Michael Curtiz's A Breath of Scandal (1960) is a glittering featherweight romantic comedy set in Austria circa 1907. It stars the voluptuous Sophia Loren as Olympia, a princess living in exile because of her scandalous romantic indiscretions. Not that she's suffering any. There's a huge castle to romp around in, extensive grounds to go riding on and a quaint little hunting cottage for time spent away from the family. It's there that Olympia accidentally meets and then attempts to seduce Charles Foster (John Gavin), the handsome American engineer. She feeds him a false name, takes off the bottom of his pajamas and even tries to have him tuck her in bed shameless! Foster, as it turns out, has business with Prince Philip (Maurice Chevalier) Olympia's father. But before any of this superficiality can develop, Olympia finds that she has been given a reprieve from the Emperor to move to Vienna and marry Prince Ruprecht (Carl Hinterman). The cast is rounded out by Isobel Jeans as Olympia's stuffy, two-faced mother, Princess Eugenia and Angela Lansbury as Countess Lina, who is given precious little to do except insinuate that some tidbit of protocol has been breached, thereby exiling Olympia to her country estate once again.
Despite a lavish on-location backdrop, eye popping costumes, some stunning cinematography and a charming score, the film really doesn't develop beyond its cloistered romantic trappings. Chemistry between Gavin and Loren is near zero despite the fact that they are two of the most gorgeous individuals ever seen on the screen. The one note of distinction that helps make the whole tired cliché palpable is Maurice Chevalier's recap of the divine boulevardier he played in 'Gigi' two years before. He's an elegant, suave and ultimately final note of aristocratic class in an otherwise deadly dull production.
The anamorphic widescreen transfer from Paramount is generally a blessing. Despite modest color fading and some age related artifacts, most of the print simply glows with the lavish excesses of Technicolor. Flesh tones can appear slightly pasty at times, but over all are accurate. Contrast levels are bang on. Blacks are deep and solid. Whites are generally clean. The audio is Mono as originally recorded. Occasionally it seems to bloom or distort, making Loren's lines inaudible, but overall there is some nice mixing to be had particularly when Chevalier warbles the title track in a seedy Can-Can café. There are NO extras.
Despite a lavish on-location backdrop, eye popping costumes, some stunning cinematography and a charming score, the film really doesn't develop beyond its cloistered romantic trappings. Chemistry between Gavin and Loren is near zero despite the fact that they are two of the most gorgeous individuals ever seen on the screen. The one note of distinction that helps make the whole tired cliché palpable is Maurice Chevalier's recap of the divine boulevardier he played in 'Gigi' two years before. He's an elegant, suave and ultimately final note of aristocratic class in an otherwise deadly dull production.
The anamorphic widescreen transfer from Paramount is generally a blessing. Despite modest color fading and some age related artifacts, most of the print simply glows with the lavish excesses of Technicolor. Flesh tones can appear slightly pasty at times, but over all are accurate. Contrast levels are bang on. Blacks are deep and solid. Whites are generally clean. The audio is Mono as originally recorded. Occasionally it seems to bloom or distort, making Loren's lines inaudible, but overall there is some nice mixing to be had particularly when Chevalier warbles the title track in a seedy Can-Can café. There are NO extras.