PRESUMABLY, the distributors responsible for placing "Heaven on Earth" on view at the Fifty-fifth Street Playhouse yesterday had some prospective paying customers in mind.
Exactly whom they expect to please with this curious mélange of travelogue, art documentary, adolescent romance and rock 'n' roll, however, is a mystery worth pondering.
For sight-seers, the film has an assortment of attractive color shots of the more familiar tourist attractions in Rome, including churches, prisons and catacombs. Guide-book descriptions are delivered in a thick Italian accent by the young leading man, Gabriele Tinti.
For plot addicts, there is an inconsequential love story involving a handsome young Italian who blames Americans for killing his mother during World War II, but overcomes his prejudice in the process of guiding a pretty bobby-soxer around the city. The romance is left unresolved, and it is amateurishly acted by Signor Tinti and Barbara Florian, but the youthful faces do provide occasional relief from the monuments.
For admirers of spectacle, excerpts from what appear to be recent Italian costume epics are presented to illustrate vaguely the hero's tales of Roman history. In several of these, the young protagonists appear in full costume, looking a little foolish as they watch sparring gladiators, secret Christian gatherings and cardboard battle scenes.
For art lovers, there are brief glimpses of several score of statues, frescoes and paintings by Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli and others. The camera rarely pauses long enough for contemplation of any of these.
For patrons more interested in religion, there is a camera tour of the Vatican and a long recapitulation of the papal conclave leading to the election of Pope John XXIII. This climactic section includes, for no apparent reason, bits of newsreel footage offering glimpses of Cardinal Mindzenty and the Hungarian uprising.
As a final fillip for teen-agers, the young heroine, moping over her inevitable departure from Rome, listens to some street musicians and suddenly bursts into a rock 'n' roll ballad, wailing something to the effect that she is all of 17 and still searching for love.
Perhaps Robert Spafford, who wrote and directed this pointless pot-pourri, hoped to provide something for everybody. As usual, in such misguided endeavors, he has accomplished the opposite result.
Heaven on Earth' by EUGENE ARCHER. Published: October 11, 1960 - The New York Times.
HEAVEN ON EARTH: written and directed by Robert Spafford, from an original story by Murray Hill Topman; produced by Dominick Franco; a JB Film Enterprises release. At the Fifty-fifth Street Playhouse, near Seventh Avenue. Running time: 84 minutes.
Caroline Brent . . . . . Barbara Florian
Henry Brent . . . . . Charles Fawcett
Antonio Verbano . . . . . Gabriele Tinti
Count Verbano . . . . . Arnaldo Foa
The NYT review : ICI
Fiche IMDB (Heaven on Earth)
Fiche IMDB (Civitas Dei)
Lobby cards (USA) :
Coupures de presse :
(USA)
Variety,1960 (USA)
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire