Von Alimenten lässt sich's leben

Gina Lollobrigida plays a "widow" in Italy with a teenage daughter played by Janet Margolin. In reality Gina was never married but had, in the 1940s, sex with three different Army men (Telly Savalas, Phil Silvers and Peter Lawford) who all believe they're the father! Now they're all coming to town for a reunion and things go crazy.

Light, breezy comedy beautifully filmed on location in Italy. It has a good cast all doing very well in their roles. The standouts are Lollobrigida who is very beautiful and surprisingly good at comedy; Silvers who gets laughs from the stupidest lines and Shelley Winters who is hysterical as his overbearing wife. The only bad acting is by Margolin and Lee Grant as Savalas' wife--but she isn't given much to work with. And there's some hysterically bad process shots when people are riding cars. But these are minor complaints. This is just a silly, fun comedy.

Hard to believe that this was once considered risqué. It was originally rated M (which is the R rating today). It's now been lowered to a PG. I admit is DOES make adultery look OK but who's going to take this film seriously? Recommended. I give it an 8.

Don't pay any attention to the bad reviews on here (few as they are) this movie must be watched and appreciated for what it is, farce. The stellar cast turn in great performances and the writing is still very funny. This is the film which inspired the musical stage play "Mama Mia" as well as the film. But the two stories are completely different. Now out on DVD, remastered and in wide screen for the first time ever, this is a must see on a big screen TV. The video and sound transfer is amazing, clear, crisp picture and sound. Filmed on location in Italy this was no low budget film. Is it realistic, no, its not suppose to be, just sit back and enjoy it!

Former sex goddess Gina Lollobrigida is a gorgeous 40ish redhead in this fast-paced comedy filmed on location in Italy in 1968.

La Lollo plays the mother of the lovely Janet Margolin, whose American soldier father was supposedly killed during World War II. The thing is, Gina isn't sure who the father was, since she was friendly with three soldiers at the time, (played by Peter Lawford, Phil Silvers and Telly Savalas), and all are very much alive. Each of the three thinks he is the father and has been financially supporting the girl in secret for over 20 years. Trouble and hilarity ensue when the three men and their wives return to the Italian village for an Army reunion, and Gina has to juggle all six of them while keeping her daughter from finding out the truth.

It's a funny script that hearkens back to Hollywood's great screwball comedies, with especially good jobs from Silvers and Savalas and Shelley Winters and Lee Grant as their wives. But it's Gina who steals the show with her glamorous mugging.

In the '50s and '60s, perhaps thanks to the success of Neo-Realistic cinema, Italian actors and locations became quite popular in American movies, especially comedies (the amusing It Started in Naples, starring Sophia Loren and Clark Gable, is one example worth revisiting). Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell, with the always lovely Gina Lollobrigida playing the main role, is probably one of the funniest hybrids of US and Mediterranean talent.

Lollobrigida plays Carla Campbell, a widow who supposedly lost her husband during WWII. She lives in the South of Italy and provides for her daughter Gia (Janet Margolin) all by herself. It's all fine until a group of soldiers who fought in Italy during the war returns for a reunion and the truth is slowly unveiled: there is no Mr. Campbell, Carla having made him up since she slept with three different men (Telly Savalas, Phil Silvers and Peter Lawford) and doesn't know which of them is Gia's father. To complicate things even more, she told all three of them the girl is their daughter. In other words: mix-ups and misunderstandings are inevitable.

The story is extremely simple and a very good premise for a comedy, so good no one has ever tried to remake it (well, if you don't count the ABBA musical Mamma Mia!, which has a similar plot). Then again, it might be hard to pull off something like it nowadays (unless the setting was some place where paternity tests don't exist) - its look on adultery isn't exactly PC (and yet it was released while the Hays Code was still functional). Still, the gags come sharp and fast, particularly when Savalas and Silvers are on screen, and Lollobrigida is, as ever, a beauty to watch and hear. Margolin isn't bad either, whereas Lawford's subdued performance doesn't really sit well with the quick wit and great physical comedy delivered by his two rivals. But that's a minor flaw in a film that doesn't show up very often, but when it does, it truly is worth catching. Where else are you going to hear Lollobrigida explain that she called herself Campbell, like a soup brand, because the only other American name she knew was Coca-Cola?

One of the best comedies ever made, full of comic details, non-stop hilarity, one of those rare movies that can be seen again and again and it gets better every time. A comedy that doesn't insult human dignity or intellect, full of interesting characters and vignettes, and a lot of emotion too. Not surprisingly, the acting is fabulous when the writing is good. Everyone gives a memorable performance. It doesn't get any better than this. Funniest lines: "In the Piazza", "Doesn't do windows", "Campbell is a noble name". "Is mom going to sing?" "Grazie, grazie very much". "A few Berlitz lessons, and...". "So many of you left a little something here". Lolobgrigida, Winters and Savalas are priceless. The tune by Ortolani fits the movie perfectly. I first saw it in 1969, then in 1983. After so many years it doesn't get stale. That's what I call a classic.