The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Anthony Asquith

Writer:

Terence Rattigan (written by)

Release Date:

13 May 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Comedy

Tagline:

Everything Happens In The Yellow Rolls Royce!

Plot:

Three stories about the lives and loves of those who own a certain yellow Rolls-Royce: **First purchased...

Plot Keywords:

Rolls Royce | Love | Diving | Male Female Relationship | Swimsuit

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 3 nominations

Cast

Ingrid Bergman	...	Gerda Millett
Rex Harrison	...	Lord Charles Frinton - The Marquess of Frinton
Shirley MacLaine	...	Mae Jenkins
Jeanne Moreau	...	Lady Eloise Frinton - The Marchioness of Frinton
George C. Scott	...	Paolo Maltese
Omar Sharif	...	Davich
Alain Delon	...	Stefano
Art Carney	...	Joey Friedlander
Joyce Grenfell	...	Hortense Astor
Edmund Purdom	...	Fane
Michael Hordern	...	Harnsworth
Lance Percival	...	Assistant Car Salesman
Roland Culver	...	Norwood
Moira Lister	...	Lady Angela St. Simeon
Harold Scott	...	Taylor

Also Known As:

The Yellow Rolls Royce (UK) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Australia:PG | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:11

Filming Locations:

Austria

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

First film of Jonathan Cecil.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the opening titles, the roofs of modern cars can be seen as the camera pans along Hyde Park.

Quotes:

Paolo Maltese: [Turning toward the Baptistery] This over here is the Baptistery. From all over the world...
Mae Jenkins: Oh well.
[and walks away]
Paolo Maltese: [Catches up with her, exasperated] Listen. THAT is the Baptistery. From all over the world people are coming here everyday just to look at it.
Mae Jenkins: Well, I guess they just must like baptisteries.
[Walks away]
Paolo Maltese: [Turning to Joey] Without exception, Joey, without challenge from anyone anywhere, this is the most stupidest, the most unfeelingest, the most uncooperative broad in the whole planet.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Remington Steele: Love Among the Steele (#2.7)" (1983)

Soundtrack:

Forget Domani

Does it come in any other color?

An impressive line up of noted international actors was accrued for this three part film, with the title car serving as the connective tissue between episodes (which occur several years apart.) Harrison leads with a tale involving the purchase of the vehicle for his wife as a belated anniversary gift. His character could almost be a cousin to Henry Higgins and is played in much the same manner, though with a slightly more serious and sentimental edge. The wife (Moreau, in a pretty wooden portrayal) turns out not to be so deserving of the Rolls. This sequence is lavishly appointed with impressive sets and costumes and that "veddy" British air, but winds up being pretty uneventful. Next up is Scott as a gangster touring Italy with his sidekick Carney and his moll MacLaine (who, in a blonde wig looks and acts alarmingly similar to Renee Zellweger in "Chicago"!) They purchase the car to get them to his home town. However, when Scott has to return to the U.S. to take out an enemy, MacLaine becomes enamored of a local gigolo (Delon) and pursues a tentative romance with him. Miscast Scott is aloof and hammy at the same time, but wears some nice suits. Carney does some nice, low key work. MacLaine (with her chewing gum, which should have gotten billing!) wears a bit thin with all the schtick and overacting, but she pulls off a few decent moments. The real highlight of this section (and of the entire film!) is the jaw-droppingly beautiful sight of the impossibly beautiful Alain Delon. Slathered in tan body make-up, his light blue eyes stand out like pools of spring water. His charm and lean good looks overwhelm even the striking location scenery. Finally, Bergman purchases the car to get her into Yugoslavia during WWII. Sharif bums a ride and eventually involves her in the transport of resistance fighters across rugged terrain. Bergman looks terrific in the early part of this story and creates an unusual and intriguing character, complete with a yapping Pekinese and a hilarious cohort (Grenhall, in a hilarious performance that is way too brief.) She and Sharif make an odd, but attractive pair. The film is beautiful to look at (even if the fabled title car looks like a rather unattractive taxi!) However, the stories just aren't memorable enough to make this film really matter. Very little occurs in them and there is precious little dramatic payoff in each one. The director had previously done the stiflingly static "The V.I.P.'s" and, though this film is far more opened up and varied, the overall layer of reserve is still in place. Still, it's great to see the various actors doing their thing, especially Delon and Bergman, and there are several beautiful scenic shots. In the end, it's a classy, sometimes stagnant, but always elegant film.