Lumière sur la piazza

... with Olivia de Havilland as the mother of a "simple" girl who was brain-injured as a child. As played by Yvette Mimieux, she naturally attracts the attention of a young Italian (George Hamilton), much to the alarm of the mother who still treats the girl like a 10-year-old. You have to wonder what the real purpose of the trip to Italy was. Rich and aimless, De Havilland seems quite happy just lingering in Florence, with no plans or agenda. There's a husband back in the US (Barry Sullivan) and Hamilton has an opportunistic father (Rossano Brazzi), who seems to like the idea of a dowry.

I never read the novella so I have no idea how this was all originally portrayed. Once De Havilland settles on the idea that the daughter could be happily married into the Italian family, she sets out to ensure it happens. The only snags are that Sullivan wants the daughter placed in a home, and Brazzi balks when he finds out the daughter's real age.

It's a sweet-natured film with a sly sense of humor. This story was recently turned into a Broadway musical, oddly enough.

This film walks a fine line between touchingly sweet romance and unintentional hilarity. It comes out on the better side of quality drama thanks to some sincere acting by de Havilland and the wry romanticism of Brazzi. Ms. de Havilland is a wealthy tourist on an extended stay in Florence, Italy with her beautiful, but childlike daughter (Mimieux). Mimieux has suffered an accident which left her with a stunted mental age and de Havilland has taken her abroad to keep her out of trouble as she blossoms physically and attracts men. (With this in mind, Italy may not have been first stop on most people's itinerary!) Hamilton is a very eager and adorable young Italian who falls head over heels for Mimieux and eventually furrowed-browed de Havilland must determine whether to move on or allow her daughter a chance at happiness, at the possible expense of her suitor. Brazzi stirs things up as Hamilton's father and Sullivan adds some welcome conflict as de Havilland's hard-nosed husband. Mimieux does a very fine job presenting this difficult character. She is definitely inappropriately childish, yet lovely and sweet. She has one particularly effective scene in which she becomes overexcited and nearly hyperventilates. Hamilton is charming and appealing and Brazzi is ever-suave. Ms. de Havilland (decked out in crisp, tailored, Christian Dior clothes throughout) projects the right amount of concern and longing for her daughter's happiness. She even gets a carriage ride that is only slightly less rough than the one Vivien Leigh took her on in "Gone With the Wind"! She is the emotional core of the film. (People continually refer to her tan in the film, but she looks as pale as a cameo most of the time!) A must in widescreen format, the location filming adds much flavor to the film (which makes it all the more jarring when background screens are used...thankfully very little.) From a certain perspective, the film's message could be quite offensive. It seems to suggest that if a retarded girl wants to be happy, get married and have a family, she only has to go to Italy where no one will be able to tell and she won't have to do much of anything anyway!

Olivia de Havilland is a worried mother travelling through scenic Italian locations with daughter Yvette Mimieux, who is mentally retarded. When a young Italian starts courting her daughter and showing up in the most unlikely places, de Havilland's predicament becomes apparent. Should she tell the truth or let her daughter marry the rather simple-minded Italian boy? The situation was better described in the novella by Elizabeth Spencer, but the Epstein brothers have given the screenplay some grace and humor--and de Havilland is superb as the doting mother. Rosanno Brazzi adds his brand of charm to the boy's father and there is a light touch of romance between him and de Havilland. George Hamilton is surprisingly convincing as the smitten Italian youth, Yvette Mimieux does well enough as the girl and Barry Sullivan does what he can with the thankless role of her stubborn father who would rather see her placed in an institution. All of it is nicely photographed in Italian locales and in wide-screen technicolor (see the letterbox version if you can). This unappreciated film is a minor gem--poignant, touching and humorous.

I think this film is among the most underrated of its era. It has what is likely Yvette Mimieux' finest performance, and it's in a difficult role as well. Though the story centers around Clara (Mimieux), who is 26 but has the mind of a child, it is really her mother Meg's story, nicely played by Olivia de Havilland.

Meg has brought Clara to Florence, Italy, to get her daughter away from a boy back in the states Clara had gotten close to. What drives the plot is Meg's desire for Clara who had been kicked in the head by a pony at age 10 and is mentally stunted, to have a normal life. When Clara is pursued by a young Italian Fabrizio (George Hamiliton), Meg doesn't really know what to do. On the one hand, she doesn't want Fabrizio and his family to discover Clara's "condition," but on the other, Fabrizio has an amazing effect on Clara. They are truly in love.

Things get more complicated when Meg meets Fabrizio's father, who takes more than a friendly interest in Meg. She is very capable of taking care of herself, though. What really upsets her is a visit by her husband (Barry Sullivan), who has long ago given up on the idea that Clara could have any semblance of a normal life.

Though Mimieux and de Havilland shine, the whole cast works well, including Hamilton as Fabrizio. Hamilton seems to be the whipping boy of the critics. I'm not sure why, but perhaps it's his good looks and that he looks privileged. It may be acerbated by the fact that he often played characters of privilege. Two years before he was a rich playboy in MGM's "Where the Boys Are," so perhaps critics couldn't buy him as an Italian. Nevertheless, Hamilton is really appealing in "Piazza." Even his Italian accent blends with the real Italian actor who plays his father, Rossano Brazzi. Hamilton's scenes with Mimieux often surprise with their level of emotion.

If you haven't figured this out already, this film is for romantics, and if you find these sorts of films corny, you'll probably have the same reaction here. However, for those of us who enjoy a nicely told romance in an idyllic setting, "Light in the Piazza" is hard to beat. It's much better than Warner's "Rome Adventure" the same year, a film full of beautiful locales but more soap than genuine opera. In "Piazza" director Guy Green unfolds the drama naturally, and keeps a tight grip on this character driven story all the way to the glorious ending.

Green continued working with Mimieux in her next film, "Diamond Head," where she plays the sister of Charlton Heston. It's another exotic love story, but not as successful as "Piazza." Yvette Mimieux, who made a big splash in George Pal's "The Time Machine" and "Where the Boys Are" in 1960, never really reached her full potential, but she came awfully close to giving a great performance in "Piazza." To play a 26 year old who throws tantrums, has physical fits and sleeps with teddy bears without garnering audience disdain, is quite a feat. A role like this could easily become obnoxious or succumb to treacle, but Mimieux manages to make us care and root for her. As crazy as the idea of a girl so mentally stunted ever having a normal life might be, we come to want it for her. We never lose our affection for Clara, as crazy as some of her actions are. Mimieux plays her as a likable, lovable daughter and an appealing lover. A pleasant person. As Mimieux' performance shows us, it's clear why Fabrizio fell for her.

Meg is the anchor of "Piazza," and de Havilland pulls us through the twists and turns of the story with a likable display of perseverance. Her scenes with Clara are filled with warmth, but tinged with unease, as they should be. de Havilland and Brazzi have many wonderful and amusing scenes together as they get to know each other, while at the same time keeping secrets from one another.

The lush score by Mario Nascimbene is very much of its time, but is well suited to the film. It never seems to intrude, but adds that touch of European exotica appropriate for the time and place. Following "Piazza" and "Diamond Head," director Guy Green went on to do what is probably his best film, "A Patch of Blue," another unusual romance. He apparently liked them.

There are things in the film that date it, primarily the use of rear screen projection for the scenes with de Havilland and Brazzi driving around in a small car. The filmmakers even removed the windshield so as not to block the view of the actors and this makes the scenes so ridiculously fake they are laughable. Interestingly, I recently saw 2010's "Letters to Juliet," which is also a romance that takes place in Italy, and the car scenes were done the same way. The only difference is that technology has gotten much better and the effects were harder to spot. Nevertheless, I spotted them.

For some reason, some films made at MGM in 1962 were poorly received and heavily criticized. "Mutiny on the Bounty" with Marlon Brando, and "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" with Glenn Ford (and Mimieux as his sister), are two other examples. This was the same year as "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "Lawrence of Arabia," both of which were well received. "Bounty" and "Horsemen" seemed to have been reassessed in recent years and if you read comments on both they are much better appreciated these days. Perhaps the reason "Piazza" is late in being reassessed is because until now, it has not been available. The Warner Archive has finally put this film on DVD and for those romantics willing to take a chance, they will probably enjoy it immensely.

MGM deserves credit for producing a magnificent film The Light In The Piazza starring a classic star Olivia De Havilland and featuring two of MGM's brightest contract stars George Hamilton and as the key player in the film Yvette Mimieux as a learning disabled Girl who for the first time is treated like an adult and is romanced by a handsome man who because of the language barriers does not realize her disabilities. A remarkable film beautifully filmed in Italy by the fine director Guy Green. Having seem this film I am going to review and study more of Mr. Green's films. Of course it goes without saying that Olivia De Havilland often nominated and winner of 2 Oscars gives a brilliant performance of Yvette Mimieux's mother. George Hamilton is fine as the Lothario.

A courageous film and a credit to the MGM Studio