Gidget Goes to Rome
Encyclopedia
Gidget Goes to Rome is a 1963 Columbia Pictures
feature film
starring Cindy Carol
as the archetypal high school teen surfer girl originally created by Sandra Dee
in the 1959 film Gidget
. The film is the third of three Gidget
films directed by Paul Wendkos
and expands upon Gidget's romance with boyfriend Moondoggie
. The screenplay was written by Ruth Brooks Flippen based on characters created by Frederick Kohner
. Veterans of previous Gidget films making appearances include James Darren
as "Moondoggie", Michael Callan
, Joby Baker
, and Jean "Jeff" Donnell
as Gidget's mom, Mrs. Lawrence. The film has been released to VHS and DVD.
noted in the New York Times of 12 September 1963, "When Gidget, played with the proper pout and correct ingenuousness by Cindy Caroll[sic], arrives in Rome with her group of happy friends, she is bound to fall in love with a married and handsome Italian magazine writer, enjoy such exotic delicacies as fettucini and chicken cacciatore, and experience the thrill of attending a 'Dolce Vita' cocktail party. As one of Gidget's friends explains, it's part of her 'growing up.' Gidget falls out of love in time...and all ends happily. Jeff sums up the entire experience in two immortal sentences: 'I guess everybody falls in love in Rome in the summer time. It's that old devil Italian moon.'"
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
starring Cindy Carol
Cindy Carol
Cindy Carol is an American actress. She was credited as Carol Sydes before her starring role as Gidget in Gidget Goes to Rome ....
as the archetypal high school teen surfer girl originally created by Sandra Dee
Sandra Dee
Sandra Dee was an American actress. Dee began her career as a model and progressed to film. Best known for her portrayal of ingenues, Dee won a Golden Globe Award in 1959 as one of the year's most promising newcomers, and over several years her films were popular...
in the 1959 film Gidget
Gidget (film)
Gidget is a 1959 Columbia Pictures CinemaScope feature film. It stars Sandra Dee, Cliff Robertson, and James Darren in a story about a teenager's initiation into the California surf culture and her affiliated romance with a young surfer. The screenplay was written by Gabrielle Upton, a nom de plume...
. The film is the third of three Gidget
Gidget
Gidget is a fictional character created by author Frederick Kohner in his 1957 novel, Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas. The novel follows the adventures of a teenage girl and her surfing friends on the beach at Malibu. The name Gidget is a portmanteau of "girl and midget"...
films directed by Paul Wendkos
Paul Wendkos
Paul Wendkos was an American television and film director....
and expands upon Gidget's romance with boyfriend Moondoggie
Moondoggie
Moondoggie is a fictional character created by Frederick Kohner in his novel Gidget, The Little Girl with Big Ideas. He appears as a principal character in five of the eight Gidget novels, but is a minor character or is only mentioned in passing in Cher Papa, The Affairs of Gidget and Gidget Goes...
. The screenplay was written by Ruth Brooks Flippen based on characters created by Frederick Kohner
Frederick Kohner
Frederick Kohner was an Austrian-born writer....
. Veterans of previous Gidget films making appearances include James Darren
James Darren
James William Ercolani , known by his stage name James Darren, is an American television and film actor, television director, and singer.-Career:...
as "Moondoggie", Michael Callan
Michael Callan
Not to be confused with Michael Callen.Michael Callan is an American actor.Born Martin Harris Calinieff in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Callan began his career as Mickey Calin, and it was with this name he appeared on Broadway in The Boy Friend , Catch a Star , and West Side Story .Callan's film...
, Joby Baker
Joby Baker
Joby Baker is a Canadian born actor and painter.He was born in Montreal, Quebec. In the early 1960s he made guest appearances in TV series including Dr. Kildare and The Dick Van Dyke Show and appeared in the Elvis Presley movie Girl Happy...
, and Jean "Jeff" Donnell
Jeff Donnell
Jeff Donnell was an American film and television actress. Born Jean Marie Donnell, she grew up in South Windham, Maine...
as Gidget's mom, Mrs. Lawrence. The film has been released to VHS and DVD.
Cast
- Cindy CarolCindy CarolCindy Carol is an American actress. She was credited as Carol Sydes before her starring role as Gidget in Gidget Goes to Rome ....
as GidgetGidgetGidget is a fictional character created by author Frederick Kohner in his 1957 novel, Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas. The novel follows the adventures of a teenage girl and her surfing friends on the beach at Malibu. The name Gidget is a portmanteau of "girl and midget"...
(Frances Lawrence) - Don PorterDon PorterDonald Porter was an American actor who appeared in a number of films in the 1940s, including Top Sergeant and Eagle Squadron, but is perhaps best known for his role as Russell Lawrence, the widowed father of 15-year old Frances "Gidget" Lawrence in the 1965 ABC television series...
as Russell Lawrence, her father - Jean "Jeff" DonnellJeff DonnellJeff Donnell was an American film and television actress. Born Jean Marie Donnell, she grew up in South Windham, Maine...
as Mrs. Lawrence, her mother - James DarrenJames DarrenJames William Ercolani , known by his stage name James Darren, is an American television and film actor, television director, and singer.-Career:...
as MoondoggieMoondoggieMoondoggie is a fictional character created by Frederick Kohner in his novel Gidget, The Little Girl with Big Ideas. He appears as a principal character in five of the eight Gidget novels, but is a minor character or is only mentioned in passing in Cher Papa, The Affairs of Gidget and Gidget Goes...
(Jeffrey Matthews) - Jessie Royce LandisJessie Royce LandisJessie Royce Landis was an American actress.-Career:She was born Jessie Royce Medbury in Chicago, Illinois. Landis was a stage actress for much of her career...
as Albertina Blythe - Cesare DanovaCesare DanovaCesare Danova was a television and screen actor. Born as Cesare Deitinger in Bergamo, Italy to an Austrian father and an Italian mother, he adopted Danova as his stage name after becoming an actor in Rome at the end of World War II. He emigrated to the United States in the 1950s to make the film...
as Paolo Cellini - Danielle De MetzDanielle De MetzDanielle De Metz is a French actress best known for her numerous guest appearances in television shows throughout the 1960s.De Metz guest starred in such shows as Dr...
as Daniela - Joby BakerJoby BakerJoby Baker is a Canadian born actor and painter.He was born in Montreal, Quebec. In the early 1960s he made guest appearances in TV series including Dr. Kildare and The Dick Van Dyke Show and appeared in the Elvis Presley movie Girl Happy...
as Judge - Trudi AmesTrudi AmesTrudi Ames was an actress most notable for her uncredited but memorable role in Bye Bye Birdie as Kim's best friend Ursula. She also had a notable role as Libby in Gidget Goes to Rome. In a TV special on January 7, 1965, she was named by ABC as one of the twelve most promising young actresses...
as Libby Bennet - Noreen CorcoranNoreen CorcoranNoreen M. Corcoran is a former actress and dancer best known for her costarring role as the teenager Kelly Gregg, the niece of wealthy attorney Bentley Gregg, played by John Forsythe, in the television sitcom Bachelor Father, the only series to have been carried at one time by all three major...
as Lucy McDougall - Peter BrooksPeter BrooksPeter Brooks is Sterling Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature at Yale University and Andrew W. Mellon Scholar in the department of Comparative Literature and the Center for Human Values at Princeton University. He is formerly Professor in the Department of English and School of Law at the...
as Clay Anderson - Lisa GastoniLisa GastoniLisa Gastoni is an Italian film actress. She has appeared in 60 films since 1954. She also co-starred as Giulia, Ricco Poccari's girlfriend in the Sapphire Films TV series The Four Just Men for ITV.-Selected filmography:* Doctor in the House * The Baby and the Battleship * Three Men...
as Senora Cellini - Claudio GoraClaudio GoraClaudio Gora was an Italian actor and film director.He was a particularly prolific actor making some 155 appearances in film and television over nearly 60 years from 1939 to 1997...
as Alberto
Production notes
The film was shot on location in Rome, Italy, with some scenes filmed on Italian beaches.Reception
Bosley CrowtherBosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
noted in the New York Times of 12 September 1963, "When Gidget, played with the proper pout and correct ingenuousness by Cindy Caroll[sic], arrives in Rome with her group of happy friends, she is bound to fall in love with a married and handsome Italian magazine writer, enjoy such exotic delicacies as fettucini and chicken cacciatore, and experience the thrill of attending a 'Dolce Vita' cocktail party. As one of Gidget's friends explains, it's part of her 'growing up.' Gidget falls out of love in time...and all ends happily. Jeff sums up the entire experience in two immortal sentences: 'I guess everybody falls in love in Rome in the summer time. It's that old devil Italian moon.'"