La baia di Napoli

This will be hard for many film lovers to believe, but I never liked Clark Gable. I've seen some of his classics like "Gone With the Wind" and "It Happened One Night", and I was always turned off by the narcissistic, arrogant jerk he always seemed to play. I only wanted to see this film because I was about to take a trip to Naples and I was hoping for some nice scenery. I was also hoping Gable wouldn't ruin it for me completely.

Jackpot! The combination of the location filming, interesting premise, clever writing, humor, solid supporting performances by Marietto and Vittorio De Sica, and Gable's highly entertaining portrayal of a short-tempered curmudgeon rather than his usual dashing know-it-all really made this film for me. I don't know how many times I've watched it. I even bought the DVD, and I buy very few due to a serious lack of storage space, because I knew I would want to share it.

During the time I spent in Naples I was constantly reminded of things in the movie: fireworks, schedules that are wrong but 'everyone knows it', endless varieties of coffee… this movie really "gets" Naples, and surprisingly some things about it haven't changed all that much in fifty years.

And now that I'm finally feeling well-disposed towards Mr. Gable, maybe I'll have to give some of his other work a second try.

Philadelphia lawyer Michael Hamilton (Clark Gable) arrives in Naples to settle the estate of his philandering brother...

He learns that his brother had taken a common-law wife who died with him in an automobile accident, leaving a ten-year-old lovechild named Nando...

Nando (Marietto) is looked after by his attractive aunt Lucia (Sophia Loren), a dazzling night-club dancer on Capri, who dreams of someday becoming a movie star...

Almost immediately, Mike and Lucia clash over the boy's upbringing...

Lucia wants to keep the lad and let him live as he chooses... The street urchin stays up half the night in the club, smokes cigarettes and indulges in trivial theft... Mike is aghast, and insists he be giving a proper formal and social education...

The matter is put to the court, but during the struggle for Marietto's affections, the couple fall in love and fight a lot when Hamilton makes it clear that marriage is out...

Photographed in Capri, the Island of Dreams, the pearl of the Mediterranean sea, the film is a nice romantic comedy in which a sexy Queen captures the 'King of Hollywood.'

Gable delivers one of the most memorable lines of the movie when he asks, at night, a waiter: 'How are people supposed to sleep on this island?'

Marietto, also known as Carlo Angeletti, is the little star in this movie who steals the limelight from Clark Gable and Sophia Loren. He plays the super cute little street urchin who may or may not be the real nephew of rich American lawyer from Philadelphia Clark Gable.

The little lad with the sparkling eyes and winning ways conspires to match his poor aunt, Sophia Loren, with the rich uncle. Not that anyone would need much encouraging to marry Loren who was at the height of her beauty in 1958.

The other beauty in the movie is Naples itself, the magnificent bay then unspoiled by tourists, and the Isle of Capri.

In such a romantic setting with Marietto as Cupid, do we need to tell the ending?

See also Loren in Houseboat, where she plays the nanny matched with the rich bachelor Dad of Cary Grant. And where the cute kids, led by Paul Petersen, conspire a romance.

You have to forgive this movie several faults in order to enjoy it. Clark Gable, at 59, is far too old for Sophia Loren, 26. The musical numbers are weak with the exception of 'Americano', and let's face it, Loren is no Ginger Rogers. The custody battle for the child – Loren's son and Gable's nephew – is absurd to begin with, and then compounded by silly back and forth melodrama in the second half of the film. The film on the surface seems to be a loving look at Italy and Italians, but Gable's character is condescending with an annoying American arrogance, and the film as a whole is a bit patronizing.

And yet, despite all that, I found it somewhat enjoyable, and certainly better than expected. Shot on location in Naples and Capri, the scenery is gorgeous and many of the shots in the streets or piazzas look authentic. Gable gets off a lot of wry one-liners in a script where the dialogue is better than events. Loren may not have the greatest dance moves, but she does show both a comedic side and a touching side in her playful relationship with her son, in addition to, well, being a knockout and all. I love the scene where Loren is sprawled out face down on the bed after a long night dancing, and her son pokes her in the behind with a meat fork in front of Gable. The supporting cast is all-Italian, and the little boy (Marietto) and the lawyer (Vittorio De Sica) turn in good performances. There are moments that seem cliché, but there are also moments that seem spontaneous, and quite true to southern Italy. Far from perfect, but enjoyable.

I've just seen this on a beautiful DVD and I want to echo the positive comments. While not the funniest movie ever made it is amusing and a good family-type picture---assuming that families watch this type of picture these days.

What makes it happen for me is seeing Clark Gable and Sophia Loren together on screen with a beautiful background full of Capri Italy, 1960. The story is pretty basic but {like most good movies}provides a framework, plot situations and dialog- a lot of it in Italian, but still understandable- to keep the action moving and show off the Star Power on screen.There is great chemistry between Loren and Gable as well as co-star Vittorio De Sica and the young kid who plays the boy Nando - a star turn at age 10. Charming,amusing with eye-filling scenery and three legendary cinema personalities. Diverting and entertaining.