Themes: Americans Abroad, Love Triangles, Vacation Romances
Main Cast: Troy Donahue, Angie Dickinson, Rossano Brazzi, Suzanne Pleshette, Constance Ford
Release Year: 1962
Country: US
Run Time: 119 minutes
Plot
Delmer Daves directs this cross between a travelog and a routine romantic drama set in Italy. The story begins when beautiful librarian Prudence (a misnomer, played by Suzanne Pleshette) decides to take off for Italy. She works in a women's college and was brought up short for recommending a racy book to one of the students. In a huff, she opts to go to the land of opera and find out if Italian men are as romantic as legend maintains. Once there, she runs into Roberto (Rossano Brazzi), who is likely to prove the legend true, and meets Don (Troy Donahue), an American running away from the love of his life, Lyda (Angie Dickinson). Between the glamour and the setting, Daves has geared this fluffy tale for the more innocent-minded teen set. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
Review
Rome Adventure belongs to an earlier, simpler time -- but it was not a good movie even then. That's not to say that Rome doesn't have some pleasures. For one thing, its simplicity, naivete and "innocence" (albeit of the manufactured Hollywood variety) can be quite amusing, especially to viewers who are fond of mocking such qualities. But it does have some legitimate assets, chief among them the lush Charles Lawton cinematography, which does an excellent job of capturing beautiful Italian landscapes and architecture. Indeed, the "travelogue" aspect of the film is quite seductive; it may add nothing to the film's drama, but it certainly makes the going much smoother. There's also Suzanne Pleshette, who is always worth watching. Granted, she's miscast here as a fretful virgin; Pleshette is simply too worldly wise to get away with that disguise, but she's also too good an actress to not have fun with it. Angie Dickinson is also on hand as some delicious eye candy, with Troy Donahue filling that role on the distaff side. But there's also the screenplay to deal with, a trite and contrived mishmash that hasn't an honest dramatic bone in its body. Delmer Daves applies his usual smooth, knowing direction to the affair, as he did to many similar romances of the period, but it just isn't convincing here. He might have been better to have junked the script altogether and just filmed Pleshette, Donahue and Dickinson standing and waving in front of the gorgeous scenery. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Al Hirt - Al; Hampton Fancher - Albert Stillwell; Iphigenie Castiglioni - Contessa; Chad Everett - Young man; Gertrude Flynn - Mrs. Riggs; Pamela Austin - Agnes; Lili Valenty - Angelina; Mary Patton - Mrs. Bell; Maurice Wells - Mr. Bell
Credit
Leo K. Kuter - Art Director, Howard Shoup - Costume Designer, Delmer Daves - Director, William H. Ziegler - Editor, Max Steiner - Composer (Music Score), Luigi Creatore - Songwriter, George Weiss - Songwriter, Hugo Peretti - Songwriter, C. Donida - Songwriter, Mogol - Songwriter, Gordon Bau - Makeup, Charles Lawton - Cinematographer, Delmer Daves - Producer, John P. Austin - Set Designer, Marvin Willens - Stunts, Delmer Daves - Screenwriter, Irving Fineman - Screenwriter, Irving Fineman - Book Author
A New England schoolteacher, Prudence Bell, decides to take off for Italy. Once in Rome, she searches for romance, and meets older Roberto Orlandi and Don Porter, an American running away from the love of his life, Lyda.
