Happy ending in September
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Happy ending in September |
| Original title | Come September |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1961 |
| length | 112 minutes |
| Age rating |
FSK 16 JMK without evaluation |
| Rod | |
| Director | Robert Mulligan |
| script | Stanley Shapiro , Maurice Richlin |
| production | Robert Arthur |
| music | Hans J. Salter , Bobby Darin |
| camera | William H. Daniels |
| cut | Russell F. Schoengarth |
| occupation | |
| |
| synchronization | |
| |
Happy End in September (English original title: Come September ) is a romantic comedy by Robert Mulligan, released on August 9, 1961, in the Federal Republic of Germany on December 15, 1961. The film deals with an Italian vacation between Milan, the Riviera and Rome with all sorts of situation comedy the different views on love before marriage in the alternation of generations.
action
Title sequence: Beginning at the Milan airport: a transport machine brings the Rolls-Royce of the American industrialist Robert L. Talbot. The chauffeur is already waiting and drives him through town to a high-rise commercial building, where Mr. Talbot is currently conferring.
Main film: During the conference, Talbot is not quite at the point and has his Italian friend Lisa Fellini call Rome. Lisa is just trying on a wedding dress and is very surprised: It's July, Talbot usually only shows up once a year in September and Lisa is about to marry an Englishman, the honorable Spencer. But when she hears her "Roberto" on the phone, she becomes weak again. They meet at Talbot's villa in Portofino and Lisa cancels her fiancé.
While driving through Northern Italy, Talbot is hindered by four American boys who are on tour in a bright yellow jeep. You are also on your way to the Riviera, so both parties meet again and again and irritate each other. In Portofino, Talbot is recognized by an innkeeper who calls the villa as quickly as possible and warns the manager Maurice that he will be waiting for his boss in 2 minutes. Without Talbot's knowledge, he runs the villa as a hotel for 11 months of the year. Maurice and the staff are now hastily removing the external signs of a hotel: name tags on the gates, advertising brochures, room numbers and more. But what cannot be removed are the house guests.
As soon as Talbot is in the house, a group of girls come back from bathing, along with their guardian Margaret. Maurice can talk his way out of Talbot and Margaret at first, but the dizziness is soon exposed. First Talbot finds a matchbook with the inscription "Hotel La Dolce Vista - Closed September", then he learns from one of the unsuspecting girls that his villa is a hotel. Talbot wants to fire Maurice immediately, but he assures that the profits have only been used to maintain the house, and asks for a respite in order not to embarrass himself in front of Margaret. Together they pick Lisa up from the train station, Maurice's last official act, Talbot believes.
At the hotel there is a second game of hide-and-seek because Lisa thinks she has to hide her relationship with Robert from chaperone Margaret until the group has left. Because Margaret has to go to the hospital, she doesn't leave, and to make matters worse, the four boys arrive in their yellow jeep. Talbot doesn't let them into the house, but because of the girls, the boys camp right outside the property. Among the girls, Sandy is particularly interested in Tony, the driver of the jeep. Unhindered in front of their chaperone, the girls immediately seek contact with the boys, supported by Lisa, but not by Robert, who now slips into the role of chaperone himself. He goes along as a minder on the joint ventures. When Tony sang the evocative song “Multiplication” in a cellar bar, he felt provoked and gave the girls advice: for example, that love is a commodity that you cannot easily get rid of if you admit it (before marriage) give away many samples.
When Lisa found out, she suddenly saw herself in this position. Angry, she drives back to Rome with the returned Margaret and her girls. Sandy also thinks this is the best recipe to arouse serious interest in Tony. Talbot and Tony are now changing their stance; Above all, Talbot forgives Maurice. Together they want to catch up with the girls, using a truck that Talbot thinks he has bought from the owner. But the police arrest him, mainly because Maurice now has a plan and intentionally incorrectly translated Talbot's information into Italian. He tricked the police into saying that Talbot was wanted in Rome, and later told them that Lisa Fellini was his accomplice. In this way - in the back of the police car - Talbot gets to Rome after all. When the police arrest Lisa on the way, Robert and Lisa are together again, but not as Maurice thought: Lisa is wearing her wedding dress again - for her Englishman. When the police errors in Rome clear up, Robert and Lisa therefore go their separate ways. Maurice tries to cement his plan by warning Lisa on the phone that Talbot is about to get on a train to leave Italy. At first she doesn't care, but then Sandy comes by and complains that Tony didn't follow her after all. While she comforts Sandy and gives her advice, she suddenly realizes that her own behavior only served to make Robert take a serious step, but that they are both on the verge of a final separation. The boys arrive in the jeep just in time; She grabs it, rushes to the station and fetches her Roberto back.
End sequence: Robert and Lisa arrive back at the villa. They catch the incorrigible Maurice, who has already received hotel guests again; this time some stern-looking nuns. But they don't hide their relationship from them because they are married now.
Dramaturgical and cinematic means
In the first scene of the title sequence, a gangway with the inscription "Milano" is pushed through the picture - from right to left, so that there is enough time to read the name from left to right: A kind of place-name sign and an imaginative alternative to an overlaid text.
The rest of the title sequence is designed as a city tour and, together with the music, conveys feelings of summer, a trip to Italy and serenity. The camera is always stationary and pans are only used at the beginning and the end. During the “city tour”, viewers have the opportunity to see not only the names displayed but also the historical buildings in the background. In the main film, the change of location to Portofino is indicated simply by the characteristic view of the location, the arrival in Rome by a scene with the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine.
One of the theatrical means used by both Hudson and the Lollobrigida is the astonished-stupid face in confusing situations. At Hudson you can almost speak of his trademark. Ronald Howard as a stiff Englishman with economical facial expressions and Slezak's charming audacity also contribute to the comedy.
The truck with goose cages, which is used to pursue the runaway lover, seems absurd, but has its justification in the American original: It is an allusion to several English proverbs such as a wild goose chase for "a senseless hunt / search" and a goose egg for "nothing". When Lisa drives away from him, a goose that has escaped the cage lays an egg on Talbot's lap, which he then has in his hand, namely nothing. More allusions can be found here.
background
The transport aircraft at the beginning of the film is an English Bristol 170 Freighter Mk31. The Rolls-Royce is a Silver Cloud II , the Jeep a Willys MB Jeep. The scooters are Lambrettas (Lambretta Li).
The trip through Milan presents several urban landmarks: the triumphal arch Arco della Pace , the monumental cemetery , the Colonne di San Lorenzo , the cathedral , the monument to Leonardo da Vinci (between the town hall and Scala ), the Pirelli high-rise .
Lisa's meeting with Spencer took place in Piazza Navona in Rome. The scenes from the approach to Portofino and from the excursion with the scooters were mainly filmed in the vicinity of Rome ( Lake Albano , Castel Gandolfo , Ostia Antica, etc.), one scene also in Portofino itself.
A luxury hotel in Portofino was used for the interior shots of Talbot's villa, while the exterior shots were taken from Villa delle Palme in Santa Margherita Ligure .
The song "Multiplication" (as well as the theme song) was written by Bobby Darin especially for the film. It also hit the record market in 1961. During the shoot, Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee also fell in love with reality. They later married.
At the end of the film, Lisa shows her wedding ring on her left hand, as is Italian tradition.
criticism
“ This saucy romantic comedy […] went down like a mouthful of soggy spaghetti. [...] Rock and Gina are adorable together, Slezak delightfully plays the lovable rascal, while Dee and Darin surprisingly seem to have little chemistry together for a pair who will soon get married in real life and are the weak links in this frothy film of little consequence except as a passably amusing diversion. [...] but at least it was pretty to look at the great location shots of Italy and at Gina showing off her curves while wiggling around the villa in an assortment of stunning evening dresses. "
“This lively romantic comedy […] went down like a mouthful of soggy spaghetti. […] Rock and Gina are both admirable, Slezak plays the lovable slob, while Dee and Darin surprisingly seem to have little attraction for a couple who are about to get married in real life. They are the weak links in this shallow film with little more relevance than acceptably amusing entertainment. […] At least it was nice to see the great filming locations in Italy and Gina showing her curves as she wobbles through the villa in a collection of gorgeous evening dresses. "
“ Come September has a few funny moments - many of them provided by Slezak […] but, like all the so-called 'sex comedies' of the 1960s, it spends its entire running time skirting around the subject. And even for the 1960s, Lisa and Talbot's thwarted attempts to spend a night together without incurring the wrath of Mrs Allison, feels more than a little outdated. [...] "
"Happy ending in September has a few funny moments - many of them are due to Slezak [...] but like all so-called 'love comedies" of the 1960s, it spends its entire duration just circling the topic. And even to the 1960s, Lisa's and Talbot's foiled attempts to spend a night together without incurring the wrath of Mrs. Allison feel more than a little dated. [...] "
Awards
- Golden Globe 1962 for Bobby Darin as Most Promising Male Newcomer (nominated and won)
- Bambi 1962 for Rock Hudson as best foreign actor (nominated and won).
- Bambi 1962 2nd place for Gina Lollobrigida as best foreign actress (nominated, 1st place to Sophia Loren)
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Torna a settembre (1961) - Forum - il Davinotti (Italian)
- ↑ Rock Hudson's Villa in Santa Margherita - Hollywood on the Italian Riviera (English)
- ↑ BobbyDarin.net/BobbyDarin.com - "Come September" (English)
- ↑ Come September at homepages.sover.net (English)
- ↑ Come September at 2020 Movie Reviews (English)