George Wright I found this move, seen on Turner Classic Movies, to be a very touching love story. I particularly liked the Olivia deHavilland as Meg Johnson, the mother of a beautiful young woman, named Clara with a slight mental impairment, played by Yvette Mimieux. On a trip to Italy with her mother, Clara is eyed by the young men she passes in the piazzas of Florence and Rome. Before long, she is pursued by Fabrizio Naccareli, a young Florentine, played by George Hamilton, who seems to have fallen in love with her at first sight. He is very enthusiastic and playful, a love match for Clara. At the same time, Fabrizio's father, Rosanno Brazzi, who is married, strikes up a friendship with Meg. It was apparent that while she wants the best for her daughter, Meg treats her disability as a social stigma. This seems to be in contrast with Fabrizio's Italian family, who have a more natural approach to Fabrizio, who is also somewhat immature, while totally charming. Some of the movie is very dated; for example, the way Olivia deHavilland lights a cigarette every time she encounters a moment of stress. The smoking theme becomes more pronounced with people offering each other cigarettes, not to mention Clara's father's high paying job in the tobacco industry. There is a bit of a running joke linking the Johnsons with actor Van Johnson, whose name is less familiar to a 21st century audience than it was in 1962. However, these telltale signs that date the movie also seem to be part of its appeal. In other respects, the movie is ahead of its time and seems to tell viewers to allow love to flower and grow. Meg found a change of heart on the trip. While reluctant to let go of her free-spirited daughter, she couldn't deny the love that Fabrizio and Clara shared. The movie throws a few twists in how the story plays out. As always, it is a credit that TCM brings movies out of the dusty corners of the past. They tell us something about the time while giving us unexpected entertainment.

richard-1787 Starting in 1951 with *An American in Paris*, Hollywood spent the next 15 years turning out a series of light-hearted and often very fun movies set in Paris (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Gigi, Love in the Afternoon, etc.). To a lesser extent, it did the same thing with Rome (Three Coins in the Fountain, etc.).This is not that sort of movie. What sort of movie it is, it never really seems to decide.First, the positive. There is fine acting from the principals, especially Mimieux, de Haviland, and Brazzi. There are also some nice shots of northern Italy, though not a lot of them.But there's also a lot not to like.Why, for example, did they cast George Hamilton as a young Italian? For no real fault of his own, he comes off as a caricature. There were young Italian actors they could have used.And then there is the treatment of the daughter's mental limitations, the result of an accident. Her father wants to institutionalize her, her mother wants to marry her off without telling the husband what the situation is, etc. It's all very disquieting.There's also a theme of anti-Catholocism which could have been less distastefully treated.If you can ignore this sort of thing and look at the pretty pictures, I guess you'll enjoy this movie as a sort of travelogue with too much serious dialogue. If you do play attention to the dialogue, it won't always please you.

vincentlynch-moonoi In this film, Yvette Mimieux plays a beautiful young lady who, as a child, was kicked in the head by a horse, and whose mental development has been slowed to the level of a 10 year old...except when she is rapidly picking up a new language and in certain other social settings. (Interestingly, just one year later, Mimieux played the socially slow and naive wife of Dean Martin in "Toys In The Attic"). That's the first problem with this film -- an inconsistency with Mimieux's character.She is in Florence, Italy with her protective mother (the grand and gracious Olivia de Havilland). While there, they are stalked...well in 1962 it wouldn't be considered that...by an Italian suitor -- George Hamilton. Hamilton's limited ability as a serious actor was beginning to show by the time he made this -- his ninth credited film...but he gets by here. Is Hamilton on the level? Apparently so, since his family is relatively wealthy. His father is played by Rossano Brazzi. Barzzi is his normally suave self here, and rather enjoyable, although this film is not one of the highlights to his career.And then along comes Daddy...a very worn-out looking Barry Sullivan, long past his prime in film (if there ever was one). Apparently he was gotten on the cheap here, and they didn't even want to spend money for a little makeup. Daddy, by the way, wants to put daughter in a "country-club" institution.As a result of Daddy's plans, with a couple of stumbles along the way, Mama does everything she can to make the wedding happen, and when it does she says, "I know I did the right thing!" It's a bit distracting in places to watch this film due to what may be a deterioration in the film, or as shown on TCM, a bad print. Nevertheless, despite its flaws, this is an interesting film worth a couple of hours of your viewing time.

phd_travel This is an almost perfect movie. The glorious setting in Florence, romantic musical score and perfect actors make this a classic. It is not dated at all.The story is a fascinating study of the differences between American and Italian cultures and values. It is a very finely observed showing the subtle differences between the societies. And the best is it has a happy ending. Everyone got what they wanted.Olivia de Havilland is perfect as the worried mother trying to find happiness for her emotionally backward but very pretty daughter played with just the right charm and innocence by Yvette Mimieux. Brazzi is perfect as the suave Italian in law. Even George Hamilton does a surprisingly good job as an Italian beau.This is enjoyable and involving from start to finish. By the way, I saw the musical on Broadway - it didn't quite capture the nuances of this movie. A play on stage would have been better than the musical.