It Started in Naples

source: It Started in Naples

I've always been sentimental over this film. My grandmother took me up to the big city on November 16, 1960 -- when I was just 11 -- to see it on Rochester, New York's biggest movie screen. Quite a different setting than our usual small hometown theater. When we left the theater they were hawking newspapers with the headline that Clark Gable had just died of a heart attack. The theater was either the old RKO Palace Theater or the old Lowe's Rochester Theater (both demolished a few years later). I saw the movie a second time a few days later...on the day Gable was buried. And so, I remember Clark Gable for this film and, of course, for "Gone With The Wind". Here he is just perfect as the "Americano" who has come to settle his brother's estate, only to find his brother had a second wife and a son. But this is also the film where -- at age 11 -- I simply fell in love with Sophia Loren. This film and the earlier "Houseboat" (with Cary Grant...which I only later discovered on television...same director) convinced me that Loren was the most beautiful woman in the world (with a little competition from Lana Turner). And now, over 50 years later, I still find those two to be my ideal impression of true beauty. Here, Loren is at her most playful, and a perfect match for the over-serious character Gable plays. One of the things that makes this movie so charming is that both Gable and Loren appear to be actually enjoying themselves in making the film. Gable shows humor we didn't get to often see him demonstrate, particularly later in his career. And, Loren is so entertaining, particularly in her night club dance number. The story is a decent one (although the plot is pretty transparent. You know that in the end the tired American is going to fall in love with Loren and Capri...and stay there with his new family. But on most vacations you know where you are going, the fun is in getting there...and this movie -- filmed on location -- is darned fun in the journey. In addition to the obvious on-screen chemistry between Clark Gable and Sophia Loren, the supporting cast is quite good. Of particular note is the young boy -- Marietto, who plays Nando; what a character! And Vittorio De Sica is very entertaining as Loren's lawyer. This is a delightful light comedy and romance which in beautifully filmed. I liked Gable's performance here more than any since GWTW, and it's one of my favorite performances by Loren. Highly recommended!

This will be hard for many film lovers to believe, but I never liked Clark Gable. I've seen some of his classics like "Gone With the Wind" and "It Happened One Night", and I was always turned off by the narcissistic, arrogant jerk he always seemed to play. I only wanted to see this film because I was about to take a trip to Naples and I was hoping for some nice scenery. I was also hoping Gable wouldn't ruin it for me completely. Jackpot! The combination of the location filming, interesting premise, clever writing, humor, solid supporting performances by Marietto and Vittorio De Sica, and Gable's highly entertaining portrayal of a short-tempered curmudgeon rather than his usual dashing know-it-all really made this film for me. I don't know how many times I've watched it. I even bought the DVD, and I buy very few due to a serious lack of storage space, because I knew I would want to share it. During the time I spent in Naples I was constantly reminded of things in the movie: fireworks, schedules that are wrong but 'everyone knows it', endless varieties of coffee… this movie really "gets" Naples, and surprisingly some things about it haven't changed all that much in fifty years. And now that I'm finally feeling well-disposed towards Mr. Gable, maybe I'll have to give some of his other work a second try.

In many, many ways, this film appears to have later been made as AVANTI (with Jack Lemmon and Juliet Mills). The plots have just too many similarities to be a coincidence. While not exactly a remake, this later film seems like a slight reworking of the plot--with a little bit of gratuitous sex and nudity added to boot. The film begins with Clark Gable going to Italy to take care of arrangements after his brother's accidental death. This no-good brother had apparently been living a double life--with a wife back in the States AND one in Italy! Gable is surprised to not only discover this, but that there is an 8 year-old boy who is apparently his nephew! He's also surprised that the boy's Italian Aunt (Sophia Loren) isn't particularly interested in establishing a relationship with Gable or having the boy go to live in the States. Considering that the boy is a ragamuffin living in a rather bohemian existence, this might just be in the kid's best interest--at least that is what Gable assumes. Over time, the blustering Gable comes under the spell of the island of Capri and Loren's ample charms. Oddly, however, the film makers thought that pairing Gable and Loren romantically made sense and that the public would buy it--and they didn't. The age difference was just too great. Additionally, the styles and personalities of the two were just too different to make such a pairing believable--though at least it worked better than Loren and John Wayne (LEGEND OF THE LOST) and a bit better than Loren and Alan Ladd (BOY ON A DOLPHIN). Why film makers insisted on pairing this sexy starlet with significantly older established American actors is beyond me. So, while the film isn't exactly believable, is it worth watching? After all, although miscast, the film could still be enjoyable. And, for the most part it was, though including a "cute and precocious" kid was, at times, a bit too much of a cliché. He was too cute and way too precocious to be realistic--walking, talking and acting like a 30 year-old man stuck in a kid's body--sort of like Tatum O'Neal in PAPER MOON. Also, some might find its treatment of Italians as a bit patronizing--as they all seem rather lazy and fun-loving--not like real people. As for the look of the film, it was terrific--filmed in exquisite color that really made this Italian island look its best. Overall, it's an enjoyable and nice looking piece of fluff--not bad, just not as good as it could have been. By the way, supporting actor Vittorio De Sica was also a very accomplished director. He acted in quite a few films and was quite good, but as a director he was one of the best, with such wonderful films as UMBERTO D, MIRACLE IN MILAN and THE CHILDREN ARE WATCHING US to his credits--among others.

You have to forgive this movie several faults in order to enjoy it. Clark Gable, at 59, is far too old for Sophia Loren, 26. The musical numbers are weak with the exception of 'Americano', and let's face it, Loren is no Ginger Rogers. The custody battle for the child – Loren's son and Gable's nephew – is absurd to begin with, and then compounded by silly back and forth melodrama in the second half of the film. The film on the surface seems to be a loving look at Italy and Italians, but Gable's character is condescending with an annoying American arrogance, and the film as a whole is a bit patronizing. And yet, despite all that, I found it somewhat enjoyable, and certainly better than expected. Shot on location in Naples and Capri, the scenery is gorgeous and many of the shots in the streets or piazzas look authentic. Gable gets off a lot of wry one-liners in a script where the dialogue is better than events. Loren may not have the greatest dance moves, but she does show both a comedic side and a touching side in her playful relationship with her son, in addition to, well, being a knockout and all. I love the scene where Loren is sprawled out face down on the bed after a long night dancing, and her son pokes her in the behind with a meat fork in front of Gable. The supporting cast is all-Italian, and the little boy (Marietto) and the lawyer (Vittorio De Sica) turn in good performances. There are moments that seem cliché, but there are also moments that seem spontaneous, and quite true to southern Italy. Far from perfect, but enjoyable.

Listen to the voices. Can anyone deliver humorously sardonic lines like Clark Gable? Can any voice be as beguiling as Sophia Loren's. Can anyone but Vittorio De Sica be as funny as the Italian lawyer who claims blithely that "a man can be lawyer and a pig at the same time. It happens often."? Sophia also shows that we often put far too much store in voices that hit the notes rather than invest songs with a sense of character. Her two songs are invested with saucy sense of humour. Her version of "Americano" is worth a second and third listen and look. Has anyone swung an imaginary baseball bat in such a sexy manner? Marietto as Nando is one of the great child performances. He is winning without being ingratiating. He is presented as being street wise and yet vulnerable. He does not know more than the adults around him and he has only limited control of his life and destiny. Nando just wants to enjoy his life and we want this for him too. We really get to like Nando because he is a real little boy. This film has much to say about what people come to value in life but it is always done with a sense of humour. It's also fun to watch and it's fun to listen to. Finding fun in life seems to be at the heart of It Started in Naples.

I've just seen this on a beautiful DVD and I want to echo the positive comments. While not the funniest movie ever made it is amusing and a good family-type picture---assuming that families watch this type of picture these days. What makes it happen for me is seeing Clark Gable and Sophia Loren together on screen with a beautiful background full of Capri Italy, 1960. The story is pretty basic but {like most good movies}provides a framework, plot situations and dialog- a lot of it in Italian, but still understandable- to keep the action moving and show off the Star Power on screen.There is great chemistry between Loren and Gable as well as co-star Vittorio De Sica and the young kid who plays the boy Nando - a star turn at age 10. Charming,amusing with eye-filling scenery and three legendary cinema personalities. Diverting and entertaining.

Marietto, also known as Carlo Angeletti, is the little star in this movie who steals the limelight from Clark Gable and Sophia Loren. He plays the super cute little street urchin who may or may not be the real nephew of rich American lawyer from Philadelphia Clark Gable. The little lad with the sparkling eyes and winning ways conspires to match his poor aunt, Sophia Loren, with the rich uncle. Not that anyone would need much encouraging to marry Loren who was at the height of her beauty in 1958. The other beauty in the movie is Naples itself, the magnificent bay then unspoiled by tourists, and the Isle of Capri. In such a romantic setting with Marietto as Cupid, do we need to tell the ending? See also Loren in Houseboat, where she plays the nanny matched with the rich bachelor Dad of Cary Grant. And where the cute kids, led by Paul Petersen, conspire a romance.

This movie is a movie that just makes you feel good inside. It was slow at the start, but once Gable started spending time with the boy and Loren, the story picked up and left a wonderful product. My only complaint is that it was sometimes hard to pick up what the Italians were saying when they spoke in English. And although it was pretty easy to sense what they were meaning when they spoke in Italian, I would have liked to see some subtitles...just to know what they were saying. But that would have taken away from the movie...so maybe it's best just as it was. Anyways, a fine film, with Gable his normal charming self, with another male to vy for Sofia Loren, this time being and eight year old.

Stale plot bolstered by good cast, lovely locations... In his penultimate film, Clark Gable plays a gruff American visiting Italy to settle his late brother's estate who discovers he has both a sister-in-law and a young nephew he hadn't been told about. The adults bicker over the child's upbringing, but soon realize they have feelings for each other. Gable, heavy and grouchy throughout, seems way passed this type of innocuous romantic comedy-drama. Stuck with the bland character name of Michael Hamilton, Gable never shakes off his lethargy, though it is great seeing him in the arms of Sophia Loren! Still, there are few sparks between the two stars, despite Loren's obvious hard work in keeping this dessert from melting. Director Melville Shavelson's pacing isn't exactly effervescent, but he does get some attractive shots of the country at its most beautiful. The well-worn romantic formula, however, comes straight from Hollywood, and the results are predictably lukewarm. ** from ****