Rome Adventure

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.

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.

Yes, I agree that Suzanne Pleshette and Troy Donahue are not exactly Katherine Hepburn and Lawrence Olivier in this film, but their "chemistry," a beautiful Italian setting, glorious fashion and the overall romantic "intrigue" more than make up for that. In the early 1960's, Troy Donahue was the ultimate in "eye candy" for us teenage girls (and older women, too, I'm sure). I have thought for years that I was surely the only 13-year old girl who sat in a darkened theater so TOTALLY "transported" for several hours by the romance in this film, but apparently I was not. I listen to an "oldies" radio station in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and I cannot believe how MANY times other listeners request that the incredibly romantic "Al Di La" from the dimly-lit-romantic-restaurant-scene be played. Hooray for a day when sex was something seriously contemplated and not something graphically displayed like today!

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.

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.