IT STARTED IN NAPLES [1960]Produced by Jack Rose. CAST: Clark Gable, Sophia Loren, Vittorio De Sica, Marietto, Paolo Carlini, Claudio rrmelli, Giovanni Filidoro. SYNOPSIS: Almost immediately, Mike and Lucia clash over the boy's upbringing; Lucia preferring to let the lad live as he chooses and Mike insisting he be given a proper formal and social education. When he is beaten at every turn, Mike finally has his Italian lawyer, Mario Vitale (Vittorio De Sica) institute a custody suit. But Vitale, completely taken with Lucia's charm and fraudulent tears, delivers such an impassioned speech on her behalf that even the judge is moved to applause. Though Mike loses the case, he does make Lucia see that it is little Nando who is the real loser. In an effort to make the boy go with Mike, Lucia pretends that she is leaving with a guitar player named Renzo (Paolo Carlini). Heartbroken, Nando gets drunk, goes to Mike and volunteers to become an American. But Mike, realizing that Nando belongs to Lucia and Naples and would never be happy away from them, decides to leave alone. On the train, when he hears the departing tourists making deprecating
remarks about the natives, Mike finally awakens to the fact that he
too now belongs to Lucia and Naples. He leaps off the train and races
to join his new family.
The New York Times: The major thing to look at is Miss Loren, and all else is but background for her, strong light to put her femininity into profile. That goes for the script as well-a featherweight, obvious romance. - . -Whether Miss Loren is singing in a night club or throwing herself about in robust fashion, with her garments in becoming disarray, the lady is not for spurning. She is very much to be beheld. . - Clark Gable, who isn't precisely an inconspicuous sort, lets himself be exposed throughout the picture as a soft of sourpuss in the shadow of the girl. He glowers, Gable-wise and makes crude noises, betokening the superior male. But the screenplay has him shaded from the outset. Miss Loren gets everything. New York Herald Tribune: Obviously the picture was meant as simply warm and light-hearted entertainment with glimpses at whatever the Mediterranean might have to offer, but it falls considerably, short of its mark. - . - It makes a noticeable effort to set a merry pace but follows old story ruts so persistently that even the brisk charm of its principals cannot keep the film in the air. . . . One is too often struck by the suspicion that its basic theme-the contrast of American with Italian behavior-ought to have provided more inspiration than seems to have been the case. It is entirely the presence of Miss Loren, Gable and De Sica, who in combination or separately have an authority that makes even a palid line or an overly familiar situation feel like it may lead to something, that gives the picture what comic vitality it has.
Variety: Both the script and Shavelson's direction try too hard to make the film uproariously funny and risque. This will disturb a great many spectators. When the wit flows naturally, it is a delight; when it strains, it pains. One of the most memorable lines of comedy crops up when tired tourist Gable, wandering the noisy streets of Capri at 1 :15 a.m., asks a waiter, "How are people supposed to sleep on this island ?" "Together" is the matter-of-fact reply. Gable and Miss loren are a surprisingly effective and compatible comedy pair. The New Yorker: The picture gains an adventitious interest from the fad that Clark Gable often sounds exactly like President Eisenhower. My Review: A 59-year-old Gable is costarring with a mid-20 Sophia Loren. Sounds mighty interesting? well, wait until you watch the movie. They are great co-stars. Both possess a great deal of wit and a tremendous sense of humor. The sexy Sophia and the overweighted Gable make a great comic team. I enjoy watching this movie. After Gable's departure from MGM, his roles become more diverse. I really enjoyed the comedies, Teacher's Pet and It started in Naples. What is more interesting is that in most of the movies Gable's female leads are 20 to 30 years younger than him. But he seems to handle the age differences very well. After all, this is the king we are talking about. Sophia Loren is very convincing in this role of Nando's aunt, night dancer, and a gable lover. |