Three Coins in the Fountain (1954)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Jean Negulesco

Writers:

John Patrick (screenplay)
John H. Secondari (novel)

Release Date:

2 June 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Drama

Tagline:

You've Never Lived Until You've Loved in Rome!

Plot:

American girls dream of finding romance in Rome, but there is none for secretaries, Anita tells her replacement at the USDA...

Plot Keywords:

Fountain | Wish | Beautiful Woman | Venice Italy | Rome Italy

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Clifton Webb	...	John Frederick Shadwell
Dorothy McGuire	...	Miss Frances
Jean Peters	...	Anita Hutchins
Louis Jourdan	...	Prince Dino di Cessi
Maggie McNamara	...	Maria Williams
Rossano Brazzi	...	Georgio Bianchi
Howard St. John	...	Mr. Burgoyne
Kathryn Givney	...	Mrs. Burgoyne
Cathleen Nesbitt	...	La Principessa

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Recording) (magnetic prints)

Certification:

Australia:G | Canada:G (video rating) | Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #16697, General Audience) | Sweden:Btl | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Dolomite Mountains, Italy

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Average Shot Length (ASL) = 16 seconds (including opening Sinatra travelogue montage).

Goofs:

Continuity: At the beginning of the final scene at the Trevi fountain, the fountain is dry and being cleaned. While the actors are there, the fountain begins flowing again. However, when the actors leave, the fountain is completely full, not a possibility given the size of the fountain and the period of time over which the scene occurs.

Quotes:

John Frederick Shadwell: These girls in love never realize that they should be honestly dishonest instead of being dishonestly honest.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Leave It to Beaver: The All-Night Party (#6.36)" (1963)

Soundtrack:

Largo Al Factotum

An overproduced romantic melodrama produced at a time when Hollywood was ripe with them.

This routinely structured story of women abroad finding romance with foreigners is noteworthy only for the added value that CinemaScope and stereophonic sound were able to provide mid-century audiences. It's all too trite, particularly in an era in American films where directors like Douglas Sirk and Vincente Minnelli were creating masterpieces of the genre. A terrifically romantic view of the Eternal City, though!