After a great night out I felt like watching an easy-going flick. Buying the Warner Archive DVD a few weeks ago,I decided it was time to climb the hills.The plot:Searching for his fiancée, singer Marc Revere decides to travel around Rome via train in search of her. During a train journey, Revere crosses paths with Rafaella Marini,who quickly gets a real crush on him. Continuing to look for his fiancée,Revere soon discovers that Marini has put down some new tracks of love.View on the film:Whilst Mario Lanza's voice booms,Warner Archives delivery a poor transfer,with the top of the frame appearing to have a broken bit of nail,large specs of dirt dimming the Musical sparkle and the Italian songs having no English subtitles. Filmed in the glorious outdoors of Rome, director Roy Rowland & cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli turn the city into a Broadway landscape,with elegant crane shots sweeping along the brightly lit hills of Rome. Crossing tracks on a train,the screenplay by Giuseppe Amato/Art Cohn and Giorgio Prosperi keep the romance between Revere and Marini relaxed,but fail to give it a much needed shot of Italian passion. Joined by a cute Marisa Allasio as Marini,Mario Lanza lays the smooth lounge lizard charm on Revere,with a voice heard atop the seven hills of Rome.

As a fan of opera and as somebody who loves Mario Lanza's voice, Seven Hills of Rome(or Arrivederci Roma) is not a bad film and has some good things about it, but it could have been better and Lanza's other films showcase his talents much more.The stars here are the cinematography and the Rome scenery itself. The cinematography is bursting with gorgeous colour and is the very meaning of lavish, capturing Rome beautifully. The scenery itself is just splendid, so much so it makes one wish they were back in Rome, and the film does a good job making the costumes and settings as authentic as possible. Seven Hills of Rome has a music score that's energetic and romantically whimsical, and while only Questo a Quella from Verdi's masterpiece Rigoletto and the unforgettable Arrivederci Roma(which is the highlight of the film other than the visuals) are truly memorable the songs themselves are very pleasant and hummable.Lanza is not at his absolute best, and Seven Hills of Rome is the film that showcases his talents the least effectively(he definitely deserved more music to sing), he still sounds great with his very distinctive tone ringing and beautiful and his phrasing and musicality very good too. Marisa Allasio and Peggie Castle are charming and Renato Reschel brings some amusing comedy.Sadly, the story is poor, even for a Lanza film where it was never was a strong point, the reason being that it is so flat and wafer-thin that it is almost non-existent and seems more of an excuse to string alone scenes together. It also has a tendency to move along a little sluggishly and aimlessly and with any charming or amusing moments being in spades rather than consistent. The script fares even worse, getting increasingly tedious and meandering, with comedy that doesn't really sparkle(ranging from mildly amusing to falling flat) and parts that could have been trimmed easily. And while Lanza does sound great here, his acting is another story. It has its moments, like in Arrivederci Roma but he does try too hard and comes over as stiff. His impersonation scene is also hit-and-miss, his impression of Dean Martin is not bad but his one for Louis Armstrong is so off the mark it's embarrassing. He is not the only person whose acting is not great, because the acting generally is either too broad or going-through-the-motions, while the direction generally is limp.In conclusion, Lanza was a great talent that we lost too soon, but Seven Hills of Rome does not show it as well as his other films. Has its moments but of Lanza's films it's by far his weakest. 5/10 Bethany Cox

TV, radio and recording star Mario Lanza (as Marc Revere) quarrels with beautiful blonde fiancée Peggie Castle (as Carol Ralston). She leaves Mr. Lanza's New York studio and heads for Europe. Lanza follows. On a train to Rome, the operatic tenor meets beautifully-proportioned Marisa Allasio (as Rafaella Marini). The young woman got wet in the rain. Lanza advises her, "You better take that dress off." Just in case you didn't notice Ms. Allasio has arousing curves, director Roy Rowland makes it obvious as she jiggles out of her clothing, on screen...Allasio's clothes stay on for the rest of the film, alas, but she remains eye-catching. The location photography, by Tonino Delli Colli, is also lovely. A low-point is Lanza's increasingly excruciating impersonations of Perry Como, Frankie Laine, Dean Martin and Louis Armstrong. Lanza is not a great impressionist. Still, he's a great when he does Mario Lanza. His beautiful co-stars, Italian "cousin" Renato Rascel (as Pepe Bonelli) and the incidental music are pleasant enough to offset a substandard story. In less than two years, Lanza would be gone, sadly.**** Arrivederci Roma (11/21/57) Roy Rowland ~ Mario Lanza, Marisa Allasio, Renato Rascel, Peggie Castle

The "6" rating is only because Mario Lanza gets to sing a good number of worthwhile songs as only he can. But I could have done without his impersonation scene where he makes fun of popular Italian crooners like Perry Como and Dean Martin.The story is so flat and unconvincing that it's hardly worth a mention. It's sufficient to say that you can forget it while enjoying abundant glimpses of Rome's landmarks and terrain, all nicely photographed in Technicolor.Lanza was beginning to look heavier than usual but his voice is still able to belt out a mixture of operatic arias and pop tunes. The film itself is not an "essential," even for Lanza fans because the script is an uninspired bit of tedium. Just sit back and enjoy the scenery.