Although this film has been dismissed by some as not the best of Billy Wilder I think it's grossly under-rated. Wendell Armbruster(Jack Lemon) attempts to recover the body of his deceased father and becomes entangled with Pamela Piggot(Juliet Mills) and her attempts to recover the body of her dead mother, killed with Lemon's father after they'd enjoyed a secret ten year romance together. If it wasn't for the efforts of hotel manager Carlo Carlucci, played wonderfully by Clive Revill, they'd have got nowhere. Interwoven with this main theme are Miss Piggot's battle with her weight and the aspirations of Bruno the butler to return to the USA, from whence he had been deported for working with the mafia (but only part-time). The predictable romantic development is charming and not at all the usual formula.
The screenplay sparkles like a great Italian wine,sharp, witty, effervescent. At 2 1/2 hours it's not a minute too long, the time flies by in a shower of laughs. Lennon is excellent as always, Mills likewise, but the jewel in the crown is Clive Revill's Carlo Carlucci. Every hotel should have one.
If you want to spend a really enjoyable couple of hours, take yourself to Italy via this movie. It'll only make you want to go back again and again.
The screenplay sparkles like a great Italian wine,sharp, witty, effervescent. At 2 1/2 hours it's not a minute too long, the time flies by in a shower of laughs. Lennon is excellent as always, Mills likewise, but the jewel in the crown is Clive Revill's Carlo Carlucci. Every hotel should have one.
If you want to spend a really enjoyable couple of hours, take yourself to Italy via this movie. It'll only make you want to go back again and again.
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