Romanoff and Juliet (1961) User Reviews

Little old matchmaker

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 9 August 2017]

Peter Ustinov is the creative genius behind Romanoff And Juliet which from what I can see doesn't borrow too much from the Bard other than a title and a boy and girl from opposing clans falling in love. The rest is original Ustinov.

Written by him the play has only one set, the village square of the capital of Concordia, smallest country in Europe, on the order of Lichtenstein or San Marino. They've been forgotten by the rest of the world until the big powers need their vote in the UN.

A love offensive is what Ustinov launches trying to get together the son of the Russian ambassador and the daughter of the American ambassador hitched. As the Captain and Tenille sang, 'love can bring us together'.

Some nice barbs about the Cold War and some of the absurdities of the times flavor the script. One could get a lesson in the period from this work.

Romanoff And Juliet ran first on the London stage and then for 389 performances during 1957-58 on Broadway. Of course Ustinov appeared on stage as well.

Some criticize Sandra Dee for being cast. It's obvious it is done for box office and Dee has little to do but be pretty.

She's pretty good at that and Romanoff And Juliet is still fresh as it was in the 50s.

A fun, low-key film with some nice commentary on US-Soviet relations

[GusF · 7/10 · 27 April 2015]

Like "West Side Story", this is a 1961 film adaptation of a successful Broadway play which was itself based on "Romeo and Juliet". However, in this instance, it uses only the basic premise of the Shakespearean play and the love story actually takes a backseat to the politicking. In this Cold War satire starring, written by and directed by Peter Ustinov, a tiny European country named Concordia holds the casting vote in a crucial United Nations vote. Its wily President attempts to play both ends against the middle by setting up the son of the Soviet ambassador with the daughter of the US ambassador.

This is a fun, low-key film with some nice commentary on US-Soviet relations. Although the satire is not as biting as in other films, there is little in it which would not be applicable today if the names were changed. It suffers from some pacing problems though. Ustinov is superb and seldom less than hilarious as the President of Concordia. He gave himself all the best material! The sequence in which he runs back and forth between the US and Soviet embassies where he is plied with drink and gets increasing drunk is certainly the best part of the film. However, aside from Peter Jones, the rest of the cast is not particularly impressive. They are all just adequate, really. Sandra Dee is very sweet as Juliet but not much more than that. Ustinov's "Spartacus" co-star John Gavin was good in that film as Julius Caesar but I don't think that he was a good enough actor to play the larger role of Igor Romanoff. They have little in the way of chemistry, unfortunately.

Lovely, low-key movie

[LinaStrick · 8/10 · 21 February 2005]

Very fond memories of Peter Ustinov getting more and more soused as he's bustling between embassies trying to figure out what the US and USSR are trying to do to his country! He is delightful and the movie's message is sweet. Most memorable, though, is the soundtrack with one haunting tune that I can hear as clearly now as decades ago when I last saw this film. How I wish it were on DVD!

Not nearly as biting as "The Mouse that Roared," though the era and theme are quite similar. "Romeo and Juliet" cried out to be used as a Cold War motif, and this does a very nice job of it, with a much more satisfying ending (if I may say so).

**

[edwagreen · 4/10 · 28 November 2015]

One of the stupidest films depicting satire that I have ever seen. This literal farce reminded me so much of 1959's "The Mouse that Roared."

The idea here is that love shall conquer all and is the ultimate answer to diplomacy.

John Gavin's Russian accent is ridiculous and Sandra Dee, the teen in love in so many movies, is rather foolishly cast here.

As the head of the practically non-existent country, Ustinov appears to be a bumbling fool, another Peter Sellers doing Inspector Clouseau. His going back and forth between the American and Russian embassies was ridiculous at best.

If this is the way we solve diplomatic problems, we're really in for it. The Russian girl, the expert in statistics, reminded me in a way of Greta Garbo's Ninotchka. Her hardline Communist views give in when she falls for Dee's American fiancé.

Ridiculous fanfare at its worst.

brilliant

[Jonas Kyratzes · 10/10 · 28 October 2002]

Romanoff and Juliet is one of the best movies I've seen, and had me laughing out loud most of the time. It is both a lighthearted comedy and an excellent satire of both the US and the Soviet Union. A very intelligent and deep satire, at that, which gets just about everything right. Peter Ustinov is very likeable and extremely funny in his role, but so are all the other actors. A true gem. 10/10

Political satire that's never out of date

[lights-5 · 10/10 · 3 August 2004]

We live in a world where politics and agendas influence every facet of our lives. This gentle satire isn't just one about the Cold War, it's about diplomacy in any age at any time.

Ustinov had a unique sense of humor which is evident in this movie. What makes it special is that there is an overwhelming sense of romance in the film too. The running gag line in the movie (we/they know they/we know we/they know their code) comes to my mind in nearly every espionage film I see. I always want to turn to friends and say the line, but as this film has had such limited exposure in the last few decades, I know no one else will get the joke.

Why isn't this movie available on DVD???

Small, delightful movie

[thud-5 · 9/10 · 3 April 2002]

I first saw this movie in a theater when I was 7. Since then I have watched all or part of the movie more than 20 times. Peter Ustinov is marvelous in this very amusing little film about life and love in a micro-nation in central Europe. Along with the tiny nation of Grand Fenwick (see The Mouse That Roared), Concordia stands as a testimate that bigger nations with more money and higher educations are not necessarily happier or more grounded in reality. Nor that they can wirld their power any more wisely.

This is, of course, a takeoff on Romeo and Juliet (by some English writer or so I hear). This time the Romeo (Romanoff) is son of the Soviet Ambassador to Concordia while Juliet is daughter of his American counterpart. Ustinov is the leader of Concordia with more than a touch of mischief and Cupid in his soul. His character is an observer of people and he knows what makes us "tick."

The scenes where he is going back and forth between the two Ambassodors, playing each against the other, is beautiful and very funny.

Notable in this is the appearance of a young Peter Jones, later to be famous as the voice of the book in Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, and of John Gavin, then an actor and later an Americal Ambassador himself.

If you are looking for a grandious movie with almost-too-clever-for-its-own-good dialog and huge sets and even extras that don't look at the camera, then you will not like this one. But, if you too have a soft spot for romance, like Peter Ustinov movies (he wrote and directed as well as starred in this) and don't mind having a somewhat haunting musical melody running through you head after seeing this, then get this or tape it on one of the movie channels.

A Blow For Civility and Co-existence

[theowinthrop · 8/10 · 13 December 2008]

It is not the greatest satire of its time (that would be DR. STRANGELOVE), but Peter Ustinov's ROMANOFF AND JULIET is a worthy film on its own right. It is based on a successful West End comedy by Ustinov. He plays the President of Concordia, a country in Europe like "the Grand Duchy of Fenwick" in the contemporary novel and movie THE MOUSE THAT ROARED. At the start of the film there is an important vote in the United Nations' General Assembly that may decide which of the two Cold War blocs (the West lead by the U.S. or the Communist bloc led by the Soviet Union) will ultimately prevail in the world. You hear country by country called saying "Yes" or "No" in their own languages (all the voices are Peter Ustinov's, using his great mimicking abilities). The vote is equally split and they reach Concordia. The President (who is also their U.N. ambassador - he is like W. S. Gilbert's "Pooh Bah" holding many positions) abstains from voting, the tying the vote and leaving the U.N. in an uproar. He does not care - he is not going to be forced into joining either side.

That is the plot of the play: Ustinov is making Concordia personify the attempt by India, Yugoslavia, Egypt, and several other countries to create the so-called "Third World" movement that was supposed to avoid the two big camps. Historically the movement failed: there were too many holes in it tying countries closer to one side or another than they hoped (India, for example, could have been the basis of such a movement succeeding, except it was poor at the time and it had serious problems with Pakistan and China - the Chinese were able to fool the Indian foreign minister for awhile and invade India, requiring American and British aid to get the Chinese out again). But Ustinov approved of the spirit of the attempt. The smaller countries had to be heard to save their own local powers, and possibly to teach the blocs to respect the better aspects of civilization.

The President of Concordia has his work cut out for himself: he returns home to find that the American Ambassador Hooper Moulsworth (British actor John Philips) is ready to offer all kinds of financial and military aid to the President in return for his support. The same comes from Russian Ambassador Vadim Romanoff (Akim Tamiroff). He has found the post in Concordia (as has Moulsworth) a diplomatic dead end until now, and both are pushing to make the most of their opportunity for a major diplomatic coup if they can get Concordia's support. Pushing Romanoff as well is the local KGB man who suspects the Ambassador's support for the Revolution (Romanoff is able to turn on him by showing that he found the KGB man has a taste for magazines like PLAYBOY).

Complicating all this is that Romanoff's son, Igor (John Gavin) and Moulsworth's daughter Juliet (Sandra Dee) have met and fallen in love. The President of Concordia learns of this, and makes the most of pushing this romance. He knows that if the children marry the activities of the fathers and their respective governments are seriously compromised.

Ustinov's delicate humor has always been amusing. The national salute that he has to use when passing any Concordian official is like pulling down a toilet's lever. At one point he is planning an appearance before one of the ambassadors, and the capital's main clock chimes an hour. It happens to be four or five hours later than it should be. Shrugging his shoulders as he looks out of the window at the clock, Ustinov says it is the tragedy of Concordia that it has been conquered by every country in Europe except Switzerland!

Possibly the best sequence is when Ustinov is invited from one embassy to the other for cocktails, and is forced to imbibe American "Branch and Bourbon" followed by Russian Vodka. Becoming increasingly unsteady on his feet (and somewhat silly in his smile) he is still able to make both of the ambassadors nervous that he is already receiving military aid from the other side and that their opposite number knows all their plans and moves.

A showdown is the conclusion of the film, as Ustinov manages to convince both America and its allies, and Russian and its allies, that the Concordians are prepared to confront both. While the thought of a military confrontation flummoxes Moulsworth and Romanoff the love affair of their children adds to their pressures. How will it all turn out?

Ustinov would serve in several international and U.N. groups in his career (like many actors). He would be outspoken about his views on fair play and right and wrong. While decrying anti-Semitism, he was not afraid in his memoirs DEAR ME to chide the Israelis about the treatment of Palestinians. He was a believer that much in civilization deserved to be respected and spread on the nations - and his views never got clearer expression than in this, his play turned film.

Sweet Satire

[mll1-2 · 8/10 · 2 September 2009]

The entire film has almost a fairy-tale quality about it -- from the cinematography to the haunting score. But the fairy-tale has barbs and they are no less effective for being co-mingled with a charming and sweet love story. The story is proof that satire can be every bit as effective when presented with grace and wit as when it relies on the more traditional, caustic approach.

Peter Ustinov is a delight as the urbane, romantic and slightly naughty head of state. As many here have noted, his travels between the US and USSR Embasays is a masterpiece -- many contemporary comedians could learn much from his outrageously subtle performance. I remember watching Ustinov when he was a guest on the Jack Parr Show (yeah kiddies, dating myself there!). His brilliance was amazing and I've always thought he was one of our most under-utilized talents.

I was tempted to title this little piece, "Finally, a Movie Even Sandra Dee Couldn't Ruin!" but then I thought that was unnecessary unkind -- especially since the limited challenges presented by her part fit her skills perfectly. Her male love interest in the flick, John Gavin, although wooden (only partly by design), was so much prettier than Dee -- I can't help wondering if this ever bothered her.

The "Cold War" may be over, but the commentary on diplomacy remains astute, engagingly presented and thoroughly contemporary. Please allow yourself to visit the land of Concordia. It's an enchanting place with an edge to it. You won't be sorry.

fun little cold-war story **** SPOILERS ****

[ksf-2 · 8/10 · 10 August 2017]

SPOILERS *** As the Concordia delegate (who is also the president) abstains from voting at the UN, he gets into the cutest car by opening the FRONT, and pulling it closed behind him. Peter Sellers sometimes used that same model in his films. Peter Ustinov wrote, directed, and stars in a Romeo and Juliet knockoff. Now usually that's a terrible thing, but here, he actually does pretty well at all three. Ustinov made this in between his two Oscars -- for Spartacus and Topkapi. Funny scene where the soviet and American embassies pay to listen in on each other's phone calls. The president's trick is to match up the children of the Russian and American ambassador. Some fun little gags -- the delivery boy is called "Attila"... and they keep promising him chocolate to bribe him. and when everyone tries to sway the President's vote with gifts, he must refuse each gift due to the small size of his country. the official plane of the country is a stripped down war plane. with goats on board. Ustinov and Sandra Dee are the big names here. You'll also see John Gavin (the russians' son).. he had done Spartacus with Ustinov. This one chugs along at a pretty slow pace. Some clever lines and Ustinov's chuckling word play. Once the president has fixed up the kids, that story-line disappears until right before the end. The majority of the film is about plotting the Americans and the russians against each other. and that prepping for war scene at the end goes on waaaaay too long. and SPOILER **** we never DO find out how he votes. There's the McGuffin. But there is the fun Concordia salute ! It's pretty funny. Underwear tax.