Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell

Last updated
Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell
BuonaSeraMrsCampbell.jpg
Original poster
Directed by Melvin Frank
Written by
Produced by Melvin Frank
Starring
Cinematography Gabor Pogany
Edited by Bill Butler
Music by Riz Ortolani
(music composed and conducted by)
Production
companies
A Melvin Frank Film
Connaught Productions, Inc.
Distributed by United Artists
Release date
  • December 1968 (1968-12)
Running time
108 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2.5 million (US/ Canada rentals) [1]

Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell is a 1968 American comedy film starring Gina Lollobrigida, Shelley Winters, Phil Silvers, Peter Lawford and Telly Savalas. It was produced and directed by Melvin Frank, who co-wrote the original screenplay with Denis Norden and Sheldon Keller.

Contents

The United Artists release was filmed at Cinecitta Studios, Rome. It served as the basis for the unsuccessful 1979 stage musical Carmelina . Some critics have also speculated that the 1999 stage musical Mamma Mia! —and, by extension, its 2008 film adaptation—are based on Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell, although the musical's book writer, Catherine Johnson, has denied any connection. [2]

Plot

Carla "Campbell" (Gina Lollobrigida) is an Italian woman who—during the American occupation of Italy—slept with three American GIs in the course of 10 days, Cpl. Phil Newman (Phil Silvers), Lt. Justin Young (Peter Lawford), and Sgt. Walter Braddock (Telly Savalas). By the time she discovers she is pregnant, all three have moved on, and she, uncertain of which is the father, convinces each of the three (who are unaware of the existence of the other two) to support "his" daughter Gia financially.

To protect her reputation, as well as the reputation of her child, Carla has raised the girl to believe her mother is the widow of a non-existent army captain named Eddie Campbell, a name she borrowed from a can of soup (otherwise he would have been Captain Coca-Cola, the only other term she knew in English at the time).

The film opens 20 years after the end of World War II in the village of San Forino, where the three ex-airmen attend a unit-wide reunion of the 293rd Squadron of the 15th Air Force in the village where they were stationed. The men are accompanied by their wives, and in the Newmans' case, three obnoxious children. Carla is forced into a series of comic situations as she tries to keep them—each one anxious to meet his daughter Gia (Janet Margolin) for the first time—from discovering her secret while at the same time trying to keep Gia from running off to Paris to be with a much older married man who will take her to Brazil.

When confronted, Mrs. Campbell admits she does not know which of the three men is Gia's father. She challenges the men by asking them what kind of father each would have been, particularly because they have never been there for all the small but important life events of their daughter. Provoked by this, the potential fathers talk to Gia and insist that she cannot run off. The "fathers" cease the support payments, and the Braddocks, who cannot have children of their own, agree to have Gia stay with them while she studies in the U.S.

Cast

Opening credits

End credits

Musical score

A soundtrack album was released by United Artists Records.

Critical response

In his review in the Chicago Sun-Times , Roger Ebert described the film as "a charming reminder of what movie comedies used to be like...It depends on the traditional strong points of movie comedy: well-defined situation, good dialog, emphasis on characters...director Melvin Frank holds the story together and makes it work. A lot of the credit goes to the real comic ability of Telly Savalas (the best of the three would-be fathers) and Shelley Winters, who plays Phil Silvers' wife. Miss Lollobrigida is good, too, projecting the kind of innocence that is necessary if the situation isn't going to seem vulgar." [3]

In The New York Times , Howard Thompson wrote "This overcooked, hardbreathing frolic, which gets off to a bright start, eventually collapses in the category of impossible comedies, sniggeringly pegged to sex...the reasonable taste, the bounce and the logic all start floundering about midpoint, with everyone running wildly to catch up, including poor Miss Lollobrigida, who bears the brunt of the confusion and the redundant contrivances. Suddenly it's gags, gags and more gags, to no avail, until the plot peg of authentic paternity begins to sound like a tired, old burlesque joke. The finale is as dull as the opening chapter is sprightly." [4]

Awards and nominations

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The Graduate</i> 1967 romantic comedy drama film by Mike Nichols

The Graduate is a 1967 American independent romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols and written by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham, based on the 1963 novella by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from Williams College. The film tells the story of 21-year-old Benjamin Braddock, a recent college graduate with no well-defined aim in life who is seduced by an older married woman, Mrs. Robinson, but then falls for her daughter, Elaine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telly Savalas</span> American actor (1922–1994)

Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas was a Greek-American actor. Noted for his bald head and deep, resonant voice, he is perhaps best known for portraying Lt. Theo Kojak on the crime drama series Kojak (1973–1978) and James Bond archvillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld, in the film On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gina Lollobrigida</span> Italian actress (1927–2023)

Luigia "Gina" LollobrigidaOMRI was an Italian actress, model, and photojournalist. She was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and 1960s, a period in which she was an international sex symbol. Dubbed "the most beautiful woman in the world", at the time of her death she was among the last surviving high-profile international actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Lawford</span> British actor (1923–1984)

Peter Sydney Ernest Lawford was an English-American actor.

<i>Another Stakeout</i> 1993 film by John Badham

Another Stakeout is a 1993 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by John Badham and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Emilio Estevez, and Rosie O'Donnell. It is a sequel to the 1987 film, Stakeout. Unlike its predecessor, the film was neither a critical nor a commercial success.

<i>Big Top Pee-wee</i> 1988 film by Randal Kleiser

Big Top Pee-wee is a 1988 American comedy film directed by Randal Kleiser. A standalone sequel to Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985), the film stars Paul Reubens reprising his role as Pee-wee Herman, with Susan Tyrrell, Kris Kristofferson, Penelope Ann Miller and Valeria Golino in supporting roles. The original music score is composed by Danny Elfman, who could not re-use themes from his Pee-wee's Big Adventure score, due to contractual restrictions. The film was released on July 22, 1988, and grossed $15 million against a $20 million budget. Another standalone sequel, Pee-wee's Big Holiday, was released in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shelley Duvall</span> American actress and producer (1949–2024)

Shelley Alexis Duvall was an American actress and producer. Known for her collaborations with Robert Altman and for playing eccentric characters, she won a Cannes Film Festival Award and was nominated for a British Academy Film Award and two Emmy Awards. Four of her films are preserved in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

<i>Wild in the Streets</i> 1968 film by Barry Shear

Wild in the Streets is a 1968 American dystopian comedy-drama film directed by Barry Shear and starring Christopher Jones, Hal Holbrook and Shelley Winters. Based on the short story "The Day It All Happened, Baby!" by Robert Thom, it was distributed by American International Pictures. The film, described as both "ludicrous" and "cautionary", was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Film Editing and became a cult classic of the 1960s counterculture.

Melvin Frank was an American screenwriter, film producer and film director. He is known for his partnership with Norman Panama and their work on films such as Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948), White Christmas (1954), and The Court Jester (1956). He also directed films such as Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell (1968) and A Touch of Class (1973).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marian McCargo</span> American tennis player and actress (1932–2004)

Marian McCargo Bell was an American actress and champion tennis player who later found success in film and television roles. She was sometimes credited as Marian Moses.

<i>Fanfan la Tulipe</i> 1952 film

Fanfan la Tulipe is a 1952 French comedy adventure film directed by Christian-Jaque. It has also been categorized under swashbuckler films. The film starred Gérard Philipe and Gina Lollobrigida.

<i>Solomon and Sheba</i> 1959 film

Solomon and Sheba is a 1959 American epic historical romance film directed by King Vidor, shot in Technirama, and distributed by United Artists. The film dramatizes events described in The Bible—the tenth chapter of First Kings and the ninth chapter of Second Chronicles.

The 41st Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 1983, were held on January 28, 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elsa Martinelli</span> Italian actress and fashion model (1935–2017)

Elsa Martinelli was an Italian actress and fashion model. Described by The Guardian as a "versatile star of Hollywood’s international years whose work spanned romantic comedies, period epics and spaghetti westerns", she went on to star opposite Kirk Douglas, John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Charlton Heston, and Anthony Quinn, be directed by André De Toth, Vittorio De Sica, Howard Hawks and Orson Welles on both sides of the Atlantic.

<i>Carmelina</i> 1979 musical

Carmelina is a musical with a book by Joseph Stein and Alan Jay Lerner, lyrics by Lerner, and music by Burton Lane.

<i>4 for Texas</i> 1963 film by Robert Aldrich

4 for Texas is a 1963 American comedy Western film starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Anita Ekberg and Ursula Andress, Charles Bronson and Mike Mazurki, with a cameo appearance by Arthur Godfrey and the Three Stooges. The film was written by Teddi Sherman and Robert Aldrich, who also directed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ariana Savalas</span> Singer, songwriter, and burlesque performer

Ariana Savalas is an American host, burlesque performer, singer, and songwriter. She has performed in burlesque cabarets worldwide, including as the emcee and singer for Dita Von Teese and the Crazy Horse cabaret in Paris.

Sheldon Bernard "Shelly" Keller was an American screenwriter and composer.

<i>Killer Force</i> 1976 film by Val Guest

Killer Force, also known as The Diamond Mercenaries, is a 1976 thriller film directed by Val Guest and starring Telly Savalas, Peter Fonda and Christopher Lee. It was a co-production between the Republic of Ireland, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States, and was filmed primarily in Namibia, which at the time of filming was under South African occupation. Its plot is about a gang of criminals who plan a major robbery of a diamond mine.

<i>Mother</i> (1999 film) 1999 Indian film

Mother is a 1999 Indian comedy film, produced and directed by Saawan Kumar under his Saawan Kumar production banner. Starring Rekha in the title role, along with Jeetendra, Randhir Kapoor, Rakesh Roshan in the pivotal roles and music composed by Dilip Sen-Samir Sen. The film is based on the American film Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell. This film marked the debut of Sanober Kabir.

References

  1. ↑ "Big Rental Films of 1969", Variety, 7 January 1970 p 15
  2. ↑ Simon, John (October 29, 2001). "Greek to Me". New York Magazine . Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  3. ↑ Ebert, Roger (1969-01-17). "Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell movie review". RogerEbert.com . Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  4. ↑ Thompson, Howard (1969-02-13). "Screen: 'Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell':Comedy Made in Italy Stars Gina Lollobrigida 3 Ex-Swains Support Her and Daughter". The New York Times . Retrieved 2019-09-24.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.