laurel21000
I came to this picture expecting to only skip through parts of it.I had watched Kevin Spacey's "Beyond the Sea." That sent me to seek out Dodd Darin's book about his parents, Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee. This autobio/bio (Dream Lovers:The Magnificent Shattered Lives of Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee), by the way, turned out to be one of the best written and compelling bios ever. Dodd Darin came across as so obviously a person of very high integrity and he wrote about his life and his parents with a very strong priority on finding and presenting the truth. So different from the many bs-laden, so-called autobiographys with all of their "composite characters" (code for I'm lying)littering the market.And then that book led me to want to watch "Come September." It was on this picture that Darin and Dee first met. It was also Bobby Darin's first role.So I was mainly curious to get insight about them and was prepared and expected to have to wade through a mostly boring comedy to do so.But, surprise on me, "Come September" turned out to be Terrific! Fantastic! Wonderful! The script was very sharp and clever. There were tons of extremely witty lines. The laughs just kept coming. Quite a few were of the laugh out loud variety.The film had great timing. It just kept zipping along delivering the entertainment big-time scene after scene.The casting was superb. Every part was maximized by the respective actor. Walter Slezak was excellent. He contributed a lot to the overall warmth and good-natured tone of the film. Gina Lollobrigida was stunningly beautiful. The cinematography of Italy was stunningly beautiful. This is just a truly first-rate film. Well worth seeing and well worth adding to a film library. It has also made me enthusiastic to search out other work by its very talented director, Robert Mulligan and its equally excellent screenwriter, Stanley Shapiro.
Arun Vajpey
For some reason, this lightweight comedy from 1961 became something of an icon in India, where I come from. We were kids when it was first released but Bobby Darin's theme music became so popular that it was played practically everywhere for the next few years. I think the film was re-released three times between 1961 & 1964 in Bangalore, with the locally edited trailers mistakenly adding footage from other films of the era like Palm Springs Weekend! I first saw the film as an 8-year old in 1963, but had to wait 28 more years before I saw it as an adult - on British TV in 1991. On the whole, I like this film as a period piece of what some people call "Kennedy era entertainment" - lightweight, fluffy comedies that are nice to watch now and then.
teleadm-persson
This movie actually becomes better with each viewing.The first time I thought it was a so-so 60's farce Though many scenes now might look old-time nonsense! This movie is actually directed by Mulligan who's next pic was To kill a Mockingbird!Gina is so much better in comedies than she ever was in biblical Movies (and that horrible Solmon and Sheba).Rock is Rock but on the light side! Even with a gray Rolls Royce.After watching Kevin Spacey movie about Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee, This movie has sure become more interesting.Walter Slezsak is for once not playing a nazi, as if Conrad Viet would have lived, as a matter of fact I've never seen Walter in a nice guy role as this before.Brenda de Banzie has a small role too, I remember her in Man who knew too much" 1956 Hitchcock, aqnd olde English farce about shoemaker Hobson's choice
blanche-2
Rock Hudson and Gina Lollabrigida star in "Come September," a 1961 comedy beautifully photographed to showcase the glorious scenery of Portafino, Italy, and the exquisiteness of Gina Lollabrigida, a knockout if there ever was one. Haven't seen her lately, but 25 years later, she was every bit as gorgeous.Hudson plays a millionaire who comes to Italy to spend time in his villa each September. This year, he arrives early, looking forward to a dalliance with Lollobrigida as well. But she's through with him and planning to marry someone else - until she hears his voice. When Hudson arrives at his fabulous villa, he discovers that his major domo (expertly played by Walter Slezak) has, for the last six years, been turning his place into a hotel. There is a bus load of young girls staying there with their chaperone, who slips on a champagne cork and is put out of commission. Thus, the girls can't leave and Hudson feels compelled to chaperone them. When Lollobrigida hears the advice he's giving the young women to keep them out of the clutches of some young men who have arrived with reservations - she's not happy. The young men figure Hudson is too old to compete with them so they try exhausting him, hoping to get some time alone with the women.Though this comedy sags in the middle, it's a cute story and the cast is delightful, including Sandra Dee and Bobby Darrin, who sings the title song and also "Multiplication" at a night club. A great talent, his is a sad story of a gifted song stylist who didn't live to mine his full potential. It is during this film that he met his future wife, Dee.Hudson is handsome and fit and again shows his ability for comedy, and Lollabrigida gives an energetic, sexy performance. Their dance together in the nightclub is a high point.One of the posters mentioned that Hudson's films today are diminished because of his now-known sexual preference. I submit this is ridiculous. Straight people have played gay people for years, and vice versa. The fact that we may not be aware of it doesn't make it any less true. Hudson plays a straight man in this, and he's effective. When did it become a mandate that actors could only play themselves? It's not called acting for nothing.
AD
