A Breath of Scandal

This is a really beautiful and charming film with a wonderful cast. Sophia Loren has never looked more lovely in the role of Princess Olympia alongside the handsome John Gavin in the role of Charlie Foster. Maurice Chevalier is absolutely delightful as Prince Philip as is his on-screen wife Isabel Jeans in the role of Princess Eugenie. The settings are simply beautiful in different palaces around Vienna such as the Belvedere and Schoenbrunn. The Austrian countryside is also delightful. I loved the music as well. A young Angela Lansbury also makes an appearance as the devious Countess Lina. It is a lovely and enchanting film.

I can't believe all the criticism of this film, it's a light ball of fluff, it's funny and fun, and Sophia is gorgeous and so is John Gavin who just died last month at age 86. Give it a break! It's not a masterpiece but it wasn't trying to be. Filmed on location in Italy and Austria the cinematography features a royal world gone by, and Sophia's character is a pip of a princess who makes everyone nervous because she keeps doing scandalous things like shooting at weather vanes and riding forbidden wild stallions and desiring romances with undesirables. Enter John Gavin an American who is good at heart and doesn't know she is a Princess at first, he thinks he hurt her by frightening her horse which threw her to the ground, so he takes her back to an inn to recover, only she's perfectly fine, she just loves the way he looks and is smitten. Then the real (royal) world comes back into play and she is called to be a responsible Princess again and possibly marry royalty but she just can't forget that handsome American who lives in Pittsburgh. :) Must say the clothes design in this movie was Oscar worthy, Sophia wears breathtakingly beautiful clothes, if you love the rich fashions of days gone by you should watch it with a keen eye toward its style. A nice film to drink hot cocoa to on a cold winter night.

This bantam weight of a comedy really has not much going for it. It is so light you could knock it down with a feather. I was so bored I decided to do some crossword puzzles while listening to the dialog and missed absolutely. Princess/Royalty Sophia is expelled from the court. She wants to marry a well to do royal but an indiscretion with an American visitor, the always bland for extremely good looking John Gavin - well, he's not really bland: He just speaks in a monotone way and doesn't vary his technique much - threatens to derail the impending nuptials. Poor second-billed Maurice Chevalier in a role he would play many time again as the cantankerous old matchmaker after perfecting it in Gigi dawdles through the movie singing sweet melodies that move absolutely no one. Wide Screen cinematography and Technicolor is exquisite and the costumes worn by Sophia define her figure to goddess like status. But when in a romantic comedy you are rapturing over the sets and costumes you know something is wrong. P.S. Poor Michael Curtiz!

In 1960 this film did not receive audience attention because there were other film being shown that the public wanted to see, like "Psycho" and many other films. Most Sophia Loren films were not as popular in America and so Carlo Ponti brought his wife back to Europe and she made a very successful film, "Two Women" which won her an Academy Award and brought Sophia great notoriety. In this picture, Sophia plays the role as Princess Olympia who is a very wild and beautiful young lady who gets into all kinds of trouble. Sophia rides her horse one day and an American named Charlie Foster, (John Gavin) and his automobile scares the horse and the Princess falls to the ground and she plays games with Charlie making believe she is hurt, but she really likes him and wants to spend the night with him in a lodge. Charlie has no idea this pretty gal is a Princess and they both get along very well, with her sleeping in his pajamas and her waking up and the bottoms of the PJ's are missing. This is a great comedy and Maurice Chevalier, (Prince Philip) gives a great supporting role as Princess Olympia father along with Angela Lanwsbury, (Countess Lina) who is a gossip and trouble maker getting into everyone's private lives. Michael Curtiz directed this picture and he was a famous director who produced many great films.

Sometimes, particularly when one is looking at a landscape or a portrait, beauty is sufficient. Movies are a different situation altogether and visual beauty is a bonus and certainly does no harm but it cannot carry a movie all by itself. John Gavin is beautiful but miscast and wooden where a more dangerous charm would have helped. Think Grant or even Sinatra but at least think alive. As to Loren, words fail me. The look (beautiful perhaps) is entirely wrong and she is no princess. If for no other reason her accent makes no sense and screams please oh please dub me, dub me, dub me even by the actress she called mother for no discernible reason. The eligible prince actually looks like Grace Kelly's real life prince but there is no Grace Kelly to lift his form into substance. The only performer who is even slightly acceptable is the divine and immortal Angela Lansbury who actually seems to be engaged. Fortunately, she doesn't have to listen to old Maurice beat a dead horse (i.e., his tired singing routine). Speaking of horses, the four-legged ones were cute but could only move the carriage, not the plot. On the whole, I'd rather be in Pittsburgh, with or without a horse or anywhere else, as long as it is with Ms. Lansbury.