brogmiller

Should anyone require proof that Comedy is a fragile commodity with more potential for misses than hits, look no further than this dud starring what must surely be one of the most mismatched duos in the history of film, Bob Hope and Fernandel whose individual styles fail to gel and neither of whose talents are able to rise above this mediocre material.

Gay Paree in Technirama has undoubted travelogue appeal and there is an all too brief appearance by legendary Preston Sturges as a character obviously based on Sacha Guitry which offers a grim reminder that Comedy is simply not director Gerd Oswald's tasse de thé.

At the risk of appearing superficial, perish the thought, there are in fact two outstanding reasons for watching this opus: Anita Ekberg.

Bewilderingly described by a previous reviewer as 'spectacular', this is certainly one of Roger Corman's most scenic efforts and one in which he has been granted twice his usual budget. It inhabits however, for this viewer at any rate, that filmic no-man's-land between an 'A' and a 'B' and cannot shake off its reputation as being post 'Guns of Navarone' and pre 'Dirty Dozen' although its plotline most resembles that of this director's earlier 'Five Guns West'.

Mr. Corman famously spent most of his money on actors and here Stewart Granger's upper is suitably stiff, Henry Silva sends chills down the spine and Mickey Rooney does an impression of a leprechaun. The performance that stands out is that of Raf Vallone, a tremendously strong presence who has delivered some powerful performances through the years but alas seems doomed to be remembered as the Mafia boss in 'The Italian Job'.

Shot in a mere thirty-six days, despite the inconvenience of an earthquake and well-received on release, this film has its moments and epitomises the work of a man who entitled his autobiography 'How I made a hundred movies in Hollywood and never lost a dime'.

A colourful, entertaining if somewhat predictable Euro mishmash in which the underrated Stewart Granger as an English mercenary speaks his lines with aplomb as well as exhibiting his fencing skills and horsemanship.

The villains alas are much of a muchness whilst the distaff side is represented by German Christine Kaufmann in an utterly thankless role having earlier received a Golden Globe for her performance in 'Town without Pity' and by the deliciously appealing Yugoslavian Sylva Koscina whose scenes with Granger are by far the most watchable.

Beautifully shot by Tonino delli Colli with a score by Mario Nascimbene it features an exciting but highly fictionalised running of the Palio di Siena, still very much a fixture in that city but now run over a shorter distance with safety measures in place for our Equine chums.