Gidget Goes to Rome

Gidget, played by Cindy Carol was at our local drive in theater in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pa, during the fall/summer of 1963. I was 13-years old. And during intermission, there, sitting at a round, rod-iron outdoor table, sat Gidget, in the same pink dress you see her in, on the "Gidget Goes To Rome", IMDb page! She wrote on the autographed picture, "To Rick with love, Cindy Carol" How cool was that! Frankly, I don't remember much about the movie except that it was curious for a "movie star" to find herself, 'here and now' at the Ardmore Drive in theater, which was in itself, a very special drive in. It was a modern, state of the art facility. Big wide screen, great concession stand and on both sides of which, there were mini, "theater rooms" where drive in movie goers, could venture out from their car and sit inside, with theater seats and sound, and watch the movie. During those early/mid teenaged years in the 60's, us kids would "sleep out" and at night go sneak over the hill through the thick trees in the back, to get into the drive in. Since they had the indoor seats, we would naturally go to "lover's cars" in the back of the drive in, knock on their windows, and ask for their stubs, so that when Chucky Pollack would make his rounds in the theater, he would ask to see our tickets. There may be 4 or 5 of us in there and we'd all pull our tickets out of our pockets. Chucky would say, "Why are all the ticket numbers out of sequence?" We would respond, "Because we all came in different cars!" Those were truly, the good old days! The drive in's been gone for many, many years as most have gone that way, which now is a strip mall with one of the most used, "Giant Eagle" super markets in Pittsburgh. I hope Cindy reads this one day she might look for her acting accomplishments on IMDb, and just maybe, she will remember that one particular night in Pittsburgh (Braddock Hills) when she sat outside at the drive in and signed autographs at the Ardmore Drive In -- making lasting memories in the heart and mind of a young, movie going enthusiast and still "Cindy Carol-fan"! Cindy turns 65-years old this year (2009). At last check, she was teaching in California. Dare you leave me a message Cindy. I'd love to catch up! Perhaps leave me a message at ladymoon here on IMDb!

This film essentially begins with a teenager named "Frances 'Gidget' Lawrence" (Cindy Carol) begging her father, "Russell Lawrence" (Don Porter) to allow her to fly to Rome with her friends. After some consideration, her father finally relents but only after ensuring that a suitable chaperone is provided. Yet even after learning that one of the other teenager's aunts named "Albertina Blythe" (Jessie Royce Landis) has agreed to chaperone them, Russell remains somewhat concerned and subsequently calls an old friend living in Rome named "Paola Cellini" (Cesare Danova) to secretly check up on them from time to time. For her part, Gidget is only too happy to spend more time with her boyfriend "Jeff 'Moondoggie' Matthews" (James Darren) who is also going on the trip. Problems develop, however, when the group's tour guide turns out to be a beautiful Italian woman named "Daniela" (Danielle De Metz) who all of the teenage boys immediately become enamored with--especially Moondoggie. Needless to say, this takes a serious toll on Gidget's emotions. Her sadness quickly vanishes, however, when she meets an older gentleman who suddenly takes a great interest in her--Paola Cellini. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was an okay comedy for the most part, which started off slow, but picked up rather nicely toward the end. And while I thought James Darren seemed a bit too old for his character, I thought that Cindy Carol performed extremely well in the lead role. I also liked the performances of Cesare Danova and Danielle De Metz--who was absolutely gorgeous. In any case, while this wasn't a great comedy by any means, it seemed to pass the time well enough, and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

This is one of my favorite movies, it features Cindy Carol. She is my idea of the perfect girl, she is so pretty and has a perfect personality. I wish she was in more movies. This movie would be nothing without her in the lead role. I think this is the best of the Gidget movies. She is a little known actress, watch this movie and she if you agree that she deserved more movie roles. Filmed in 1963, the height of the beach movies. A great movie for all ages. It stands the test of time, it's just as good today as it was 40 years ago. I wish Cindy stared in the Gidget TV show, I can't get enough of her joyful personality.

Although this movie is the weakest of the three Gidget films, it's still a fun view. James Darren is back again as 'Moondoggy' - always a good thing. It's also nice to see the Rome of the early 60s, Cesar Danova is gorgeous, and Jessie Royce Landis is charming. Cindy Carol? Not too much of an actress and definitely second rate compared to Sandra Dee and Deborah Walley. The girl was two-dimensional all of the way through the movie. However, she didn't have as much to work with, script-wise, as the other two actresses, so I'm not sure that it's totally fair to compare them. Being the third sequel, what should we expect, after all? Still, it is a fun movie and actually has some funny bits that are intentional (and some that are unintentional, but not surprising given how old the movie is). If you liked the first two 'Gidget' movies, you'll probably enjoy this one, as well. Just don't expect too much in the way of great acting, slick plot lines, and scintillating conversation.

The one thing I enjoyed was the scenery and fashion show sequence.Carol Carol is a lousy actress, and the "gang" are as equally uninteresting.James Darren is a gorgeous italian and I love his songs!