Rome was flavor of the month in fifties Hollywood; Paramount wound up with a mega hit sleeper on its hands when the romantic chemistry between Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday proved both a commercial and critical success. Hollywood minds are, of course, geared to spin-off potential; if One romance in black and white could rake in the dough think how much more could be made out of THREE in Technicolor. More than half a century later the response is pretty much ho hum but in the first half of the fifties a combination of the finest male singer of the twentieth century singing (albeit uncredited) a catchy title song over a series of tourist views of Rome predisposed audiences to like whatever came next however hackneyed. The sextet was interesting, Louis Jourdan wasn't even Italian but then neither was Clifton Webb, though Jourdan did personify the handsome Leading Man. Maggie MacNamara was the most interesting of the females but made only five films in total and in one of those she was uncredited; Jean Peters was arguably best known for becoming Mrs Howard Hughes in 1957 and retiring from the screen until the 70s and Dorothy McGuire was the best actress by a country mile. With a side trip to Venice thrown in this RomCom - a chick flick before the term was coined - couldn't miss and still has a novelty value for the easily pleased.
Review of Three Coins in the Fountain
