Arrivederci Roma

Mario Lanza and the city of Rome get equal notice in this paean to all things Italian. The film industry turned itself inside out after World War II, romanticizing Italy and France. This movie could have been produced by a travel agency, introducing the world to the classic song "Arrivederci Roma." Lanza's glorious tenor voice shines as he bursts into song against the Eternal City backdrop; unfortunately the songs are too few and the drooling over Italian women a little sickening. All over the map, the movie even takes a couple of comic swipes at Cole Porter and rock 'n' roll, and Lanza's imitations of Perry Como, Dean Martin, Louis Armstrong, and Frankie Laine are hilarious.

Well, I hope, I will never regret my negative comments on this `musical movie'. I have to say, that I really appreciate Mario Lanza's broad repertoire of musical styles, but anyone who has ever seen this movie may notice, that this can get too far.

This is a movie about Rome and as much as I love the music of Cole Porter, there is no place for `I've Got You Under My Skin' and `Easy To Love' in such a movie. Lanza parodying Como, Laine, Martin and Armstrong is a catastrophe itself. I'm quite sure, the tenor could have done great versions of this songs himself (as he already did with `Temptation' in 1952). The saddest thing about this all is, that the musical direction credit goes to M-G-M veteran Georgie Stoll, who has been responsible for `Meet Me In St. Louis' and several others of Judy Garland's M-G-M flicks.

Now about the storyline: I guess, the screenwriters could have made far more out of the mysterious scenes of Rome and the basic score (`Arrivederci Rome', `The Seven Hills Of Rome'). All we get, are a few aerial shots of Rome (which are indeed great) and surroundings and a great end sequence, which somehow reminds me to a similar M-G-M scene in Paris.

Sorry, but after years of wait to capture this movie on TV, this was a real disappointment. My hint: Forget about 90 minutes of that movie and remember Lanza's outstanding performances of the title tune, `Arrivederci Roma', `Come Dance With Me', and `The Loveliest Night Of The Year' (is it actually based on an Italian waltz?).

Here,s a film after my own heart, not so much for its plot, which is limited, but rather for the beautiful 1950's atmosphere, romantic Italy, beeeeautiful women ( Rafaella in Particular ) and that lovely music. A feast for the eyes and ears. I m not much into Opera, but Mario Lanza's voice is just something else. I so much prefer the 1950's atmosphere of romance and beautiful music, to the violence and aggressiveness of today's films. That alone is more than a saving grace for a film of which the plot would be judged no doubt by today's critics as being too weak. You just have to hand it to the Italians, they have an innate sense of beauty, whether it be art, music or women ! For these reasons alone, the film is worth having.

It's ironic that Seven Hills of Rome (Italian title: Arrivederci, Roma) made a reasonable splash at the box office - particularly in Italy, where it was a huge success. After all, it's undoubtedly Mario Lanza's weakest movie effort, and a film that the tenor went to great pains to distance himself from. Lanza was particularly hard on his own performance, but watching the movie 45 years later it's immediately apparent that the fault isn't his, but rather the meandering script and lack-lustre direction. To make matters worse, there is very little in the way of substance for Lanza to sing. Still, there are a few compensations along the way...

Lanza's previous film, the much underrated Serenade, was a poor performer at the box office in 1956. Nervous producers decided that Lanza's next movie should shift the emphasis away from the drama and solid operatic selections to a much lighter presentation of the popular tenor. Unfortunately they went too far, reducing Lanza to just one aria (Questa O Quella from Rigoletto) and a fragment of another. Instead of his usual role as an opera singer, Lanza is merely a TV/nightclub performer this time, and his selections include the pretty Arrivederci, Roma and a handful of largely forgettable popular ballads. Ironically, the biggest vocal highlight of this movie is Lanza's imitations of OTHER singers. His impersonations of Perry Como, Frankie Laine, Dean Martin and - believe it or not - Louis Armstrong are hilarious, and amazing in their accuracy.

The original script was reportedly a good one, but the producers soon realised that it contained enough material for a five-hour movie. This resulted in drastic re-writes (even on the film set), and therein lies the problem. This is a movie without a solid story, and instead we are left with some enchanting shots of Rome, some sporadically good acting from Lanza, and two engaging co-stars in the Loren-lookalike Marissa Allassio and the popular comedian Renato Rascel.

This movie will probably not win Lanza any new admirers, but diehard fans will enjoy it. Happily, Lanza's next (and final) movie, For the First Time, was a considerable improvement, with enough opera AND popular ballads to satisfy every type of music lover.

Marc Revere is angry that his girlfriend Carol Ralston left him for another guy. He's half-Italian from Chicago. He's in Italy struggling to make it as a singer. He meets Raffaella Marini on the train to Rome. She lost her purse chasing the train in the rain. He spends his last lira for her ticket. She has no place to go, and they both stay with his penniless artist cousin Pepe Bonelli.

It's a good meet-cute although he could phrase getting out her clothes a little differently. I like the whole setup. The other aspect I love is 50's Italy. It's not touristy. It has an exoticism that isn't there anymore. The music is not my taste every time, but the exterior locations are always great. I don't know these actors. They're pretty good although the lead may be a better singer than an actor. This is fine rom-com with great locations.