SYNOPSICS
It Started in Naples (1960) is a English,Italian movie. Melville Shavelson has directed this movie. Clark Gable,Sophia Loren,Vittorio De Sica,Marietto are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1960. It Started in Naples (1960) is considered one of the best Comedy,Drama movie in India and around the world.
Mike Hamilton, a Philadelphia lawyer, comes to Naples to settle the estate of his long estranged "black sheep" brother. Once there, he discovers that the deceased has left an eight-year old little boy named Nando, who is being raised by Michael's sister-in-law Lucia Curcio. Mike immediately disapproves of Nando's Italian-style (in other words "lax") education. To make matters worse, Lucia happens to be ... a sexy nightclub dancer. This is too much for a puritan like Mike and the only solution in his eyes is to have the boy brought up in the States...
It Started in Naples (1960) Reviews
A nice romantic comedy, in which a sexy Queen captures the 'King of Hollywood.'
Philadelphia lawyer Michael Hamilton (Clark Gable) arrives in Naples to settle the estate of his philandering brother... He learns that his brother had taken a common-law wife who died with him in an automobile accident, leaving a ten-year-old lovechild named Nando... Nando (Marietto) is looked after by his attractive aunt Lucia (Sophia Loren), a dazzling night-club dancer on Capri, who dreams of someday becoming a movie star... Almost immediately, Mike and Lucia clash over the boy's upbringing... Lucia wants to keep the lad and let him live as he chooses... The street urchin stays up half the night in the club, smokes cigarettes and indulges in trivial theft... Mike is aghast, and insists he be giving a proper formal and social education... The matter is put to the court, but during the struggle for Marietto's affections, the couple fall in love and fight a lot when Hamilton makes it clear that marriage is out... Photographed in Capri, the Island of Dreams, the pearl of the Mediterranean sea, the film is a nice romantic comedy in which a sexy Queen captures the 'King of Hollywood.' Gable delivers one of the most memorable lines of the movie when he asks, at night, a waiter: 'How are people supposed to sleep on this island?'
Tu vuo fa Americano!
I just got this movie, as it was just released in July 2005 on DVD. I'd seen it before on TV and had rented it before on VHS. Not sure what it is about this movie, but it's so full of charm! The beautiful landscapes and backdrops of Naples and Capri make it worth the view alone (Not to mention Sophia Loren; Viva Italia!) This was Clark Gable's second-to-last film, I believe, and as he was a bit miscast in the role (he was 59 or so), he pulls off the role of pushy Philadelphian lawyer, Mike Hamilton, with style. Sophia Loren's character, Lucia Curcio, is so lovably "Italian", she really shines in this role. It's also very interesting to see the evolution (or de-evolution) of Hollywood's current concept of sexiness when watching Sophia in this film; she exudes it while most modern-day actresses need all the help they can get...with surgery! Marietto Angeletti plays an 8-year old Nando, the nephew of both leads; truly gifted young actor and you'll love his character. And Also, veteran Italian actor Vittorio De Sica seems so natural in his role as the Neapolitan lawyer Mario Vitale, very believable. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable film and I'd recommend it for everyone. Who knows, it may start a resurgence of tourism to the area!
The Education of an Ugly American
This is the penultimate film of the career of Clark Gable, and his last comedy. He is a Philadelphia lawyer named Michael Hamilton, who is about to marry a suitable middle aged woman at home (we never see her), and must delay the marriage while he goes to Naples to settle the estate of his long estranged brother. He is unaware of the details, but his brother was never a hard headed, hard working type - and he had fled to Italy, where he seems to have drowned in an accident. Mike discovers his brother was out fishing with his wife when a sudden squall upset the boat and drowned them. He also discovers his brother lived up to his reputation as a ne'er-do-well by specializing in making great fireworks, and left a little boy named Nando (Marietto). But Nando's mother had a sister named Lucia (Sophia Loren) who appears at a local Capri nightclub. Mike and Lucia find themselves at odds about Nando's present and future lifestyle: Mike wants the boy brought up in America, while Lucia wants him in a happier, earthier life in Italy. Soon Nando, Lucia, Mike, and Mike's lawyer Vitale (Vittorio De Sica) manage to bring the blood uncle and blood aunt into a closer and closer relationship. Eventually they fall in love. Gable's performance was similar to a middle class "Ugly American" as in the contemporary novel and the movie with Marlon Brando. Mike is a successful lawyer, and he wants his brother's son to get the breaks he needs in good schools and with a normal home. He cannot believe that the little fellow is not degenerating, but is actually in a loving household with Lucia. In the first third of the film Gable makes a lot of snide comments about the easy take it life style he sees around him in Italy. It is only gradually that he realizes that the Italians can be serious when they want, and that there is nothing wrong (as he eventually admits) to being an elderly carriage driver singing "So Long to Sorrento" for his fares' amusement. He also can see that his first choice for marriage is even stuffier than he is, or that there were some really unattractive aspects in his fellow American tourists (witness that final scene in the railway car he is leaving Naples in). Lucia is also an interesting character - she mistrusts Americans (as her song "Americano" spoofs their foibles), but her own ambitions for success mirror the type of work ethic that is part of the American persona. She also is a realist - she insists that Nando speak English at home, rather than Italian. The reason (aside from the obvious screenplay reason of allowing the audience to understand the conversation) is that English is the international tongue of the modern age. If Nando is to succeed, he has to speak English well. Her affection for her nephew is deep - to the point that she is willing to even consider losing him for his own good. Nando is trying to find a balance between his aunt and uncle. He loves the aunt, and gets to really like Mike, but he can't understand why Mike can't only leave him with Lucia, and then occasionally visit. When Mike and Lucia become an item (or appear to be one), well that's fine too - they can take up where his parents left off. But he is capable of knowing if something is going wrong. When Mike says he wants to talk to him "man to man" Nando's face drops, and he says he never likes it when he hears "man to man". Vitale is an interesting supporting character. As the lawyer for Mike's brother he is obliged to tell him what the deceased's estate was (mostly fireworks and Nando). He begins processing Mike's legal moves to get custody of Nando away from Lucia. Lucia confronts Vitale, calling him a traitor to Italy for helping an American steal her nephew, and calling him a pig (as his looks at the sumptuous Lucia/Sophia Loren reveal). His helpless reply is that a man can be both a lawyer and a pig. In the end, in the courtroom, he is so twisted by his loyalties that he cannot give Mike a coherent (or even fair) defense. One can understand his dilemma. It is a sweet comedy, that holds up very well. It makes one wonder if Gable would have continued in roles like this one had he not died so soon after THE MISFITS.
La donna e bella !
This film really has to take the cake as being one of the most romantic comedies ever made, I have watched it countless times and this year it was finally issued on DVD with excellent picture quality devoid of clicks, blotches and other compression artefacts. The film is plastically beautiful, the surroundings are out of this world, Sophia Loren is beautiful, sexy, funny, what more could you ask, Nando is a gorgeous character and Mark Hamilton ( Clark Gable ) carries his rôle to perfection. The dialogues between him and Nando are absolutely scrumptious. Yhe story line which alternates between moments of pure romance then quarrelling and back again keeps the spectator on his/her toes even if the outcome is guessed in advance. I just loved the scene where Gable is in the train, listens to the comments of his compatriots in the compartment, just gets up and goes .. an excellent ending. The sets of the film are beautiful, I have never been to Capri but it sure looks a beautiful and romantic place. The 100,000 euro question is "Does it Still Look Like that in 2005" . Hopefully one or more of the inhabitants will read this and let us know !! My only beef on this film is trying to get hold of the sound track, no cd in the world seems to contain it - surprising when you consider the number of film sound tracks now available. My favourite is actually the title song ( instrumental ) which was composed by a certain Alessandro Cicognini, and which appears at various intervals in the film, including in a vocal version sung in Italian with a rhumba rhythm - no one tells us what the title is - so God knows how this can be found. The song "Tu vuo fa l'americano" sung by Loren in the nightclub has fared better ! It has actually been sung by one of the artists well known here in France, Dany Brilliant and his version, though not as good as Loren's is not bad at all. As for the other tunes, no sign of them anywhere. Hopefully one day, someone somewhere will have the intelligence to issued the INTEGRAL sound track of this film on a cd. Given the amount of time we have had to wait to have the film on DVD, there may still be hope for a cd later. Brilliant !
Those Americanos, Americanos
This was the first Clark Gable movie I ever remember seeing and I saw it in the old Marine Theatre in Brooklyn. Turned out also to be the last one Clark Gable got to see released as The Misfits was released after Gable's demise. He's an honest to God Philadelphia lawyer who had a brother who deserted his wife and took off for Italy where he lived with another woman. The brother has died and Gable has gone to Italy to settle the estate. The estate's one very tangible asset was the brother's son played very winningly by Marietto. Mom is deceased also and the boy is living with her sister and who wouldn't want an aunt who looked like Sophia Loren. It's a custody battle and the question the movie asks is how will the issue be settled, in or out of court? Gable's certainly a mature leading man playing about 15 to 20 years younger than he is, but he carries it off well. And Sophia Loren is wonderful to see. But the real star of this film is the Isle of Capri, one of the most beautiful spots on this old planet. Capri was getting a lot of publicity from Hollywood. Only a year before Mario Lanza's last film, For the First Time, also was shot a great deal in Capri. After these two films the tourist business must have boomed. Sophia Loren has a few nice numbers to sing and one of them was the song Americano. It had a revival a few years ago in Matt Damon's The Talented Mr. Ripley. But Sophia's version is soooooooooo much better.