For those of us who admire Dean Martin, this is a rather famous film -- the one that almost sank his career after splitting with Jerry Lewis. It was a flop, and I agree it's just a "pretty good" movie. But as I watched it this time around I tried to figure out why it just didn't come together.I don't think it's the general plot -- a rich hotel mogul falls in love with an Italian girl...well, actually two Italian girls...sisters. And, their papa insists they be married in order of their age. I can see that, although some of the ins and outs of the story are a little...well...a bit of a waste. The story could have been told better.And, we've got a pretty good cast here, too -- Dino, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Eva Bartok, and Walter Slezak. And pretty good scenery, with significant parts of the movie filmed on location in Rome. A producer and director who both had any number of successes in film history. Dean's two primary songs -- "You, I Love" and "Only Trust Your Heart" are decent songs for the late 1950s, although his Capitol recordings of the songs are better than the soundtrack versions.I think in addition to some scenes that should have been deleted or completely rewritten, that the other sisters should have had their characters developed just a bit more, and without question, the pace of the film should have been picked up quite a bit.I disagree with a number of our reviewers who see this as a failed romantic COMEDY. I don't think it is a comedy...although perhaps that's what the public wanted to see Dean doing right after his decade with Jerry Lewis. Instead, this is a romantic musical film.It's worth watching, though admittedly it's a bit weak. But then again, so are lots of films. This one is "okay", and quite interesting (historically) for fans of Dean Martin.

As a Dean Martin fan, I can forgive his lack of characteristic charm and charisma in this movie. The plot is really the movie's worst failure because the locale and other production values are good. All the movie really needed was a completely different script. In spite of all that, it's still fun to watch.

This was Dean Martin's first solo movie after his split with Jerry Lewis and a pretty dire one it is too. He plays "Hunter" a millionaire hotelier who flies to Rome to oversee the latest addition to his empire-a traditional old Roman hotel acquired from its aristocratic patron.While there he becomes engaged to the youngest of the four daughters of a musician (played winningly by Walter Slezak in the best performance in the movie).He refuses permission for the marriage until the other (elder)daughters are wed .So ,Martin sets out to locate husbands for them .Further complicating matters is the growing affection between his bride to be and his pilot ,as played by Dewey Martin. It helps if you are writing a comedy to include some funny lines or scenes but -some 48 hours after watching the picture not one line or scene stays in my mind as even mildly amusing .Nor are the regular musical interludes in which Martin breaks into song memorable in any way . Martin is woeful -in a role calling for charm he merely appears smug and self satisfied .Thankfully he was to get better at light comedy but this performance is a total misfire . Some nice travelogue shots of Rome compensate but for the most part this is trite and derisory.

This is Dean Martin's first film following his split with partner Jerry Lewis. MGM signed him for this romantic comedy. However, there is nothing funny here. Dean Martin was one of the funniest comedians of the 20th Century. His persona was that of a drunk, sex crazed ne'er-do-well who could not get through a song without either slipping up or telling a joke. Even when he was the low-keyed partner of manic Jerry Lewis, there was something silly about him. He can tell the oldest and cheapest jokes and charm the audience into laughing with him. None of this is seen in this film. This is just another example of how MGM had no idea what to do with comedians. Buster Keaton, the Marx Brothers, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, and Donald O'Connor were also poorly handled by MGM. Martin is in good company there! Dino plays the straight role of an airline pilot who romances Anna Maria Alberghetti and sings some very poor songs by Nicholas Brodzsky. If Dean's role would have been played by someone like Howard Keel or Vic Damone, maybe I would not be complaining so much about the lack of comedy. But even reliable character actors like Walter Slezak and Jules Munshin are wasted in this bore. Thank goodness Martin was given the chance to play a showy role in "The Young Lions". Another film like this and Dino's movie career would have been over.