Ten Thousand Bedrooms

This was Dean Martin's first solo movie after his split with Jerry Lewis and a pretty dire one it is too. He plays "Hunter" a millionaire hotelier who flies to Rome to oversee the latest addition to his empire-a traditional old Roman hotel acquired from its aristocratic patron.While there he becomes engaged to the youngest of the four daughters of a musician (played winningly by Walter Slezak in the best performance in the movie).He refuses permission for the marriage until the other (elder)daughters are wed .So ,Martin sets out to locate husbands for them .Further complicating matters is the growing affection between his bride to be and his pilot ,as played by Dewey Martin. It helps if you are writing a comedy to include some funny lines or scenes but -some 48 hours after watching the picture not one line or scene stays in my mind as even mildly amusing .Nor are the regular musical interludes in which Martin breaks into song memorable in any way . Martin is woeful -in a role calling for charm he merely appears smug and self satisfied .Thankfully he was to get better at light comedy but this performance is a total misfire . Some nice travelogue shots of Rome compensate but for the most part this is trite and derisory.

As a Dean Martin fan, I can forgive his lack of characteristic charm and charisma in this movie. The plot is really the movie's worst failure because the locale and other production values are good. All the movie really needed was a completely different script. In spite of all that, it's still fun to watch.

I had never seen Ten Thousand Bedrooms before. What a weird title? But still I enjoyed this one and what a cast! There were a few I couldn't name at first, but these names finally came to me; they were Jules Munshin who appeared in Kelly, Sinatra films namely On The Town; and Paul Henried, who played Anton the sculptor. The singing of four sisters including Anna Marie Albergetie and Dean Martin sing a couple of beautiful songs, and Dean and Jules sing a funny song about The Problem of Money. The actor who steals the show is indubitably Walter Slezak; a fine character actor. He is the confused father of four daughters who are asked to be married, but it takes a long time for the confusion to be resolved. It is not a very fast well paced movie but it is enjoyable. It was Dean Martin's first movie after his breakup with Jerry Lewis in 1957.

This was, of course, the first Dean Martin film in which he

appeared without his entertainment partner Jerry Lewis.

Thirty years ago, someone had told me that this was an

excellent movie, and that Dean Martin's films had declined from

this start.

I finally got a chance to see the film, and I do think that it was an

excellent qualified debut! I rate it 10 out of a possible 10.

The songs and the singing were exquisite. The plot was a

little confusing with set of the Italian sisters, but typical M-G-M

original screenplay quality.

I cannot understand, though, why none of this was put into any

of the M-G-M compilation That's Entertainment films! I think that

Dean Martin's presence would have been an enhancement to the

other great stars. Even the hilarious interpretation (not by Mr.

Martin) of Bill Haley's Rock around the Clock would have been a

good source of material.

See this film whenever you get the chance!

Millionaire businessman Dean Martin (as Ray Hunter) buys a ritzy hotel in Rome, where he sings a few songs and attracts beautiful Italian women. The first is lady reporter Eva Bartok (as Maria Martelli), but Mr. Martin arouses her teenage sister Anna Maria Alberghetti (as Nina) much a-more. She proposes and he agrees, but they are told that family tradition dictates young Alberghetti's three older sisters must marry first. So, the plan is to get everyone hitched. "I have to marry four girls," says Martin. His pilot is around to help, but Dewey Martin (as Mike Clark) may want the same girl as his boss...

This film opens with a sexy blonde, in bed, inviting us to see, "Dean Martin in Ten Thousand Bedrooms." Later, we later learn the elicited promiscuous thoughts are wrong - the title actually refers to Martin's character being in the hotel business. This was Martin's first film without former partner Jerry Lewis. Everyone expected the funny half of the comic team to do well, and Martin to fail. Of course, Martin had something Jerry did not have - a successful recording career. That, too, seemed in jeopardy with the advent of rock 'n' roll. Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock" is heard herein, although not sung by Martin...

Surprisingly, Martin did very well in the movies and exceptionally well on television. Not only did he survive Elvis Presley and the early rockers, Martin continued to sell millions of records throughout The Beatles' era. His career was in better shape than anyone thought, especially after this film. In "Ten Thousand Bedrooms", Martin seems awkward. It doesn't make sense, because he had a affable screen presence - maybe it was just the pressure of having to carry a film on his own. No matter, Martin honed his style - act like you just drank a martini and are looking forward to sex and a big plate of spaghetti.

**** Ten Thousand Bedrooms (4/3/57) Richard Thorpe ~ Dean Martin, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Dewey Martin, Eva Bartok