La baia di Napoli

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.

This movie is a movie that just makes you feel good inside. It was slow at the start, but once Gable started spending time with the boy and Loren, the story picked up and left a wonderful product. My only complaint is that it was sometimes hard to pick up what the Italians were saying when they spoke in English. And although it was pretty easy to sense what they were meaning when they spoke in Italian, I would have liked to see some subtitles...just to know what they were saying. But that would have taken away from the movie...so maybe it's best just as it was. Anyways, a fine film, with Gable his normal charming self, with another male to vy for Sofia Loren, this time being and eight year old.

What a wonderful movie starring two of filmdoms' greatest stars-Clark Gable and the beautiful Sophia Loren. Set in Naples and the island of Capri this is one attractive movie.Great story line and excellent music and a wonderful performance by the master himself Vittorio De Sica. Add to the cast a young Italian actor by the name of Marietto playing a wise-cracking street kid from Naples and you have the perfect afternoon treat. Though this was Gables' second last movie before the ill fated Misfits (a movie I would rather forget)he looks in excellent shape and still has that twinkle in his eye that made him a star for over 25 years. This movie is just magic. Enough said.

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.

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?'