Quando l'amore è poesia

This is one of the most underrated films I've ever seen. The bulk of it is charming and romantic, with two very good leads (Janette Scott, of course, went on to be one of Britain's top female film stars for the next decade; very oddly, Vernon Grey never made it as a star). The story is engagingly told, and the viewer is really rooting for the young couple.

Very effectively, however, the film changes into a kind of black comedy thriller in the latter stages, as the couple flee to try to elope to Scotland. Various mishaps hinder both the couple and the pursuing police. Among other witty moments, policeman Brian Wilde is exasperatedly telling an impatient colleague over the radio that 'It is not as if they are going to drive past me right now!' - just as the couple's car zooms by in the background; and Wilde again, stopping a car which is identical to the couple's one, only to find a very angry woman (Hattie Jacques) in the driver's seat with a very large dog next to her in the passenger seat. 'How dare you accuse us of being an eloping couple!' thunders Jacques.

It is also moving how a series of people the couple encounter help them on their way rather than shop them, including a waiter (Ronald Squire), a lorry driver (Harold Goodwin) and a farmer (Charles Victor). Throw in very good cinematography, excellent location shots, and a really well done ending, and what's not to like? In fact, if it was not for one very stupid hole in the plot, I would have given it a 10.