexist and patronizing attitudes toward women that I didn't know whether to throw up or toss the DVD into the waste basket.

The only saving graces are the gorgeous cinematography of Italy, a warmly sympathetic performance from Gina Lollobrigida and the one dance scene with Rock Hudson and Lollobrigida which is about the only time Hudson comes across as anything other than unpleasant, self-satisfied, and stiff as a brick. Usually Hudson was appealing in these 1960s comedies, but this movie is a complete waste of time. Do yourself a favor & skip it!

Gina tackles slapstick and romantic comedy in Italy

[Dunham16 · 8/10 · 9 July 2014]

The first impression is a romantic comedy melded to a slapstick comedy which starts out showing off Italy at its best and ends up showing Gina Lollabrigida in marvelous couture.Her tight ensemble cast features leads by Rock Hudson, Bobby Darrin and Sandra Dee supported by Walter Slezak, Joel Grey and Brenda de Banzie, star turns by all. The photography and editing are lush but the shortcomings of 1960's color filming blare with starker color contrasts than we are accustomed to today and less dimension in the panoramic views than we are accustomed to today. The screwball or slapstick sequences work well as do the romantic comedy sequences. What is jarring is most films try to be one or the other and this one alternates one with the other from moment to moment.