The Yellow Rolls-Royce

source: The Yellow Rolls-Royce

"The Yellow Rolls-Royce" is a good "B" movie with "A" performances. The story is a piece of fluff but it is interesting. It is about a yellow rolls-royce that is owned by three different wealthy owners over a period of 20 years. My favorite story is the first. Marquess of Frinton (Rex Harrison) buys a new yellow rolls-royce for his French wife (Jeanne Moreau) as a belated anniversary gift. He supplies his wife with gifts and love but realizes she is not happy. Mr. Harrison was given a few good roles after "My Fair Lady": "The Yellow Rolls-Royce", "The Agony and the Ecstasy", "The Honey Pot", and "Doctor Dolittle." It is nice to see Mr. Harrison play a nice husband in "The Yellow Rolls-Royce." The last two movies the director, Anthony Asquith, directed were very good ensemble movies: ""The VIP's" and "The Yellow Rolls-Royce." Every actor in both movies was superb.

This is a slow moving but entertaining movie. The three stories are romantic and charming. The cast is outstanding. Ingrid Bergman, Omar Shariff, George C. Scott, Art Carney, and Shirley McLaine to mention a few. Chances are of you enjoy movies from the 1960s you may like it. This type of movie was common then, but many have not fared well in getting to video. This has never been a hit but always enjoyed by many. Unfortunately it is not available on DVD or even VHS. If you have seen it and enjoyed it you may want to see "The Red Violin" with Samuel Jackson. Several stories that tie together with a red violin. The only common thread in "The Yellow Rolls-Royce" is the car. One of those if such-and-such could talk stories. It has been years since I have seen it telecast on TV. Good luck trying to see it.

There were so many respected film stars that appeared in this film (Rex Harrison, Shirley MacLaine, Ingrid Bergman, Omar Sharif, George C. Scott and Art Carney to name just a few) and so I was curious as to what this film had to offer. What I discovered were three seperate stories that all had this one particular luxury yellow Rolls Royce intertwined across multiple continents. The yellow Rolls Royce had many of the film's stars making whoopie in the back seat with the curtain windows rolled down. Heck the male studs couldn't even get a bounce out of this vehicle so they all must have been duds as studs. The personal lives of the rich and famous people who were associated with the yellow Rolls Royce were shallow at best and only Ingrid Bergman seemed to have a conscience and purpose as to what she wanted to accomplish with her meaningless richly endowed life. I found no mystery nor intrigue to any of the three seperate storylines and I was disappointed that so many big name stars would appear in this time waster. I can't rate it any higher than a less than deserving 4 out of 10 rating.

I was a young girl when my mother took me to Radio City Music Hall to see this wonderful movie. It's about the travels of this Yellow Rolls Royce from owner to owner. Each owner has their own adventures with this car, but it is life changing for each of them. Each owner is so different in their character from the one before. I enjoyed the scenery, it was beautiful, acting was great, and the story is wonderful. This movie is filled with some of the greatest stars of that time period. A must for the older films viewer and the young ones too. I don't think you can buy it on VHS or DVD. I've tried to find it but I can't. Hope to be able to buy it one day!

The Yellow Rolls Royce is a class act from the opening credits to the last shot. A pure example of the silver age of Hollywood doing what it does best. Great screenplay by Terrance Rattigan, gorgeous cinematography, engaging score, and impeccable direction by Anthony Asquith add up to a glittering fun and at times truly touching film experience. Interestingly enough both Asquith and Rattigan teamed up before for a similar all star romp with the Taylor-Burton film "The VIPS" another story of intersecting lives brought together by a mode of transportation. In "The VIPS" it was airplanes and here in this charming film it is a resplendent canary yellow automobile. To add to this heady cocktail the director has blended in a glittering all star cast of first rate talent from the early 1960's. This is a truly international roster of superstars each of which brings their unique talents and charms to bear on this film. The story is in three acts encompassing events some years apart all involving the Rolls and how it came into and changed the lives of its various owners. In act one Rex Harrison is superb as being well, nothing less than Rex Harrison. The glamorous Jeanne Moreau shows her depth and considerable strengths as his wandering but loving wife. They sparkle and spark as an aristocratic English couple facing a major turning point in their marriage. Act two really pops with comic genius flavored with a moving drama as Gangster George C. Scott takes his wisecracking Moll, Shirley MacLaine on a tour of Italy. Scott is revelatory in his roll and is complemented by Art Carney as his loyal and street wise right hand man. MacLaine channels a sharp, witty comic performance that stands with her best of the period. And as the amoral gigolo Stefano who opens her heart to real love and a love of life Alain Delon shines. They make a stunningly beautiful screen couple and by the end of the act they pluck the strings of star crossed romance beautifully. The luminous Ingrid Bergman teams up with Omar Sharif in a romantic tale set at the outbreak of the invasion of Yugoslavia during World War II. Bergman brings to the film a beauty that is timeless and her star persona which is legendary. She is brittle, vain at first, and funny. But with the aid of freedom fighter Sharif she comes to a new understanding of sacrifice and true humanity amidst the tragedy of war. And all throughout the films we are treated with spectacular vistas and sights of Europe in a travelogue of breathtaking cinemascope grandeur. The excitement of he Ascot races, the lush seductive beauty of Italy and the rough magnificence of the mountains of Yugoslavia. "The Yellow Rolls Royce" is much more than a star vehicle, it is the distillation of great film-making in a long gone era that both entertains and inspires the heart of all true romantics.

Ingrid Bergman is terrific in this movie- you owe it to yourself to watch her performance. Omar Sharif gives a good performance in a difficult role that requires both charm and toughness. Rex Harrison gives a memorable and very appealing performance. Ms. Moreau is again one of the most interesting and intriguing actors in moviedom and very watchable. Shirley MacLaine and Alain Delon are both beautiful and their acting is good but their roles are lightweight and superficial- they are there to look beautiful and they do. Despite the above, and despite high-quality production values and fabulous European scenery, the movie is not very good. The first segment requires your understanding and sympathy for prewar British aristocrats (you probably aren't going to care about such spoiled people of the dilettante class). The second segment is superficial and based on attractiveness of its stars only. The third segment is about 1941-era Yugoslav partisan activity (a footnote in history but brave). I found it impossible to relate to any of the characters in this movie or in its overall concept that centers all of this around an automobile. Love and war as it relates to a car. I don't get it. There is a big orchestral main theme by Riz Ortolani that I find pompous but its a matter of taste. I much preferred his beautiful theme (also 1964) for the film "The 7th Dawn". Overall the movie is too slow (or leisurely, depending on your viewpoint) and the result can be dullness and indifference for some viewers, but you should watch the third segment anyway in order to experience a truly wonderful acting performance by Ingrid Bergman. Also worthwhile to watch Rex Harrison in the first segment, at his most appealing "My Fair Lady" era peak.

This movie presents three stories one after the other, as we follow the fortunes of the first and subsequent owners of the yellow Rolls of the title. First, Rex Harrison buys it as a present for his erring wife, Jeanne Moreau. She uses an anniversary party to flaunt her boyfriend, Edmund Purdom. The car then makes its way into the hands of Mafiosi George C Scott and his moll Shirley MacLaine. She falls for French photographer Alain Delon (and who can blame her?). Finally, the car plays its part in international politics when Ingrid Bergman and Omar Sharif take it on a rescue mission. Anthony Asquith's film survives because of its construction, using the car as a lynchpin for three very different stories, character combinations, and situations. The car remains the star (perhaps because of its colour) but there are enjoyable performances here too. It isn't a challenging or particularly exciting film, but helps to pass the time. Personally I find it a better British film centring on a car than the earlier Genevieve, but that might just be my own taste.

And also some ravishing scenery. This movie has three separate segments, all of them well done in spite of a pretty tepid script. The actors are magnificent but I would have to say that Shirley MacLaine was amazing as a gangster's moll who falls in love and then sacrifices that love to save his life. Beautifully acted. Omar and Ingrid also shine in the segment about fighting in the hills of Yugoslavia. Of course in all three of the stories the males are mere foils for the females and the car itself. This movie is definitely a "guilty pleasure." 7 out of 10.

All the three actresses are beautiful and attractive: some honest and some dishonest. The men remain the drones to the queen bee in all the three episodes. Jeanne Moreau is probably the weakest of the trio but elegant in her role as a wife who has a young lover. Shirley Maclaine is the classical stunning dumb blonde who has to make a choice to step into a stable, rich married life. The fascinating Ingrid Bergman chooses to step down from a wealthy peerage to a realistic rustic lifestyle using charming wit for achieving an honest end. This is Asquith's last film with Jack Hildyard's cinematography that is patchy but stunning at times. As a film it is average but the casting and the performances of the three ladies and George C Scott are notable.