Houseboat (1958)

A terrible dad (Cary Grant) tries to reconnect with his three children after his estranged wife dies, so he takes them to his undersized Washington DC bachelor pad. There one of the boys meets with a young woman (Sophia Loren) who is rebelling against her dad. He needs a housekeeper and she a job, so she is hired. Implausible comic mischief has them living on a dilapidated houseboat.

This is a pretty standard rom-com so we know the dashing 54 year old will end up with the beautiful 24 year old, and we are never to feel weird about that. In reality she and the married Grant had been dating since they both appeared in The Pride and the Passion. He accepted this role trying to keep the relationship alive, but she had moved on to dating the married Carlo Ponti, who was merely twenty two years her senior. Grant tried and failed to back out of the film. Maybe this is why their chemistry isn’t what it could have been. Ponti divorced his wife and married Loren by proxy during the filming. Five years later they would divorce, take a four year break, then remarry.

Murray Hamilton, you know, the mayor in Jaws, has a smallish role as a low grade jerk. Somewhere in there is a young Barbara Steele in her first film role. I never saw her. Martha Hyer was charming as the red-herring love interest. She shows up from time to time (most recently in Born to Kill) but I never before took notice.

It’s a little known fact that dialog spoken by children in movies is actually written by adults. And by little known, I mean very obvious. But it wasn’t more obvious than by listening to Grant’s three children. It was conspicuous how non-childlike they spoke. You might be tempted to attribute their less than naturalistic performance to their age, but all three were already acting veterans. This was apparently a decision.

Grant wasn’t very likable and as mentioned there wasn’t great chemistry between the leads, but it isn’t without its charm. In the past I may have awarded Houseboat a passing grade, but I am growing tired of by-the-numbers Hollywood dribble. AMRU 2.5.

Two Women (1960)

 A strong willed woman (Sophia Loren) and her delicate daughter flee Rome during World War II to escape the constant bombing. They face difficulties.

There is a much talked about incident, leading many to believe it’s the inciting incident around which the story revolves. In reality, it occurs in the third act and is just one of many trials the two women endure. Many readers know what I am referring to but for spoiler reasons I will comment no more about it.

Twenty-five year old Sophia was deemed too young to play Cesira, feisty mother of a twelve year old, but she pulled it off, earning her a well-deserved Best Actress Oscar. Eleonora Brown played young Rosetta. It’s easy to assume she was much older than her character, but she was twelve during filming. Jean-Paul Belmondo looked familiar and I was surprised to learn that he was the lead in Breathless, released earlier that year. Very different roles.

The story is really about the Italian people and what they faced during the war, caught between a cruel fascist government and allied bombs. Life is chaotic, desperate, and bleak. Not an aspect of the war we are used to seeing here. But an important story. Somewhat hard to watch in parts, but an excellent piece of storytelling. AMRU 4.