Uno straniero a Cambridge

This had the bones of a good film but just disintegrated into a poor slap stick.

This gentle comedy really scores for me. Hardy Kruger is very good, then again so are all the players in this film. However, I have to admit that one of my favourite actresses, the beautiful Sylvia Syms not only steals the film but also my heart. The Cambridge scenes and scenery are beautiful too, and as someone who lives near that iconic City it really is shown off at it's best. Others have suggested this is a film to watch if you have nothing else to do, I disagree, this feelgood film for me is a joy and as such needs to be watched and appreciated for what it is - a lovely piece of our past when things were simpler, happier and more innocent.

With a screenplay by Leslie Bricusse and Frederic Raphael and terrific color photography by Geoffrey Unsworth, Wolf Rilla's "Bachelor of Hearts" is a one-of-a-kind grandiose sort of rom-com. Loaded with physical comedy, it's shot on location at Cambridge and provides an exaggerated look at the strange rituals and behavior of those upper class twits that Monty Python made such fun of a decade later.

International superstar Hardy Kruger is constantly the center of attention, providing an outsider's point-of-view mixing with his fellow students at Cambridge University. Sort of the steady center of the movie, Sylvia Syms plays his #1 romantic interest from a nearby Girls College, playing straight to Hardy no matter how outrageous his antics become.

Director Wolf Rilla (who made the classic "Village of the Damned"") pulls out all the stops, including documentary-style footage of the campus events with students as extras, and even mixes in plenty of sex comedy for Hardy to frantically execute. Among the many pretty girls in the cast is a fun turn by Barbara Steele, affecting a high-pitched goofy voice worthy of Carol Kane.

One thing is clear from the get-go in Bachelor of Hearts: In European films, Hardy Kruger was seen for the cutie-pie he was. Americans could rarely get over a German actor's nationality (hence why Curd Jurgens probably wasn't considered for The Sound of Music), so Hardy often played Nazis - and we wonder why he retired early. But when the films weren't geared primarily towards Americans, his characters were pretty hunky! In Bachelor of Hearts, he plays a German exchange student new to England and her customs during his first year at university. Immediately, he puts the moves on the first girl he sees, despite her already having a boyfriend, and she has to force herself to resist him. He's charming, he's adorable, and it's a shame America didn't get the memo.

If you're not in it for the eye candy, however, you shouldn't be in it at all. This is a very silly movie, akin to America's High Time, but without the seriousness of the adults. It's just a gigantic advertisement for parents not to pay for their kids' college educations. They take four years, all paid for by Mommy and Daddy, to party, sleep around, and participate in stupid hazing rituals. Hardly anyone knuckles down and wants to learn, as you can see in this movie. Even Hardy, bless his heart, gets criticized repeatedly when he tries to stick to his studies. One of his professors literally says, "You can read books in Germany." Instead, to truly get an education, he has to party, sleep around, and participate in stupid hazing rituals. However, the movie isn't a total bust. Hardy is extremely cute.

German exchange student (Hardy Kruger) comes to the fictional University College, Cambridge. A collection of stereotypical but enjoyable Varsity capers ensue. Sylvia Syms is positively radiant - the proverbial English Rose. She has a knack for bringing the film to life whenever she appears on screen. The remainder of the players form a very predictable bunch of undergrads in their mid-twenties and profs in ttheir mid-eighties. Lovely views of the City, and one or two well orchestrated set-pieces (the raid on all-female college Girton is notable) make this effortless viewing.