Rome Adventure (1962) User Reviews

As travelogue, glorious, as story - eh

[kirksworks · 6/10 · 26 May 2011]

There is a time for most people when, as children, they become aware.  It's the time when suddenly, the world opens up and you see yourself fitting in.  Things you took for granted or never noticed over night become worth investigating.  You become aware of not only your surroundings, but the time in which you find yourself.  Just like that things get emblazoned on your brain like never before.  For me, that happened in 1960.  It has always been a special year.  It was the year I discovered girls.  It was the year art had new meaning for me.  It was the year I learned to type and it was the year I realized movies would be a part of my life forever.

When I watch films from 1960 they bring back that connection to becoming aware.  They aren't all my favorite films, but it doesn't matter.  When I see pretty much any film from the early 60s I get a jolt.  Even if I've never seen the film before, movies that were made in the early 1960s, somehow trigger a response.  It's a combination of the hair styles, the fashion, automobiles, the film stock and lighting use of that time, the cast, acting and scoring style.  Films from 1960 through about 1962 have this in spades, including "Rome Adventure."

Suzanne Pleshette and Troy Donohue just radiate early 60s like nobody's business, as does Max Steiner's score, the cinemascope cinematography and the dialog.  Even watching the credits in combo with Steiner's music swept me back to that era.  In this regard the film was a joy to watch.  It's very romantic, but you know that going in.  

Having said that, essentially, "Rome Adventure" is a travelogue romance, and pretty much nothing more.  I enjoyed it but I can't say it was very good.  Though it has some of the same cast members, it doesn't hold a candle to Delmer Daves' previous film, "Summer Place."  It's no where near as well written and quite shallow by comparison.  The visual symbolism (the candelabra, for example, representing Donohue's integrity) was more than heavy-handed.  I wonder what most women today would think of the scene where Donohue tells Pleshette that women's role on Earth is to be the anchor for the man?  I can understand the meaning behind the thought, but in todays PC environment, the way it was handled in the big love scene at the climax is totally chauvinistic. It comes down to script.  It could have been written in a way that suggested Donohue was talking about just he and Pleshette themselves, but the grand gesture of suggesting that the notion that all women were put on earth as the anchors for men is a cage many people (men and women) would bristle at. And the use of Al Hirt gives new meaning to the term "shoe-horned in."

I really enjoy Suzanne Pleshette in most things I've seen her in.  She ended up being cast often as the world weary but intelligent woman who harbors an old love. This is exactly the character she plays in Hitchock's "The Birds," losing out to Tippi Hedren for Rod Taylor's love.  Pleshette's small role is still one of the most remarkably well-developed of any secondary character in all of Hitch's films.  When Rod Taylor discovers what has happened to her during a bird attack, it's a powerfully emotional moment.  Amazing how much sympathy she created for herself with so little screen time. Pleshette in "Rome Adventure" doesn't start out playing the world weary woman she became in later films, but she sort of becomes one as the film progresses.  Of course, the ending pretty much disregards that concept of her character, but it's there nonetheless.  

Troy Donohue, who gave a very good and believable performance in "Summer Place," is pretty wooden here.  He's actually the film's greatest flaw, which I find hard to understand.  He had the same director and writer as "Summer Place," yet Donohue just doesn't connect.  There is little chemistry between he and Pleshette, certainly no fire like he had with Sandra Dee.  

The real star of "Rome Adventure" is Italy.  It was photographed to look quaint and romantic, but the choice of locations, the time of day and consideration of lighting were all beautifully realized.  The film has many similarities to another film from that same year (which also gives me that early 60s jolt), "Light in the Piazza."  Rozzano Brazzi, who stars in "Rome Adventure," was also in "Piazza," playing a similar character.  In the case of "Piazza," however, he's after the mother (played by Olivia deHavilland).  "Piazza" also stars ingénue of the day, Yvette Mimieux and up and coming heart throb, George Hamilton.  Hamilton plays an intrinsically happy Italian who falls in love with Mimieux' childlike character.  "Piazza" is much more successful as a Euro romance than "Rome Adventure" because its plot takes some truly unexpected turns.   "Rome Adventure" unfortunately telegraphs all its surprises along the way.

Yet, in spite of all this, I found there was a lot to enjoy, and I think it's even a film worth revisiting on occasion, if nothing more than to give me another early 60s jolt, but to also re-experience that idyllic world of Rome the filmmakers created.

Rome Adventure- The Scenery is Sumptuous With Weak Script ***

[edwagreen · 7/10 · 25 September 2010]

This is really a boy meets girl film with plush Italian scenery and another memorable musical score by Max Steiner.

The story itself isn't really that noteworthy. An assistant librarian, Suzanne Pleshette, quits before she is removed from her Connecticut College position when she gives an unauthorized book to a student. Note that Norma Varden, the memorable housekeeper in "The Sound of Music" briefly appears as the college trustee who questions Pleshette at her hearing.

This all sets the stage for Pleshette's trip to Italy where she secures a position in an American bookstore, owned by a former American schoolteacher, the latter got tired of the brats and fell in love with Rome one summer vacation and wired her resignation.

At an inn, Pleshette meets Donahue who has just been thrown over by Angie Dickinson. Amazing that Dickinson got second billing as she basically didn't appear until later in the film. In addition, as an Italian, (of course) Rossano Brazzi was given little to do.

The endearing part of the movie is the plush scenes as we are literally swept into a tour of Italy.

Silly but enjoyable

[Sees All · 6/10 · 13 January 2015]

Warner Brothers in the early 60s had a new roster of stars that they were promoting heavily to become the heirs of the stars of the golden era: Troy Donahue, Connie Stevens, Gardner McKay, Chad Everett, Suzanne Pleshette, etc. They were what people in media today would call "P&G" (i.e., they could be spokespersons for Procter & Gamble: white, wholesome, "All American" types). They were sexy but did not advertise their sexuality. ROME ADVENTURE is a typical vehicle for Warners of this period. Basically, this is a silly movie. BUT it's also quite enjoyable. Set in the Kennedy 60s before the world turned so ugly for us baby-boomers, the film embodies the zeitgeist of the time. That time has long past and maybe that's why this movie is so appealing despite its naiveté. The Birth Control pill had not yet come on the market, so premarital sex was a big gamble for young people. The choice was basically celibacy or matrimony. The price for unchastity could be heavy emotionally, in addition to the obvious risks. And thus was the plot of so many films of that period driven. People still went to church back then. In one scene Suzanne Pleshette says that she goes to church as often as she can and asks Troy Donahue, "Don't you pray? I pray a lot." I don't think a film made today could have a scene like that without being ridiculed.

Tellingly, Ms. Pleshette was the only one of Warner's early 60s young stars to have a long and respectable career. In this movie she plays a vivacious young schoolteacher who resigns her position at a prudish all-female institution and heads for Rome in search of adventure. Her mother worries about her: "So many things can happen!" Prudence: "How terrible if they don't!" (I'm paraphrasing.) She takes a ship over and in route meets Rossano Brazzi, an amorous rich Italian architect, who realizes that she's too young for him, so he introduces her to his student and protégé, Troy Donahue. It's love for these two, despite the bland performance of Donahue. Also in the cast are Angie Dickinson in a very hackneyed role, Constance Ford (in a rare sympathetic role), and Hampton Francher (impressive as a nerdy student). The romantic heart of the film is a trip the two "lovers" take together to Tuscany and Lombardy (while trying to keep their relationship secret from others). The gorgeous Italian scenery and the excellent cinematography combined with Max Steiner's Nino-Rota-influenced score make it quite the blissful holiday.

Yes, it's dated and a lot of the dialogue is ridiculous. Clichés abound. The plot creaks. But it's fun. I'd love to see it again.

Gorgeous Escapism

[wink1980 · 5 February 2002]

A wonderful romantic movie that in my view is highly underrated. While this is by no means a great film, it is hard to find much better if you're in the mood for pure romantic escapism. Pleshette, Dickinson, and of course Donahue are a feast for the eyes. The sets are gorgeous, particularly Angie Dickinson's place. To wear those clothes they wore and have a chic little dinner in an apartment like that we can only fantasize about in this day and age. The scenery of Italy takes back seat to nothing in this film but for my money the greatest scene is at the romantic little restaurant when the singer sings "Al di La". Folks, buy it or rent it because you will never see this type of movie on the big screen anymore.

Surprisingly good

[HeathCliff-2 · 6/10 · 25 October 2009]

Maybe it's because my expectations were so low that I was pleasantly surprised. I thought it was the fluffy counterpart to the other Delmer Daves movies, eg Summer Place, etc. A romantic travelogue silly movie. I was surprised. Yes, it's dated beyond belief, with the sole focus of Suzanne Pleshette being a "good girl" or a "bad girl" - the same lament as Sandra Dee and the other juvenile leads of the time. And yes, surprisingly, there's dialogue that sounds like it's written by men ABOUT women and speaking FOR women - such as characters like Angie Dickenson who has claws and feminine wiles, and a later thematic scene between Pleshette and Brazzi, when we learn that the primary role of woman is to ultimate support and encourage her man. But putting aside the obvious dated content, I found a lot of richness and soul in acting and direction that surprised me. Suzanne Pleshette's inner warmth and intelligence infuse her performance beyond the boundaries of this kind of material. She never became a big film star, not sure why, but this performance, her first lead, was very impressive in transmitting her aura intact to the audience. Troy Donahue would never win an acting Oscar, but he has two redeeming qualities, or maybe three: he is so beautiful to look at that you soak up his beauty with every shot, as a treat in itself; he has an innate sincerity that, even if he isn't Laurence Olivier, still gives his screen presence grounded and appeal; and he's just a big ol' movie star with charisma that makes you want to watch him. Constance Ford is always fabulous. And the scenery was a pleasure, and the tour of Italy was more substantive and less filler than usual, for these movies. I appreciated the narrative of some of the sights. Of course, all of us watching this movie really enjoy the debonair, long-disappeared dressing-up, from skirts and heels, to daytime suits, and nighttime gowns and tuxes. I'm glad we don't have to dress like that - I enjoy wearing shorts and flipflops - but it's wonderful and wistfully nostalgic to see. The one negative for me was Angie Dickinson. I thought her innate intelligence and warmth was also palpable, like Suzanne Pleshette, so I was impressed in that sense. But her character was written so caricaturishly as a viper and shallow, that it diminished the overall quality of the film, since it was the single plot device beyond boy meets girl, falls in love with girl, has a falling out with girl, and reteems with girl. Angie's part was the plot device, and the weak link in an otherwise pretty enjoyable film.

The real star of this movie is Italy

[MOscarbradley · 6/10 · 21 January 2007]

This sudsy, corn-filled romance would have been affectionately known as a 'woman's picture' back in 1962 when it was made. Today we would call it a 'chick-flic'. After giving up the western, (and he made a handful of very good ones), Delmer Daves turned to churning out some very glossy love stories, usually taken from best-selling novels of variable quality and, more often than not, starring the hottest property of the day, Troy Donahue. Donahue was blonde and beautiful and he could even act after a fashion in that kind of stiff American manner that belonged to an altogether different age; perhaps that is why his career was so short-lived.

Here he's an American artist living in Rome and the girl that falls for him was newcomer Suzanne Pleshette who has left American in search of adventure while clinging to her virtue. If for nothing else we should be eternally grateful for any film that gives us Pleshette who was smart, sexy and beautiful beyond her years but whose career never went anywhere either. There is also an older man in the mix as well, a charming Italian played by ... yes, you guessed it, Rossano Brazzi, (were all middle-aged Italian men like Brazzi?), and a bitch played by Angie Dickinson. (Pleshette acts her off the screen). But the real star of the movie is Italy, photographed in all its Technicolor, travelogue glory pushing the story very much into the background. The Italian tourist board should still be paying Daves royalties.

"Al di lá, del mare più profondo, ci sei tu..."

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 20 August 2005]

Troy Donahue was the eternal Rock Hudson substitute (just a few steps ahead of John Gavin), and his movie performances aren't exactly immortal, however his overly-serious manner worked in a melodramatic setting and he did some good pictures (a handful of them the plush Delmer Daves-directed soapers which swept into theaters in the late 1950s and early '60s). Troy was a perfect match for Sandra Dee or Connie Stevens, but here he's caught between Angie Dickinson and Suzanne Pleshette, and neither fits him especially well (this despite the fact he married Pleshette briefly in real-life). Pleshette is so-so in only her second film, cast as a librarian dismissed for loaning out a risqué book, "Lovers Must Learn"; fed up, she heads to Italy to put into use the romantic advice she's only read about. The scenery is gorgeous, and Al Hirt's jazzy music (and supporting performance) is fun, but the movie plods a bit and runs too long. Theme song "Al Di La" is very romantic, and the travelogue shots are an eyeful, yet this story and these characters merit little interest. **1/2 from ****

Suzanne Pleshette and Troy Donahue put Romance in Rome

[wes-connors · 4/10 · 7 November 2010]

Beautiful college librarian Suzanne Pleshette (as Prudence Bell) quits her job after officials scold her for dispensing a naughty book on love (read "sex"). She decides to cool her heels in Italy. Not a bad choice of locale. In Rome, Ms. Pleshette meets doughy cute Troy Donahue (as Don Porter). The Technicolor twosome have the expected "Rome Adventure". But, Mr. Donahue's attractive girlfriend Angie Dickinson (as Lyda Kent) gets in the way. And, Pleshette also attracts native Italian charmer Rossano Brazzi (as Roberto Orlandi) and shyly insecure Hampton Fancher (as Albert Stillwell). Romantic in any language, Emilio Pericoli's "Al Di La" became a big top ten hit in 1962. The film's music and Italian scenery are its strengths.

**** Rome Adventure (3/15/62) Delmer Daves ~ Suzanne Pleshette, Troy Donahue, Angie Dickinson, Rossano Brazzi

Rome Adventure

[jcolyer1229 · 9/10 · 30 July 2005]

I was 16 when Rome Adventure was in the theaters. I did not see it at that time but had a movie magazine with a picture of Angie Dickinson on the back. In the article, she talked about how much fun she had in making the movie and riding around Rome on motorcycles. Rome Adventure typifies the innocence and naivete of the early 1960s. It is almost a travelogue. Suzanne Pleshette plays librarian Prudence Bell on her big trip to Rome. She is looking for love and finds it in Troy Donahue. Angie Dickinson is a third party and potential spoiler in the triangle. Finally, true love wins out. Al Di La is the theme song, one of the most romantic pieces of music ever written. Emilio Pericoli sings it. We just want to float away, "beyond the beyond." The scenes of ancient Rome transport us to another time and place. The Kennedy assassination and Vietnam were right around the corner, so we had to enjoy this while we could. Rome Adventure is one of my favorite movies.

Trite love story elevated by lush Italian scenery and equally lush Max Steiner score...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 19 September 2010]

ROME ADVENTURE has two things going for it: Gorgeous photography of famous Italian landmarks and landscapes, and a lush and very appropriate Max Steiner score that makes the most of "Al Di La." The scenery alone is worth giving the film at least 6 points, so it's a shame that the boy meets girl/boy loses girl/boy wins girl plot is so tiresome and moves at a snail's pace. By concentrating on the music and the scenery though, you can get a lot of pleasure from just watching this travelogue unfold.

And, of course, no film about Italy in the '60s would be complete without the suave presence of ROSSANO BRAZZI as the older man that SUSANNE PLESHETTE finds hard to resist. But it's her affair with TROY DONAHUE--the blond Tab Hunter type of the '60s that teen-age girls swooned over--that occupies most of the story. The real life attraction between Pleshette and Donahue is evident in many of their flirtatious scenes. Alas, their good chemistry should have been given a more substantial script.

The "other woman" role is ably played by ANGIE DICKINSON, who wears her stunning outfits to great effect. With all the eye candy going on, it's easy to see why ROME ADVENTURE was an easy pill to swallow.

Max Steiner certainly comes to the rescue with a handsome score, its main source of pleasure being repeated hearings of the song "Al Di La." Summing up: Pleasurable fluff will have you dreaming of a luxurious vacation in the Italian alps.

DVD purchase WARNING!

[blizzy63 · 1/10 · 2 March 2013]

If you are looking to purchase a DVD copy of 'Rome Adventure (1962)', BE WARNED that there is an extremely inferior version made available through the internet (eBay). This terrible version of this movie can be identified by Chinese characters on the cover and "produced" by "The Castaways Pictures" company. The artwork used to illustrate this movie title on this very IMDb site is, in fact, the very DVD to be avoided! The quality of the picture on this DVD is extremely substandard. It appears that someone merely video recorded a big screen TV with the movie 'Rome Adventure' playing on it. The picture is poor and the colors are washed out (the quality of the images on the cover art is how the imagery on the DVD appears). I suspect that this is an unauthorized Chinese rip-off. BEWARE! Make sure to look for the authentic Warner Bros. release of 'Rome Adventure' (recently with the faded yellow artwork on the cover; find an example on Amazon.com) where the picture quality is as one would expect: Colorful, clear and professional. Ask the seller of the DVD which copy he is offering before you buy. Note: My 1-star rating in this entry is reflective of the poor DVD described above. It is not a rating of the film/movie 'Rome Adventure (1962)' itself (which I would rate highly).

Troy Donahue and Suzanne Pleshette teach the fine art of love

[reelguy2 · 10/10 · 15 May 2002]

Rome Adventure is the ultimate romance for all of us incurably romantic souls. Beautifully filmed on location, it's another fine example of Delmer Daves' sensitivity and craftsmanship as a director. If the dialogue is at times arch, it matters little when played out with the conviction that Troy Donahue and Suzanne Pleshette bring to their roles. Watch them during the scene in the horse-drawn carriage as they exchange those small gestures to indicate their attraction to each other - was romance ever better expressed in a film?

You either like Troy Donahue or you don't. I happen to think he's very convincing in Rome Adventure as a young man in love. With his warm speaking voice, he has a nice way of minimizing the embarrassing aspects of the script, and he appears totally committed in his scenes to the act of listening as well as speaking. He exudes an aura of integrity. I believe these are the qualities that made Donahue a "heartthrob" - quite apart from his good looks.

The other actors don't arouse such strong feelings in an audience either for or against, so suffice it to say they are all excellent, and that Suzanne Pleshette is even better than that!

The working title for Rome Adventure was Lovers Must Learn. Watch this movie and you may learn a thing or two about the fine art of love.

Mid-Century Eye Candy

[bcrumpacker · 7/10 · 14 June 2011]

SPOILER ALERT Troy Donahue deserves further consideration. Yes, he's wooden; but what about that soapy script? And maybe Troy did what the director told him to do, as opposed to what Troy could or wanted to do with his role. Anyway, give the dude a break. He put butts in the seats, and he looks great just standing there.

Another theme was fairly new in 1962: After Suzanne Pleshette meets slinky Angie Dickinson, she fears that she cannot compete with Angie for Troy's love because Angie is more sexually experienced. Yikes! Looks aren't enough anymore! Should Suzanne practice with Mr. Brazzi?

This downside to female virtue was seldom discussed so openly in movies before, probably due to censorship issues, and due to our cultural assumptions. Here, Suzanne worries needlessly, because Troy greets her in NY with the obviously symbolic gold candlestick. The message is clear: these two lovebirds will work it out.

As a warning to young girls, we are shown the downside of experience, namely Angie trapped by a Howard Hughes type control freak. Bottom line: It's OK, they're engaged. Enjoy the mid-century eye candy.

Oh! Donny! Donny! I love you! I loved you from the first moment we met! Blah .... blah ..... blahh

[Ed-Shullivan · 3/10 · 12 May 2022]

This romance film was not for me. Yes the three (3) main characters were easy on the eyes, those being Angie Dickinson and Suzanne Pleshette for the men, and Troy Donahue and even Italian actor Rossano Brazzi for the women. Yes of course the scenery filmed in Italy leaves one wanting to see Italy for themselves but the film itself was so predictable that it reminded me a lot of the earlier 1969 Gidget film starring Sandra Dee and James Darren as her love interest Moondoggie.

I have never been impressed with the cardboard acting of Suzanne Pleshette and Troy Donahue and maybe that is the reason neither of them ever won an Academy Award for their lacklustre performances. Yes, easy on the eyes, but boring to sit through an entire film such as this one.

I give it a 3 out of 10 IMDb rating. (I'd rather have watched Gidget again rather than this dribble)

How less can be more in romances

[petelush · 9 August 2001]

Rome Adventure is not only intrinsically enjoyable but is an excellent illustration of the power of restraint, innuendo, and "naughtiness" in romance films. It was made just before the dam broke and everything was allowed to go in movies. The lovebirds' struggle over whether to end Suzanne Pleshette's virginity has a charm, heat even, that cannot exist amidst the too-much-information sex scenes we see today. Boxed-in attitudes manifested in Rome Adventure make the slightest double entendre unexpected and powerful, even giggly. The kissing is tender and tongueless but very intimate for all that. I have no interest in promoting abstinence in life or in film, but see this picture and then try telling yourself that nothing was lost when big screen freedom came in.

Suzanne Pleshette Explores The Beauty Of Italy

[atlasmb · 7/10 · 24 June 2017]

Prudence Bell (Suzanne Pleshette) travels to Italy to discover adventure and finds Don Porter (Troy Donahue) and love. As they explore the areas around Rome, viewers are treated to some idyllic scenery. Their relationship has its ups and downs, especially when Don's former flame, played by Angie Dickinson, reenters his life.

Through it all, the song "Al di la" is featured, and the film's grade deserves two bumps just for that. It may be the perfect accompaniment to a love story set in Italy. Even Al Hirt, who appears as a surprisingly engaging trumpeter in the film, plays a jazz rendition.

This itinerant love story with a peripatetic plot loses focus on occasion, but it always come back to Prudence, where it belongs. Pleshette's beautiful quirkiness feels grounded in true love. No surprise, then, that Pleshette and Donahue would marry later.

An uncreative ending deserves the loss of one grade point. But it is difficult to be very disappointed in a film that features so much beauty.

Not in real life though

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 9 April 2015]

Like Hawaii, Rome is one of those places you cannot make a badly photographed film in the place. Half the pleasure of seeing Rome Adventure is seeing the breathtaking sights of the Eternal City just as we did in Roman Holiday, Three Coins In The Fountain, The Seven Hills Of Rome and many others I could mention.

It's also nice if you have a good story to go along with the cinematography. We have Suzanne Pleshette recently a school librarian who gave a banned book to a student and left before she was fired by the Puritan maidens who run the girl's college. She hasn't seen a whole lot of life. She makes a lot of new friends starting on the boat with Rossano Brazzi and Hampton Fancher. It's Brazzi who finds lodging for her and Fancher in Rome where she meets up with Troy Donahue, graduate student in architecture. He likes Pleshette's architecture a whole lot, but he also likes Angie Dickinson's architecture as well and she's just broken up with Troy. Suzanne lands a job with Constance Ford at an English language bookstore and Ford's a wise old hen who gives the new chick a lot of good advice.

Troy and Suzanne lit up the screen in this one. I'm sure their performances were helped in no small measure by the fact that they were having one torrid romance and married after the film was wrapped. Sad to say though in real life it was not happily ever after.

The real outstanding role with some bite to it is that of Dickinson. Angie is one spoiled bad girl who wants what she wants on a whim and a prayer. After leaving a rich and possessive lover she left Troy for she marries the rich guy. But still wants Troy on the side. Not an arrangement that Donahue finds appealing. Angie is most appealing however for the audience.

Rome isn't called the Eternal City for nothing. You could make a nice remake of Rome Adventure today with a Reese Witherspoon and a Ryan Phillippe. Maybe a broken couple can have a romance rekindled. Until then we can settle for this nice romantic story about love in Rome.

A Trip through of old Italy

[elo-equipamentos · 7/10 · 5 October 2017]

This movie is a unusual romance played by two young actors Troy Donahue and Suzanne Pleshette on screen debut, without forget the gorgeous Angie Dickinson in great shape, but it will takes you to all kind of marvelous spots of Roman empire enjoy the trip seeing The Arch of Constantine, the famous Coliseo, the eternal Palatine, Ostia Antica an ancient Rome harbor, Roman Amphitheatre and Parco dei Mostri very unknown places of ancient Roman empire, anyway an amazing movie with a journey!!

Resume:

First watch: 1989 / How many: 2 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 7

Poorly scripted movie with the worst male cast

[AntiFakeReviews · 3/10 · 5 February 2023]

The whole film looks like a tourist movie about Rome, except that a couple of American men and women are introduced to them.

Audience. The story is utterly empty. And the actor's acting skills are unimaginably bad, there is no acting skills at all, He can only memorize lines, and has nothing to do with all the heroines and even other supporting actors. And the heroine is also completely There is no emotion whatsoever. Apart from wearing a red sweater and riding a motorcycle to look handsome and cool, I really don't know how to do it.

Why would they find someone who can't act so well to play the leading role. The dialogue throughout the film is utterly empty. Viewers just borrow This video shows what Rome looked like in the early days, and introduced it to Americans through two handsome men and beautiful women running around, attracting them We're just traveling to Italy.

This is a pure delicious, romantic escape.

[sannyex · 9/10 · 16 August 2002]

If one must concede to one escapist impulse in movie romance, this is the one. For guys, a fantasy come true in the person of not one but two very desirable 'babes' played by Suzanne Pleshette and Angie Dickinson at their pulchritude best. For gals, Troy Donahue playing a good-looking hunk complete with just the right amount of sensitivity, vulnerability, erudition and passion. Mix the 3 in that Italian landscape and bowl of civilization with the right supporting cast and that wonderful theme song 'Al di la' and you have the surefire delight not seen since Three Coins in the Fountain and Roman Holiday.

I wish this was in DVD.

Italy really was like that in 1962

[schuhj · 7/10 · 18 February 2008]

I hadn't remembered that it was so much of a travelogue, but the film evoked memories of the Rome We visited in the '60s. Didn't return until the late '90s and the difference in traffic is what we noticed most. The crowds they show in Rome were smaller than I remember from that time, I guess because they were shooing them away for the shooting. Speaking of, I wonder how many couples have acted the Rome and Juliet balcony scene in Verona? I witnessed one myself on a visit in the '80s. The performance I hear was better than Donahue's.

My wife and I was enjoying the movie and she commented that Hampton Fancher was better looking than Donahue, and we speculated how the story might have developed if they had let "Albert" be less a dork. I agree with someone above that trying to have Angie play a neurotic doesn't work. I don't know why they I expected them to given Pleshette more comedy lines. She was a natural comedienne.

Travelogue Romance with a side of cringe

[kmontgomery-98515 · 5/10 · 18 November 2022]

This is a nice rom com with a great start, a fun set of possible suitors, funny and complex female friendships, and a style of rom com not often seen today (the travelogue). However, a lot of the comedy is second hand embarrassment style comedy as the characters keep getting into awkward situations so I'm docking points for the amount of "omg no" that happened.

At two hours, it's a little too long and sometimes the adr is a little off, but wow those shots of Rome! Nowadays those streets would be filled with lots of people. As cheesy as some of the travelogue shots can be, it's a beautiful snapshot in time.

A love story - it melts my heart

[Irma-5 · 9/10 · 22 August 1999]

An old fashioned love story which I've been waiting for years to come to television again. The music is wonderful and I could watch the scene in the dimly lit restaurant when "Al di la" begins to plays all night long... it's just so romantic.

More than a teen heart-throb movie; superb location photography

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 7/10 · 18 January 2013]

This is not a great film. Troy Donahue was not a great actor. Nevertheless, this a pretty darned good film. True, you have to like romantic movies, but if you do you'll probably enjoy this story, much of which was filmed on location. And perhaps that's the real star -- the scenery of Rome and Italy, lavishly photographed, so much so that it made me wish I had visited there when I was young enough to enjoy it! In fact, I doubt you'll find a film with finer photography of Italy. It's a real draw.

It's very interesting to see Suzanne Pleshette in something more substantial than a television situation comedy. I think most of us forgot that she was a rather good big screen actress, this being her second screen role. She fared better in television, but she is very good here, and I found her very appealing.

Troy Donahue was no Laurence Olivier, but I sometimes think he may now be a bit underrated. Let's put it this way, as with a number of other films, he's very pleasant on screen. Perhaps we can't say he had great depth as an actor, but he usually did his job as a young heart throb, which is rather surprising since he was not particularly physically fit...not truly handsome...just really cute...had unusually small feet and was slightly pigeon toed. He does what he's supposed to do here, and quite nicely.

I have enjoyed the roles of Rossano Brazzi. Again, an actor who was, perhaps, a bit under-appreciated. Certainly handsome and suave, as he is here.

Angie Dickinson plays the cad here. Not very likable at all, and of course, she gets her comeuppance.

In other words, this is a very pleasant, romantic film. It does have a couple of flaws. And the first I would blame on director Delmer Daves. Particularly early on in the film we seem to not quite be able to decide the maturity level of Suzanne Pleshette's character. Is she an ingénue, or someone more seductive? Is she barely past her teens, or a mature young woman? The other problem here is that there's not a heck of a lot of plot. Pretty thin, but beautifully so. Youngish love with some hitches along the way. There are a couple of nice twists in the ending, and it is a happy ending, though one you have given up on by the time it actually comes.

A pleasant couple of hours.

Too many minor ingredients spoiled the minestrone.

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 9 February 2024]

Had this focused mainly on the fabulous character played by Suzanne Pleshette ("Prudence") and her growing romance with tender hearted Troy Donahue and forgotten about a few unnecessary minor characters, I would have rated this much higher. She's fantastic as a Briarcliff librarian who quits to go to Italy, going to work for the bohemian Constance Ford in her English language bookstore and discovering love for the first time.

But Donahue is just getting over a romance with the toxic Angie Dickinson and is warned by Ford not to hurt Pleshette. Dickinson returns to try to get him back after he's spent a summer break in the country with Suzanne (taking the viewer high up to some most majestic mountains), and of course she thinks she's lost him. It's all too melodramatic and messy so you don't need interjections from a few minor characters, especially since the one who needed more scenes (Ford) gets the shaft. Rossano Brazzi takes on a smaller role than normal as a mature but still handsome Italian man she tries to get over Donahue with.

Even though they were foes in "A Summer Place", Donahue and Ford make nice here, and there's something sad behind the eyes of the lonely Constance, having found "another world" long before she became the loveable tough matriarch Ada Davis on that NBC soap opera. Her "A Summer Place" mother, Gertrude Flynn, has a small part as the mother of one of those unnecessary interlopers. Al Hirt is given a pointless cameo as himself, starting a fight in a cafe.

You'll recognize the bookstore as the librsry from "The Music Man" and Brazzi's apartment as Auntie Mame's. Some location footage from Rome and its surroundings are successfully utilized. Pleshette is definitely a star on the rise here, and along with Ford and the location footage pretty much makes the film more watchable than it would have been otherwise. Both actresses are truly excellent and gives this a touch of class that helps the messy plot rise up.