It Started in Naples (Melville Shavelson, 1960)

As in Houseboat, here Shavelson again chucks an ageing A-lister at Sophia Loren in the hope that sparks might be created between them. However, in the former film the perennial twinkle in Cary Grant's eye did a lot to engender indulgence towards the 30-year age gap in the romance; no such fortuity here as Clark Gable plays to type as a stolid lawyer impatient to settle his late brother's affairs in Naples. It's quite impossible to fathom what Loren's character might see in him, and meanwhile in the scenes in between we're stuck with Gable's little Italian nephew squeaking pidgin English, which is sadly less cute than severely irritating before long. Loren is wonderful when allowed to display her comic talents, but then she's also put through some truly excruciating song-and-dance numbers. There is a lightness of touch in the dialogue, and the settings are enchanting, but the whole doesn't quite gel.

5/10