The Yellow Rolls Royce

The Yellow Rolls Royce is a class act from the opening credits to the last shot. A pure example of the silver age of Hollywood doing what it does best. Great screenplay by Terrance Rattigan, gorgeous cinematography, engaging score, and impeccable direction by Anthony Asquith add up to a glittering fun and at times truly touching film experience.Interestingly enough both Asquith and Rattigan teamed up before for a similar all star romp with the Taylor-Burton film "The VIPS" another story of intersecting lives brought together by a mode of transportation. In "The VIPS" it was airplanes and here in this charming film it is a resplendent canary yellow automobile.To add to this heady cocktail the director has blended in a glittering all star cast of first rate talent from the early 1960's. This is a truly international roster of superstars each of which brings their unique talents and charms to bear on this film.The story is in three acts encompassing events some years apart all involving the Rolls and how it came into and changed the lives of its various owners. In act one Rex Harrison is superb as being well, nothing less than Rex Harrison. The glamorous Jeanne Moreau shows her depth and considerable strengths as his wandering but loving wife. They sparkle and spark as an aristocratic English couple facing a major turning point in their marriage.Act two really pops with comic genius flavored with a moving drama as Gangster George C. Scott takes his wisecracking Moll, Shirley MacLaine on a tour of Italy. Scott is revelatory in his roll and is complemented by Art Carney as his loyal and street wise right hand man. MacLaine channels a sharp, witty comic performance that stands with her best of the period. And as the amoral gigolo Stefano who opens her heart to real love and a love of life Alain Delon shines. They make a stunningly beautiful screen couple and by the end of the act they pluck the strings of star crossed romance beautifully.The luminous Ingrid Bergman teams up with Omar Sharif in a romantic tale set at the outbreak of the invasion of Yugoslavia during World War II. Bergman brings to the film a beauty that is timeless and her star persona which is legendary. She is brittle, vain at first, and funny. But with the aid of freedom fighter Sharif she comes to a new understanding of sacrifice and true humanity amidst the tragedy of war.And all throughout the films we are treated with spectacular vistas and sights of Europe in a travelogue of breathtaking cinemascope grandeur. The excitement of he Ascot races, the lush seductive beauty of Italy and the rough magnificence of the mountains of Yugoslavia."The Yellow Rolls Royce" is much more than a star vehicle, it is the distillation of great filmmaking in a long gone era that both entertains and inspires the heart of all true romantics.

If you love the great Hollywood Stars of the the 1960's, you absolutely must see this movie! What a cast! The movie is in three segments. Each segment revolves around the purchase of the same 1930's Yellow Rolls Royce Phantom from pre-World War I through to World War II. No, this is not a war movie by any means. It is all about romance. The first segment stars Rex Harrison (Charles, Marquess of Frinton), Jeanne Moreau (Eloise), and Edmund Purdom (John Fane) as the principal characters of this piece. The movie opens in England. It is Rex Harrison who purchases the brand new Yellow Rolls Royce off the showroom floor for his French wife, Eloise, as an anniversary present. Unfortunately, due to the action occurring at the annual Ascot Gold Cup Horse Race, the Yellow Rolls Royce is sent back to the showroom.The second segment opens in Naples, Italy where the car is up for sale in an Italian showroom. This segment stars Shirley MacLaine (Mae Jenkins), George C. Scott (Paolo Maltese), Art Carney(Joey Friedlander) and Alain Delon (Stefano )as the principal characters. Scott plays an Anerican gangster, MacLaine is is fiance, and Carney is Scott's trusted right-hand man. This, I think is my favorite segment. I remember watching it as a little girl on the Big Screen of my local theater and fell in love with both the movie and Italy! Again, there is ill-fated romance in the Yellow Rolls Royce and once again, the car is left behind.The last segment stars Ingrid Bergman (Gerda Millett) and Omar Sharif (Davich) and the action takes place at the very beginning of WWII. It is Trieste and the year is 1941 when we see the Yellow Rolls Royce dusty and discarded until purchased by Ingrid Bergman (playing a bossy, wealthy American widow touring Europe) through a representative. Ingrid is superb in this piece (really, when was she ever not!) And this time, with the romance of the characters centering on the automobile, the Yellow Rolls Royce finally finds a home with Gerda Millett! The Yellow Rolls-Royce is a 1964 dramatic composite film written by Terence Rattigan, was produced by Anatole de Grunwald, and directed by Anthony Asquith. This is a must see movie for all people who love the Studio Movies of the 1960's; and want to see movies with great plot lines as well as watching these actors do what they do best!

I am somewhat surprised that so many reviwers from the USA have given this glorious film 4 or 5 stars because it is nothing like Hollywood churns out . Everyone and everything is top class .Terence Ratigan, the greatest playwriter and screenwriter Britain has ever had produced so many wonderful sentences and remarks that the film bubbles along all the way .The Rolls Royce has to be seen to be believed, a real carriage and the scenery in England,Italy and Yugaslavia is beautiful. The film is divided into 3 seperate parts but all have a theme of difficult love.The first act seems to have been written solely for Rex Harrison and he acts so naturally as a wealthy , beautifully mannered Aristocrat with a French wife with a wandering eye . The story revolves around one of the great races at Ascot ,The Ascot Gold Cup and the hospitality given and the timing of the wife's indescrection .The second act revolves around an American gangster and his moll and a gigolo who takes a shine to the moll .Shirley McLaine is excellent and the hustling a treat to see.The third act seems to be have written just for Ingrid Bergman as a very wealthy American widow who has very expensive tastes in hotels and cars and is rather imperious but proves to be a wonderful person hiding behind a facade.This film is in my top 10 of all time which may mean the top 10 of the last century . Just like Cold Comfort Farm or Love in a Cold Climate it is not pretentious but oozes class and charm. Love it

And of course that's very Subjective on my part