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Seven Hills of Rome (film)
Encyclopedia
Arrivederci Roma was an Italian
film
. Shot in 1957 on location in Rome
and at the Titanus
studios in the Italian capital, the movie was released by MGM
in January 1958. It was tenor Mario Lanza
's penultimate film.
The Technirama
film tells the story of Marc Revere, an American
TV singer of Italian heritage who travels to Italy
in search of his jet-setting fiancée, Carol Ralston, played by Peggie Castle
. Revere moves in with his comical and good hearted cousin Pepe Bonelli (Renato Rascel
), a struggling artist who also befriends a beautiful young girl, Raffaella Marini (Marisa Allasio
), whom Revere had met on a train. Like Lanza, this was Allasio's next-to-last film (the 17th of her career), as she would marry Count Pierfrancesco Calvi di Bergolo, grandson of King Victor Emmanuel III, King of Italy, in November 1958 and retire from the cinema.
Among the selections that Lanza sings in this "vocal tour de force" (Variety
) is "Arrivederci Roma
", performed in the Piazza Navona
with a young street urchin. In typical Lanza fashion, the star had encountered the youngster while in Rome and insisted on her appearing in the film.
Lanza also performs a sequence of imitations of famous singers of the era — Perry Como
, Frankie Laine
, Dean Martin
, and Louis Armstrong
— committing to film what was one of his favorite party performances.
Opera selections include "Questa o quella" from Rigoletto
.
The film was directed by Roy Rowland and was the first of only four films produced by Lester Welch. The screenplay was the last written by Art Cohn
, who died two months after the film's release in the same airplane crash that killed famed producer Mike Todd
, whose biography Cohn was writing at the time. Cohn partnered with Giorgio Prosperi
on the script for the Lanza film, which was based on a story by Giuseppe Amato
.
Arrivederci Roma was nominated for a Laurel Award (1959) from Motion Picture Exhibitor magazine.
The most common used title, Arrivederci Roma, was meant to be the American title of a film Lanza was scheduled to make in 1960, until he died in Rome in October 1959.
Cinema of Italy
The history of Italian cinema began just a few months after the Lumière brothers had patented their Cinematographe, when Pope Leo XIII was filmed for a few seconds in the act of blessing the camera.-Early years:...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
. Shot in 1957 on location in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and at the Titanus
Titanus
Titanus is an Italian film production company, founded in 1904 by Gustavo Lombardo . The company's headquarters are located at 28 Via Sommacampagna, Rome and its studios on the Via Tiburtina, 13 km from the centre of Rome....
studios in the Italian capital, the movie was released by MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
in January 1958. It was tenor Mario Lanza
Mario Lanza
right|thumb|[[MGM]] still, circa 1949Mario Lanza was an American tenor and Hollywood movie star of the late 1940s and the 1950s. The son of Italian emigrants, he began studying to be a professional singer at the age of 16....
's penultimate film.
The Technirama
Technirama
Technirama is a screen process that was used by some film production houses as an alternative to CinemaScope. It was first used in 1957 but fell into disuse in the mid 1960s...
film tells the story of Marc Revere, an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
TV singer of Italian heritage who travels to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in search of his jet-setting fiancée, Carol Ralston, played by Peggie Castle
Peggie Castle
Peggie Castle was an American actress who specialized in playing the "other woman" in B-movies. She was also billed under the names Peggy Castle and Peggie Call.-Career:...
. Revere moves in with his comical and good hearted cousin Pepe Bonelli (Renato Rascel
Renato Rascel
Renato Ranucci, in art Renato Rascel was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1942 and 1972...
), a struggling artist who also befriends a beautiful young girl, Raffaella Marini (Marisa Allasio
Marisa Allasio
Marisa Allasio , is a retired Italian actress of the 1950s. She appeared in nearly twenty pictures between 1952 and 1959....
), whom Revere had met on a train. Like Lanza, this was Allasio's next-to-last film (the 17th of her career), as she would marry Count Pierfrancesco Calvi di Bergolo, grandson of King Victor Emmanuel III, King of Italy, in November 1958 and retire from the cinema.
Among the selections that Lanza sings in this "vocal tour de force" (Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
) is "Arrivederci Roma
Arrivederci Roma
"Arrivederci Roma" is the title and refrain of a popular Italian song, composed by Renato Rascel, with lyrics by Pietro Garinei and Sandro Giovannini. It was published in 1955 as part of the soundtrack of the Italo-American musical film with the same title, released as Seven Hills of Rome in...
", performed in the Piazza Navona
Piazza Navona
Piazza Navona is a city square in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, built in 1st century AD, and follows the form of the open space of the stadium. The ancient Romans came there to watch the agones , and hence it was known as 'Circus Agonalis'...
with a young street urchin. In typical Lanza fashion, the star had encountered the youngster while in Rome and insisted on her appearing in the film.
Lanza also performs a sequence of imitations of famous singers of the era — Perry Como
Perry Como
Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr...
, Frankie Laine
Frankie Laine
Frankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
, Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
, and Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
— committing to film what was one of his favorite party performances.
Opera selections include "Questa o quella" from Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
.
The film was directed by Roy Rowland and was the first of only four films produced by Lester Welch. The screenplay was the last written by Art Cohn
Art Cohn
Art Cohn was an American sportswriter, screenwriter and author.Cohn was born in New York, New York. He was a sportswriter and sports editor for the Oakland Tribune newspaper who published the sports column The Cohn-ing Tower. He also wrote for the Long Beach Press-Telegram...
, who died two months after the film's release in the same airplane crash that killed famed producer Mike Todd
Mike Todd
Michael Todd was an American theatre and film producer, best known for his 1956 production of Around the World in Eighty Days, which won an Academy Award for Best Picture...
, whose biography Cohn was writing at the time. Cohn partnered with Giorgio Prosperi
Giorgio Prosperi
Giorgio Prosperi was an Italian screenwriter. He wrote for 46 films between 1948 and 1967.-Selected filmography:* The Angel Wore Red * Everyone's in Love * Estate Violenta...
on the script for the Lanza film, which was based on a story by Giuseppe Amato
Giuseppe Amato
Giuseppe Amato was an Italian film producer, screenwriter and director. He produced 58 films between 1932 and 1961.He was born in Naples, Italy and died in Rome, Italy from a heart attack.-Selected filmography:...
.
Arrivederci Roma was nominated for a Laurel Award (1959) from Motion Picture Exhibitor magazine.
The most common used title, Arrivederci Roma, was meant to be the American title of a film Lanza was scheduled to make in 1960, until he died in Rome in October 1959.
Sources
- Cesari, Armando. Mario Lanza: An American Tragedy (Fort Worth: Baskerville 2004).
- Notes accompanying the 1990 video release of the film.