Starring Mario Lanza, Marisa Allasio, Renato Rascel, and Peggy Castie
Directed by Roy Rowland
Music and Lyrics by various
Having visited Mexico in our last Mario Lanza vehicle, we head to Italy for an all together happier story. This is actually a co-production between American studio MGM and the Italian studio Titanus, where most of the interiors were filmed. As such, it's as much about Italy and its people, which was just beginning to emerge from its post-war malaise, as it is about Lanza and his music. How well does Lanza work in the story of an Italian American opera singer who discovers more than great scenery when he follows his socialite fiancee to Rome? Let's begin in the US and find out...
The Story: Marc Revere (Lanza) is working on his own TV show when he finds out his high society fiancee Carol Ralston (Castle) is flying to Rome. He follows her, looking up his cousin Pepe Bonelli (Rascel) to stay with. On the train to Rome, he meets sweet young Raffella Marini (Allasio), who needs a place to stay. She ends up with the guys, which causes considerable friction with Carol when they arrive in Rome. Angry when Carol is out with a male escort, he gets into a fight with the man and destroys the bar where he's singing. He ends up performing there for free to pay for the damages...but it does finally make him realize which woman is truly right for him.
The Song and Dance: This is basically "Serenade done right," or at least less melodramatic. It's an almost identical story - Lanza plays an opera singer in love with a wealthy woman who falls for a girl closer to his own age in an exotic land - but in this case, the land makes all the difference. The burning passions and bullfights of Mexico are replaced by a buoyant post-war Italy, where every rugged green landscape is drenched in glittering sunlight and Rome isn't merely the romantic land of ruin, but the very living world of Pepe and his neighbors. Rascel is hilarious as Lanza's cousin, while Allasio is so sweet and lovely, you understand why Marc fell for her. Lanza is far looser and funnier here playing off Rascel than he is in most of his vehicles. His imitations of several popular singers of the time deftly reveals that he did have a sense of humor to go with the artistry. The scenery really is gorgeous, with its stunning views of those seven hills and of a modern Rome.
The Numbers: We open with the title song over the credits. Rascel sings his own "Arrivedeci Roma" when his cousin arrives in Italy. "Calypso Italiano" plays over the sequence where Raffella, Marc, and Pedro fly over the Italian countryside in a helicopter. Pedro sings and plays "Vogliamoci tanto bene" during the party, while Marc encourages everyone to "Come and Dance With Me." Lanza sings a bit from "The Loveliest Night of the Year," his hit from The Great Caruso, along with the Italian song "Cielito Lindo." He does imitations of Perry Como, Frankie Laine, Dean Martin, and Louis Armstrong.
Trivia: Allasio's last film (she gave up her career to marry a count) and Lanza's second-to-last film.
Known as Arrivedeci Roma in Italy. That was to have been the title of Lanza's next film in 1960, but he passed away before filming could begin.
What I Don't Like: While infinitely more palatable than the melodrama in Serenade, this is still a pretty fluffy story. Carol is so obviously wrong and obnoxious from the start, you wonder why Marc pursued her in the first place. More often than not, the story, the music, and even Lanza are secondary to all that gorgeous footage of Italy. This was an Italian-American co-production, and it's more than likely that the Italians were eager to build themselves up again after their wartime sacrifices.
The Big Finale: By far my favorite of the three Lanza vehicles I reviewed this week, the great music and gorgeous scenery makes this worth checking out for fans of Lanza, opera, or 50's musicals.
Home Media: Once again, easily found on streaming and DVD, the latter from the Warner Archives.
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