Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell

1968 "Take someone you love to a nice, warm, funny picture about a nice, warm, unwed mother."
6.8| 1h48m| PG| en| More Info
Released: 16 December 1968 Released
Producted By: United Artists
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

After the end of WWII, an Italian woman receives child support payments from three former US soldiers who all believe themselves to be the father of her daughter, Gia.

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Reviews

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.
Benas Mcloughlin Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.
Ortiz Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.
Walter Sloane Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.
dougiedc I agree with ptb-8. Buona Sera Mrs. Campbell was well written and a heartfelt comedy. Ortolani's charming and catchy theme song reminds me of another favorite Italian movie The Yellow Rolls Royce. But I'm glad it's unappreciated and forgotten today. Yes, MRS CAMPBELL is a good example of the marriage farces of Hollywood churned out in the 60s and those films did entertain us. But every time it comes on I cannot help realize how far Holllywood stooped to ridicule decent Eurooean women who suffered all sorts of indignity and hardship during a world war. At least Hollywood allowed Ms. Lollobrigida to explain to her boyfriend and housekeeper why she allowed 3 American men believe to be the father of her daughter. I would've enjoyed hearing the Hollywood studio execs talk her into making this film. And when the ex GIs tally up the amount of money they sent to Mrs. Campbell over the years. "You averaged 85 a month, you - a hundred and fifteen, me - a hundred a forty... which, over twenty years, compounded at six percent interest, would come to a hundred and ninety seven thousand dollars." They are amazed. "We paid more war damages than Germany!" We're asked to find humor somewhere. Other than 3 men believing to be the father of a woman's daughter Mrs. Campbell has nothing in common with Mamma Mia. In Mamma Mia, she does not swindle the men out of a hundred and ninety seven thousand dollars, or lie to their wives that her "husband" died in a heroic war battle. Altho I did enjoy the scene when Mrs. Campbell true motivation is revealed. Her scene with the Countess was beautiful showing that perpetrating a cock n' bull story was her only way to avoid a shameful unwed pregnancy.
Max_cinefilo89 In the '50s and '60s, perhaps thanks to the success of Neo-Realistic cinema, Italian actors and locations became quite popular in American movies, especially comedies (the amusing It Started in Naples, starring Sophia Loren and Clark Gable, is one example worth revisiting). Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell, with the always lovely Gina Lollobrigida playing the main role, is probably one of the funniest hybrids of US and Mediterranean talent.Lollobrigida plays Carla Campbell, a widow who supposedly lost her husband during WWII. She lives in the South of Italy and provides for her daughter Gia (Janet Margolin) all by herself. It's all fine until a group of soldiers who fought in Italy during the war returns for a reunion and the truth is slowly unveiled: there is no Mr. Campbell, Carla having made him up since she slept with three different men (Telly Savalas, Phil Silvers and Peter Lawford) and doesn't know which of them is Gia's father. To complicate things even more, she told all three of them the girl is their daughter. In other words: mix-ups and misunderstandings are inevitable.The story is extremely simple and a very good premise for a comedy, so good no one has ever tried to remake it (well, if you don't count the ABBA musical Mamma Mia!, which has a similar plot). Then again, it might be hard to pull off something like it nowadays (unless the setting was some place where paternity tests don't exist) - its look on adultery isn't exactly PC (and yet it was released while the Hays Code was still functional). Still, the gags come sharp and fast, particularly when Savalas and Silvers are on screen, and Lollobrigida is, as ever, a beauty to watch and hear. Margolin isn't bad either, whereas Lawford's subdued performance doesn't really sit well with the quick wit and great physical comedy delivered by his two rivals. But that's a minor flaw in a film that doesn't show up very often, but when it does, it truly is worth catching. Where else are you going to hear Lollobrigida explain that she called herself Campbell, like a soup brand, because the only other American name she knew was Coca-Cola?
Andrew David Eskridge Former sex goddess Gina Lollobrigida is a gorgeous 40ish redhead in this screwball comedy set in Italy in 1968. La Lollo plays the mother of the lovely Janet Margolin, whose American soldier father was supposedly killed during World War II. The thing is, Gina isn't sure who the father was, since she was friendly with three soldiers at the time, (played by Peter Lawford, Phil Silvers and Telly Savalas), and all are very much alive. Each of the three thinks he is the father and has been financially supporting the girl in secret for over 20 years. Trouble and hilarity ensue when the three men and their wives return to the Italian village for an Army reunion, and Gina has to juggle all six of them while keeping her daughter from finding out the truth.It's a funny script that hearkens back to Hollywood's great screwball comedies, with especially good jobs from Silvers and Savalas and Shelley Winters and Lee Grant as their wives. But it's Gina who steals the show with her glamorous mugging.
ivan-22 One of the best comedies ever made, full of comic details, non-stop hilarity, one of those rare movies that can be seen again and again and it gets better every time. A comedy that doesn't insult human dignity or intellect, full of interesting characters and vignettes, and a lot of emotion too. Not surprisingly, the acting is fabulous when the writing is good. Everyone gives a memorable performance. It doesn't get any better than this. Funniest lines: "In the Piazza", "Doesn't do windows", "Campbell is a noble name". "Is mom going to sing?" "Grazie, grazie very much". "A few Berlitz lessons, and...". "So many of you left a little something here". Lolobgrigida, Winters and Savalas are priceless. The tune by Ortolani fits the movie perfectly. I first saw it in 1969, then in 1983. After so many years it doesn't get stale. That's what I call a classic.