Highly Overrated But Still Good

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Dorothy (Jean Kent) is married to a mousey bank teller (Robert Beatty) and leads a quiet life in Naples. Her parents (Margaret Rutherford, Gordon Harker) come for a visit and also dump on the henpeck, even taking over his bedroom and banishing him to the couch. Meanwhile, a local thug, Leo L'Americano, realizes that he is a dead ringer for the bank teller and sets up a plan not knowing that his gang.led by Rosana (Tamara Lees). is planning to kidnap the bank teller. From that point on, no one can tell which guy is which and things get complicated.Takes a while to get going, but this mistaken identity farce is quite funny and boasts a solid cast. Kent and Beatty are good in the leads. Rutherford and Harker are solid as the parents. Lees is funny as the moll. Rona Anderson plays the maid, Max Adrian is a hoot as the lawyer Catoni, and Danny Green plays Angel Face the escaped convict.

You know that a film has problems when the first scene is the funniest.After the confrontation between Rutherford and Harker on the one hand and the French custom officials on the other everything goes downhill.The premise for the film has been used before,one of the best examples is "The Whole Towns Talking" with Edward G Robinson.The problem here is that the script is unfunny,the director is no John Ford and Robert Beatty is no Robinson.The director seems to think that directing at a frenetic pace will cover over the cracks,well sadly he was misguided.It is a criminal waste of the talents of Rutherford,Harker and Kent.as for Beatty ,well he should have known better than to attempt comedy.