It Started in Naples (1960)

Days before his wedding, a Philadelphia lawyer travels to Naples in Southern Italy to settle the estate of his late brother, only to find that he has an Italian nephew who is being cared for by his maternal aunt, a cabaret singer.

Director:

Melville Shavelson

Writers:

Melville Shavelson (screenplay), Jack Rose (screenplay)

Stars:

Clark Gable, Sophia Loren, Vittorio De Sica

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Clark Gable	...	Michael Hamilton
Sophia Loren	...	Lucia Curcio
Vittorio De Sica	...	Mario Vitale
Marietto	...	Nando Hamilton
Paolo Carlini	...	Renzo
Giovanni Filidoro	...	Gennariello
Claudio Ermelli	...	Luigi
Bob Cunningham	...	Don Mc Guire - Train Passenger
Marco Tulli
Carlo Rizzo
Yvonne Monlaur

Storyline

Mike Hamilton, a Philadelphia lawyer, comes to Naples to settle the estate of his long estranged "black sheep" brother. Once there, he discovers that the deceased has left an eight-year old little boy named Nando, who is being raised by Michael's sister-in-law Lucia Curcio. Mike immediately disapproves of Nando's Italian-style (in other words "lax") education. To make matters worse, Lucia happens to be ... a sexy nightclub dancer. This is too much for a puritan like Mike and the only solution in his eyes is to have the boy brought up in the States...

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Plot Keywords:

american abroad | capri italy | tourist | american in europe | uncle | 

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Taglines:

You'll Never See a Movie With More Carefee Fun and Happy Living!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was shot in and around Naples and Sophia Loren had to sneak into the country to make the movie, because the Italian government was investigating her Mexican "marriage" to Carlo Ponti, who was still legally married to another woman.

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Goofs

When Lucia is on the bed waiting for Michael, she wears a blue dress and dark nylon stockings. When she is outside with her nephew Nando, she is still in her blue dress, but bare legged, and when she enters the house and lies on the bed, she is wearing the dress and stockings again.

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Quotes

Mario Vitale: A man can be a pig and a lawyer at the same time.

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Connections

Referenced in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

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Soundtracks

Tu vuò fà l'Americano
by Renato Carosone and Nicola Salerno
Sung by Sophia Loren

User Reviews

charming

This movie is a movie that just makes you feel good inside. It was slow at the start, but once Gable started spending time with the boy and Loren, the story picked up and left a wonderful product. My only complaint is that it was sometimes hard to pick up what the Italians were saying when they spoke in English. And although it was pretty easy to sense what they were meaning when they spoke in Italian, I would have liked to see some subtitles...just to know what they were saying. But that would have taken away from the movie...so maybe it's best just as it was. Anyways, a fine film, with Gable his normal charming self, with another male to vy for Sofia Loren, this time being and eight year old.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

7 August 1960 (USA)

Also Known As:

It Started in Naples

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Capri Productions, Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1