Montecarlo

All the ingredients are here: glorious Technirama, Cote d'Azur setting and two charismatic leads. What on earth has gone awry?

The screenplay is by Samuel A. Taylor, an accomplished Broadway playwright who adapted his 'Sabrina Fair' and 'Avanti' for film as well as contributing to the screenplay for 'Vertigo'. Unfortunately he cannot direct. The film has neither sparkle nor momentum and there is some decidedly dodgy dubbing. There are admittedly a few good scenes and the production values are great but the film disappoints. The anticipated chemistry between Marlene Dietrich and Vittorio de Sica as two inveterate gamblers down on their luck is alas, lacking. De Sica is immaculate but Dietrich somehow misfires.

What a pity that neither Dino Risi, who wrote the original story nor Billy Wilder who brought Taylor's 'Sabrina Fair' and 'Avanti' to the screen were not on hand to work their particular magic. Ironically Wilder was to direct Dietrich's next film 'Witness for the Prosecution'.

One of the best lines in the film goes to de Sica who says that the gambler's most precious commodity is 'Hope'. A sentiment that might easily apply to actors! This superlative actor/director was known to be frequently short of funds because of his addictive gambling. He must have felt very much at home here!