Seven Hills of Rome

[Derek McGovern]

Lee Ann's recent comment on the Anthony Mann thread that even Seven
Hills of Rome "has its moments" prompted me to dig out the film and,
for once, see it in its entirety – something I hadn't done since
watching it for the first time on TV about 30 years ago. Here are some
thoughts on the film that I'll separate into two posts.

First of all, it does make a difference *how* one watches this film!
This time, instead of viewing it on a square-shaped 20" TV – as I'd
done all those years ago – I watched it in true widescreen (or
"letterbox") format on a 50" TV. The source was a laserdisc release
from the 1990s that had been converted to DVD. Seeing all the extra
detail that is chopped off from both sides of the frame on
conventional TV-adapted copies of widescreen films is a revelation.

Just to give an example: in the Arriverderci Roma scene, the fellow on
the piano accordion is now actually in shot when he says of screechy
Luisa Di Meo that, "She was born singing, signor," instead of being a
voice coming from nowhere. There is also greater atmosphere in the
scene because you actually see more of the spectators as their numbers
gradually swell around Lanza and Di Meo. (The only problem was that
now I could see that one spectator actually looks at the camera at one
point before hurriedly turning away!) The scenes in St. Peter's Square
and the aerial views from the helicopter were especially impressive in
widescreen.

There was a downside to seeing the film in its original form, though:
I was more aware than ever of how rarely director Roy Rowland uses
close-ups or even medium close-ups. This curious "distancing effect"
is especially noticeable in the musical numbers, where much of Lanza's
on-screen charisma is spoiled by filming him in medium shot (and
sometimes, as in Come Dance with Me, in profile as well). The result
is that we the audience don't feel as involved in Lanza's singing as
we otherwise might. Rowland also films the title song in a strange
(charisma-diminishing) high camera angle, i.e., looking down at Lanza,
which again does nothing for his star – and is illogical
cinematically, since the on-screen audience is seated *below* him. If
anything, Rowland should have used a low camera angle to convey the
perspective of the audience.

Gene Ruggiero's editing also doesn't help matters. There are lots of
jarring cuts, most noticeably at the end of the film when Mario
finally embraces Marisa Allasio. He's first seen in long shot with his
cheek against hers, but then in the next shot (a medium shot) he's in
a different position! In another scene, when Lanza is waiting at the
top of some steps for Marisa, Ruggiero cuts from a shot of Mario
moving out of position to greet Marisa to a shot from the reverse
perspective in which Mario's back in his earlier (stationary)
position! To avoid this sloppy effect, all Ruggiero needed to do was
to cut to the second shot *before* Lanza started moving.

The lip-synching during some of the songs is also quite poor,
especially in There's Gonna Be a Party Tonight.

Speaking of which, does anyone else find this song out of place in the
film? It's like a number that's crept into the film from a very
different kind of musical – one in which there's no "logic" needed for
the arrival of the unseen musical accompaniment, or the fact that the
characters have suddenly burst into a song whose lyrics (with their
references to Lucrezia the horse and heroine Rafaella) are a
commentary on the story.

(Second post follows)

[Derek McGovern]

Continuing with the negatives (though I'll get to the positives soon!):

For me, the worst scenes in the film are the first and final ones.
Beginning the movie with a poorly sung (and badly recorded) snatch of
All the Things You Are is not a promising start, and the silly
encounter with the character Johnny that follows doesn't bode well.
It's also poorly filmed with Mario in medium long shot profile
throughout (why didn't they cut to a reaction shot in close-up of him?
He was the star of the film, after all!), and looking decidedly short
next to the actor playing Johnny.

The ending is just plain silly, with its ludicrously fast resolution
in which in the space of 30 seconds or so, Mario's character discovers
that Rafaella (Marisa Allasio) loves him and not Pepe (Renato Rascel),
and that he loves her and not Carol (Peggie Castle), and all live
happily ever after! (Except, of course, poor Pepe, whom the film
treats rather shabbily -- and superficial, fickle Carol, who doesn't
deserve to be happy. Moreover, she's the same height as Mario --
another disqualifying factor for 1950s audiences :)) But in much the
same way as the film Serenade fails to establish exactly why Mario's
Damon Vincenti is so besotted with Joan Fontaine's evil vixen, Seven
Hills never even implies that Mario's character is romantically
interested in Marisa's Rafaella -- until the very end, that is.

Musically, the film is unique among Lanza films in that it lacks a
showstopper. One or two outstanding numbers would have made all the
difference, I feel. Imagine the impact of something like Passione in
the place of Questa o Quella in the amateur night scene! It doesn't
help, of course, that Mario isn't in his best voice throughout the
film (though it's hard to tell at times whether it's him or merely the
recording quality, given the ever-present distortion and tinny sound).
The glum title song was also an uninspired choice for the closing
number; it's Rome, for goodness' sake, so couldn't we have had a
reprise of Arrivederci, Roma -- and as a solo this time??!!

But now the positives:

Mario's acting is actually pretty good in this film. There are a few
stilted moments, notably when he confronts the ticket collector on the
train (and while I think of it, why on earth are the ticket collector
and Rafaella speaking to each other in English?!), but in most of the
film, I found him quite believable. The look that he gives Renato
Rascel after being slapped by him is very realistic, as is the rest of
his acting in this scene.

I love the in-jokes in the movie! The atrocious tenor (whose voice, we
now know, was actually that of Mario *spoofing* a fourth-rate Italian
singer) singing Lanza's real-life hit song, the comment to Mario by
Peggie Castle's sleazy date Franco that, "You do have a reputation for
non-appearances, you know," etc are fun. [Incidentally, I was amused
by the coincidence of Renato Rascel's character declaring (of the bad
painting that he sells for the taxi fare), "Ah, yes, this is for
Cesari!"]

For me, the best part of the film is its middle -- roughly the 14
minutes or so from the 40-minute mark. The various Rascel songs that
we hear performed (rather too well!) as Lanza strolls through the
streets of Rome, the Arrivederci Roma scene (screeching
notwithstanding :-)), the amateur night, etc. This whole section ticks
along very nicely. Then there's the Imitations scene a little later in
the film; I'd forgotten what great fun this is! It's not just Lanza's
vocal impersonations; it's the expressive way he uses his face --
making himself almost look like Louis Armstrong, for example -- that
make this a memorable scene. [Actually, it struck me again while
watching this just how short Lanza's life was in comparison with the
people he was imitating; all of them were older than him -- and yet
three of them outlived him by many decades, with Laine only dying
three years ago.]

A sidenote: I once worked with a fellow whose only knowledge of Mario
was from watching this film on TV -- a movie he thought was called
"The Seven Pillars of Rome." "Lanza?" he said. "Oh, he's the guy who
does imitations. He's pretty clever!" Perhaps *too* clever, since,
tellingly, this fellow had no idea from watching the film that Lanza
was actually a great singer.

So there you have it: some scattered thoughts on a sporadically
entertaining film! While I still think it's the worst of Lanza's
films, it wasn't quite as bad as I'd remembered it.

And one last gripe of a pedantic nature: why did the film-makers omit
the article "The" from the title? That's always irritated me :)

[Derek McGovern]

If anyone hasn't seen (The) Seven Hills of Rome, the entire film has
now been uploaded to YouTube by an eager beaver:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PDuvmgeLMQ

Unfortunately, it's running a semitone fast, so Mario's voice sounds
particularly thin on All the Things You Are.

On the right of your screen as you watch Part 1, you'll also see Part
1 of Serenade listed. It's dubbed into Spanish!

[zsazsa]

Hi Derek,

thank yo so much for your great analyse of `Seven Hills of Rome`, it
was a really a joy to read it! I do agree that this is the purest of
all Mario`s movies, but as you told, there are also parts, which are
unforgettable, and really great! Beside the scenes that you`ve
mentioned, there is also a great scene of Mario to me, when he is
walking between the mighty pillars of the Piazza St. Pietro and you
can see that he is really impressed by the wonderful art of Bernini. I
totally agree that the highpoints of this film are Mario`s immitation
scene (and I just can immagine that someone who don`t really know
Mario, remembering him in this film after his immitations, as they are
really great, I treasure every minutes of this, as this is the only
one possibility having Mario`s great immitation ability shining. The
`Tonight, tonight is a party` scene is maybe therefor special to us,
as we`ve visited the place Piazza Farnese and the house 44 several
time in Rome and every time we are in Rome we are going always to the
places where Mario was in this movie (f.e. The nightclu `Ulpia` on the
side of the Foro Trajano, the Piazza Navona where Mario is singing
with the little girl `Arrivederci Roma`, Foro Romano, which Mario and
the others looking at from the helicopter and of course San Pietro and
the whole wonderful square around. So maybe that is the reason, that
this movie still so treasured for me, as we have seen all the places
where he was walking (`on the streets where you lived!`) and of course
Via Bruxelles 56 is a must when you are in Rome. Once again, many
thanks dear Derek for your great and most interesting analyse of the
movie.
Cheers from Susan

[Armando]

Excellent analysis of a very flawed film, Derek.

As well as all that you have singled out, the problem with SHOR is
really the story line and the poor choice of music with Lanza not in
particularly good voice and certainly not helped by extremely poor
recording.

All that boring nonsense with the missing bracelet, the unnecessary
fight scene ((just as idiotic as the one in FTFT) do not make for
memorable viewing.

They should have stuck to the original script by Imrgard von Cube and
Harold Erickson which is what Lanza read before he left for Italy.


Here’s an interesting piece I’ve recently come across. It’s by John
Francis Lane writing in the February 1958 issue of Films and Filming:

The other American-minded production company, Titanus, is definitely
doing better with the smaller pictures. They are guilty of Arrivederci
Roma (The Seven Hills of Rome). This is an altogether boring film,
wasting the various talents of Mario Lanza, (who looks very angry with
the film from start to finish, and rightly too!). Renato Rascel and
Marisa Allasio; about a non-existent Rome, with trite dialogue,
agonisingly dull comedy, bad colour and quite mediocre music. The
worst film of 1957, probably of any country.

[Armando]

Hi Derek: Forgot to mention that I had a laugh over the Cesari bit,
but I think what Rascel is actually saying is, it’s for Cesare.
In any event, I'd be very glad to leave the painting to Cesare! :-)

[Derek McGovern]

Ciao Armando: Interesting comments from John Francis Lane! I wonder if
he reviewed Serenade or For the First Time as well?

I wouldn't say that Mario looked angry in the film "from start to
finish," but he does look curiously strained at times, e.g., in the
first scene with Castle and her date, on the train (though only
initially), and in the helicopter scene. It's amusing to compare
Lane's view with that of A.H. Weiler in the New York Times, who
thought that Lanza had never looked more relaxed!

But while I don't agree that it was the "worst film of 1957, probably
of any country" -- after all, Edward D. Wood had two films out that
year!! -- and I hadn't noticed anything particularly bad about its
colour, Lane is pretty much on the mark with his other comments. What
I'd meant to say in my earlier posts is that the film has no momentum
or pace (except, perhaps, for the 14-minute segment I singled out); it
just meanders along.

I'm confused about von Cube and Erickson's roles here; in fact, the
whole genesis of the screenplay is a bit of a puzzle to me. Did von
Cube and Erickson base their screenplay on Art Cohn's original story
-- and do we know if theirs was the same scenario outlined to Lanza by
Titanus Vice-President Franco de Simone Niquesa in 1956? Or are we
talking talking about two different scenarios? Mannering writes that,
"It says a lot about [Lanza's] state of affairs at the time that he
signed on to the project without seeing a completed script." I wonder
if that's entirely true. What we do know is that Titanus Studios
rewrote the script without Lanza's knowledge, with screenwriter
Giorgio Prosperi using a play called Sera di Pioggia ("Rainy Evening"
-- good title, by the way!!) as his basis.

I would love to read the original script, and it's intriguing to think
that David Niven was slated to play one of the characters in it.

Incidentally, I'd forgotten that you interviewed Roy Rowland, director
of Seven Hills. Did he volunteer any opinion on the film? And what did
he have to say about Lanza?

I always remember that story about Rowland supposedly throwing away
whole sheets of the screenplay on the set, as the film (as rewritten
by Prosperi) would otherwise have ended up as a five-hour marathon. If
that's true, then it's miraculous that the film even makes any sense.

Cheers
Derek

[Derek McGovern]

I just listened to that bit with headphones, and I'm still convinced
he says "Cesari"!

I also noticed that just about the only close-up in the entire film is
the shot of the equally bad painting of the fish!

By the way, I forgot to mention Lanza's other in-joke in the film,
when he calls one of the young men in the crowd during the Armstrong
imitation "Brother Clementelli." Silvio Clementelli was, of course,
the Head of Production at Titanus Studios.

[Armando]

On Jul 29, 8:22 pm, Derek McGovern <derek.mcgov...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I'm confused about von Cube and Erickson's roles here; in fact, the
> whole genesis of the screenplay is a bit of a puzzle to me. Did von
> Cube and Erickson base their screenplay on Art Cohn's original story
> -- and do we know if theirs was the same scenario outlined to Lanza by
> Titanus Vice-President Franco de Simone Niquesa in 1956? Or are we
> talking talking about two different scenarios? Mannering writes that,
> "It says a lot about [Lanza's] state of affairs at the time that he
> signed on to the project without seeing a completed script." I wonder
> if that's entirely true. What we do know is that Titanus Studios
> rewrote the script without Lanza's knowledge, with screenwriter
> Giorgio Prosperi using a play called Sera di Pioggia ("Rainy Evening"
> -- good title, by the way!!) as his basis.

Well, Derek, confusing is certainly the operative word when discussing
SHOR.

I only recently found out (again thanks to Films and Filming) that the
original script or what I suspect may have been a draft, and the one
presumably Lanza read prior to leaving for Italy, had been written by
Von Cube and Erickson. The script was then re-written by Art Cohn and
again partly re-written by Giorgio Prosperi .

Here’s the report from Films and Filming dated April 1957:

Rudy Mate will direct The Seven Hills of Rome with Mario Lanza, to be
made in Italy for MGM release.
It is written by Imrgard von Cube and Harold Erickson and is described
as a romantic comedy of the adventures of an American singer in Rome.

Rowland recollections of Lanza were of a lovable talented man who was
very affectionate with his wife and children and was keen to have them
around whenever possible. He said the filming was extremely
frustrating for all concerned since they virtually didn’t know what
was happening with the script from one day to the next.

And that’s pretty much evident in the finished product!

[Armando]

On Jul 29, 8:34 pm, Derek McGovern <derek.mcgov...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Jul 29, 6:55 pm, Armando wrote:

>
> I just listened to that bit with headphones, and I'm still convinced
> he says "Cesari"!

He may well be saying Cesari, but since he’s referring to his friend
the salami merchant I thought that addressing him by his first name,
Cesare, made more sense.

I must listen out for the Clementelli line.

[Derek McGovern]

That's intriguing about the Seven Hills script, Armando. So it went it
through three sets of hands! What a mess. I'm amazed that MGM, given
its financial stake in the film, didn't put its foot down and at least
demand a completed final version before filming actually began.

I see, by the way, that there was an Italian TV adaptation in 1963 of
a play called "Sera di Maggio":

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1163867/

Note that the playwrights were De Flavis and Riccora. It'd be
interesting to know if that was the same play that Giorgio Prosperi
partially adapted for Seven Hills. If it is, then I wonder where
Giuseppe Amato fits in with all this, since he's the one credited in
the film for the "story"!

[In my PhD thesis, I examine the incredibly complicated history of the
screenplay for the 1938 Pygmalion film, with its numerous authors, but
I'm beginning to think that I should have chosen Seven Hills instead
:-)]

By the way, unless there's more than one Franco de Simone Niquesa (the
then Vice President of Titanus Films & the person who visited Mario in
1956 with the Seven Hills script supposedly in hand), it looks as
though the one person who could clarify all this may still be alive. A
photo of him in 2006 showed up on an internet search I did the other
day.

Cheers
Derek

[Armando]

Hi Derek: Franco de Simone Niquesa was still with us in 2007. They
refer to him as Avvocato, which doesn’t mean much, as in Italy just
about everyone is either a Dottore, Cavaliere or anyone of a never
ending succession of ridiculous titles. Then again, he might really be
a lawyer.

I wish I had known of his existence back when I did most of the
interviews, as someone like Steinman could easily have arranged for me
to talk to him. As you know in Italy you don’t get anywhere unless you
have contacts.

I did have Marisa Allasio’s phone number and tried to contact her each
time I went to Rome but, incredibly, she was always somewhere else,
mostly in America where hers son was either studying or working.

That’s the problem being stuck in Australia! We are, as ex Prime
Minister Keating called it, “ The arse end of the world!” Of course
you Kiwis are even further!

P.S. It seems that apart from you and I and one of two others the rest
of the members must have moved to another planet!

[Derek McGovern]

Armando wrote:

> P.S. It seems that apart from you and I and one of two others the rest
> of the members must have moved to another planet!

Ciao Armando: I'm not too bothered by the small number of people
posting here. At least *this* Mario Lanza forum focuses on Lanza and
his actual singing! I've just visited one well-known website that's
supposedly a Lanza forum and, apart from Mario's name being mentioned
in passing by a couple of people, I had to go back through over two
weeks of posts to find even a single message about him! In fact, you'd
be hard pressed to find any sustained discussion of his singing in six
months of posts there.

I swear I'll never understand why so many people on the other Lanza
forums are reluctant to discuss the most interesting thing about
Lanza: his singing.

By the way, to have interviewed as many Lanza associates as you did
(from janitors to conductors!) -- all the while based in Australia --
was a pretty formidable achievement. I can't think of another Lanza
biographer who interviewed even a dozen people. And while it's a shame
Marisa Allasio eluded you, at least you got to speak to Renato Rascel,
Roy Rowland and others involved in the making of Seven Hills.

[Jan Hodges]

Armando.... Don't be fazed that not too many are posting here . They may be like me.... absolutely fascinated by the conversation going on between you and Derek, who are two extremely knowledgable people about all things Lanza  I for one don't want to interrupt. I am happy to sit here "eavesdropping". Jan

[Mike McAdam]

Yes Armando, Derek...I'll second Jan's comment. I know I wouldn't be
qualified to jump in here. Very little knowledge of the subject.
Likewise the marvellous 'Magic of Phrasing' thread. With the in-depth
discussion between Armando and Tony, both of whom know about the
subject from experience, I am content just to read and learn.
Fascinating stuff (I suspect that there are a good number of our
silent members doing just that).
I've said it before but I always feel tremendously privileged to
belong to a "smart" Forum like ours.
Cheers, Mike

[Armando]

O.K. Jan and Mike-point taken, and it’s good to know that you
appreciate our various exchanges.

By the way Mike, I played your fabulous Student Prince CD for some
friends- they were absolutely bowled over by the compilation and
quality of the sound!

[leeann]

I guess then, I would third Jan's comment. Totally fascinating, thank
you! And a belated thank you, too, Armando for the photos and
translations. Best, Lee Ann

[Derek McGovern]

The following messages were posted on a separate thread, but since
they follow on from Jan's comments above, I'm moving them here.

Barry wrote:

I am just repeating what Jan said...I am here to learn more about
Mario...I want to contribute, but I definitely don't know anywhere
near what the other members know.

*****************************************

Maria Luísa wrote:

I second what Barry said. I am here to learn more than to write and I
tell you I do learn a lot. And Derek don't bother too much that just a
few people write here. I assure you that many more must read for sure
what is written in this Forum, not only what you and other members
discover, things not yet known about Mario, but also the high quality
of all you write regarding music in general but about all things
respecting Mario in particular.

Since this is another thread, I hope this I'm going to tell about him,
something unexpected but nice, suits here. One of these days I was
suggested by a blogger, an opera lover we know over here, to listen to
O Paradiso sung by Carlo Bergonzi which singing he considered the
most (his words) "if there is God, here is God". I did listen of
course, than I told him to listen to the same aria but sung by Mario
Lanza (whom I suspect he never heard of!). Then I added: "the words
you mentioned respecting Bergonzi's voice, I would write them
respecting Mario Lanza's. I'm
waiting for his answer.

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Luísa: Thanks. Yes, I'm aware that a lot more people read this
forum than post here, as the number of daily "views" or "hits" that
this site receives has increased dramatically since we reopened in
May. I don't know why that's happened, but I'm not complaining!

Getting back to the original topic of this thread, I do hope more
people will post their thoughts on Seven Hills of Rome. I realize that
the convoluted history of its screenplay is probably something that no
one here apart from Armando has knowledge of, but that shouldn't stop
anyone from posting about the film itself. For example, do you
disagree with my analysis of the movie in my first two posts? Does
anyone here actually regard the film as a good one, or do you agree
with Mario's own analysis that it was a "terrible" movie?

While I do regard Seven Hills as by far the worst of Lanza's movies, I
don't agree with Mario's self-criticism that he was "lousy" in it.
Vocally, yes, he wasn't at his best, but we're not talking "Lanza on
Broadway bad" here. And his acting in this film -- considering the
limitations of the dialogue he had to deliver & the ridiculous
so-called plot -- is actually quite good for the most part.

But it's just as well that Seven Hills wasn't Lanza's last film. I
would hate for him to have bowed out with such a musically
unsatisfying effort. He certainly made up for the vocal and
musical disappointment of Seven Hills in his next and final film, For
the First Time!

There are some, though, who rate Seven Hills as the better film of the
two. The conductor-arranger Christopher Palmer, for example, in his
very well-written liner notes for the 1993 Carreras tribute album to
Lanza ("With a Song in My Heart"), describes SHOR as "delightful" and
For the First Time as "rather tedious." And the eternally grumpy
Leslie Halliwell, who seldom had a good word for Lanza in his
Filmgoer's Companion and other books, while dismissive of Seven Hills'
"patchy production values" was even tougher on the "slipshod" For the
First Time with its "fat star."

Cheers
Derek

[leeann]

Hi, Derek,

I'm very appreciative that you and Armando take the time to share
information on this forum that very few people have, actually! We're
awfully fortunate to get the broad picture of what was going on around
and behind Lanza's work as well as details and it seems to snowball
into finding out more and more. Thank you!

It was interesting to read the John Francis Lane comments which at
least absolve Mario Lanza of blame for any deficiencies in the movie.
For once, Lanza's acting ability isn't called into question, but he's
spoken about sympathetically and the blame, if you will, placed
elsewhere.

Just a quick comment--I love the 14-minutes you point out Derek. I do
think there are touches of really, really good film-making
(remembering that this is the late 1950s) in this movie. Among
others, I also particularly like the scene you cite where he walking
through the streets of Rome, and hears the music of the streets. The
problem seems to be that the whole is smaller than the sum of many of
its parts.

But I'll stick to the beginning just now. Truthfully, it starts really
well I think--a little suspenseful buildup, move to the credits and
then back to the plotline. It's clear from the beginning that we're
not in for a heavy dose of neorealism or a cinema verite; but we are
set up for a delightful romance although probably one with no
surprises. It seems as if all goes well with the development of the
movie perhaps until "There's Going to be a Party Tonight," but Lanza
films seem to have that one group scene or song that make you sit back
and go "What were they thinking?" Oh, Derek, I did notice one more
closeup when Rafaela falls in the rain as she's running to the train.
Much better than the fish. :-)

Armando, I went back to "American Tragedy," and you'd pointed out that
"the film had at least one outstanding contributor: cinematographer
Tonino Delli Colli." What an incredible career and what a strong
influence his work was on the films of directors like Pasolini,
Fellini, and Leone! Two of his signature approaches apparently are the
sweeping, scenic panorama and the closeup! And it's the panoramas
here that give this movie some of its most effective moments, I think.
It's just too bad that his skill at telling the story with closeups
isn't prevalent in this film, as Derek points out. While it's not
exactly Clint Eastwood in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (another of
Colli's many films), there are some awfully good moments, facial
expressions in this film that closeups would've heightened, but the
viewer has to work to discover.

The contrivance in the script of the odd guest popping up to say his
farewells and taking them to his helicopter standing by is worth a
chuckle--but it's also worth Colli's aerial view of Rome! It's later
on that the story about Rowland chucking out pages of script seems not
only credible, but closer to gospel.

Maybe the fact that the script and the editing are so bad, in some way
helps this film--the finer moments stand out. But the failure to put
Lanza's music and voice front and center--you're just left shaking
your head at the total waste. Best, Lee Ann

[Armando]

Those are all valid points that you make, Lee-Ann.

The best thing in the film is probably the aerial photography of
Rome!

My biggest problem with this film, apart from some of the
underdeveloped and often absurd aspects of the story, is Mario’s
singing. With the exception of the title song, Arrivederci Roma, and
the Calypso number, he is, after all, singing music that he has sung
before, and much better. Here, particularly in All the Things You Are,
the voice is back and not emerging from the usual perfect position we
are used to when listening to him. Much the same with Come Dance with
Me, where he sounds strained and pushing to the limit. Due to a number
of factors, too lengthy to go into here, singers are not always in
good voice and, obviously, this was the case when the pre-recordings
for the film took place. As I’ve stated before, I also find the sound
quality pretty poor-particularly compared to the superb Warner’s
recordings for Serenade.

As both you and Derek have pointed out there are moments in the film,
but they are few and far between. Vocally the best thing is
Arrivederci Roma- the atrocious screeching from the girl
notwithstanding.

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Lee Ann: Yes, Tonino Delli Colli (now there's an appropriate
surname for this film: "of the hills"!) was certainly an outstanding
cinematographer. How ironic that he was famous for his use of the
close-up!! But I wonder if the lack of close-ups in Seven Hills had
something to do with the then relatively new widescreen format?
Perhaps Roy Rowland (wrongly) felt that close-ups would overpower the
audience on such a big screen. (Which reminds me: ten years later, the
eccentric director Joshua Logan went the opposite direction in
Camelot, bombarding the audiences with repeated close-ups!) Whatever
the truth, even a director as great as George Cukor was guilty of the
same thing in his 1964 My Fair Lady, which is composed almost entirely
of medium and medium-long shots -- making it (like Seven Hills) an
oddly uninvolving film for the viewer.

As for the editing, I've never been a big fan of Gene Ruggiero's work.
(Ruggiero edited all of Lanza's films except Serenade.) While some
might argue that he was simply making the best of what he had to work
with here, there are plenty of examples of poor editing in some of the
other Lanza movies he was involved with. In the Granada scene in
Because You're Mine, for example, there's a terrible cut from long
shot to medium shot in which Mario's hands are in a completely
different position.

Cheers
Derek

[Maria Luísa]

Thanks for the answer Derek. I find the script of SHOR very weak for
an actor with the prestige of Mario. He deserved much better. Even the
songs aren't that good. Mario looks not very happy doing this film and
he was right, that wasn't the kind of film for him. As you say his
voice wasn't at its best, but then being Mario a perfectionist in
acting and singing, in spite of that he acted good enough, although
(and I'm sure he thought about this during the all film) he should not
have been given such a frail script. There is something in his
expressions although subtle nevertheless showing he was not happy
doing it. If I was in his place I wouldn't be either. But one has to
be fair, no matter how "terrible" (his words) the film was the simple
presence of Mario Lanza in the screen makes you forget the lousy
script and focus only on him and in his voice all the time. Of course
not all is bad in SHOR, there is one or two scenes considered
beautiful: the air-view of the fantastic ruins of Rome and the scenes
at St. Peter's Square for example. But even in these scenes there is
something in Mario's face that translate some sort of distraction as
if he was not there but somewhere else, some place far away, in fact
in the whole trip he doesn't even pronounce a single word about the
splendorous Rome he is looking at down under. There is some sadness
and conformation with it all as if for him nothing mattered anymore.
In this film there is another thing that is not correct, the way they
made up his face, he did not need that much make up, looks almost
ridiculous at some scenes, not all. Another scene very badly filmed is
in the train when he looks at Marisa getting undressed, with an
expression which is not real and especially is not like Mario's at
all. To be true the only thing profitable in this film, apart a few
beautiful takes, is Mario himself and his voice. The songs are weak
and that one when they are all singing going up a street is pretty
horrible. Mario was right when he found the film "terrible". For the
kind of actor/tenor he already was by then, he was of course more than
correct. In some scenes it almost looks as if the director was absent
from the studio... Thank God Mario made FTFT after the other one. The
plot was not exceptional of course but musically speaking is fabulous
and his voice was in a fantastic state. But even in this film Mario
was not happy once more, one could see that in his face. Either
because he felt too overweight or because he felt his health was
getting worse by the day, but what made him sad and unhappy only God
knows. Of course Mario looked much more beautiful with less weight,
but was he given better scripts in Italy and perhaps he would
willingly get down to the right weight and more important he would
have felt much happier and this would have helped his whole being
tremendously.
Thank God he made TGC and Serenade and, just for the extraordinary
repertoire, FTFT. His voice is wonderful in these two first films and
also in the last. And he acts beautifully in the two first ones and
physically in TGC, he looks fabulous.
I almost forgot, let's mention his magnificent voice in SP. In this
beautiful film where only his voice is heard (which in my opinion was
a crime not having him acted as Prince Karl) that heavenly voice is
at its very best. There could not be another tenor as good to play
that part other than Mario. It was a real shame he did not. At least
we have his gorgeous voice for ever. Not too bad after all.

[Derek McGovern]

Armando wrote:

>Due to a number
> of factors, too lengthy to go into here, singers are not always in
> good voice and, obviously, this was the case when the pre-recordings
> for the film took place.

Ciao Armando: I suspect the main reason Lanza wasn't in his best voice
in Seven Hills is that the prerecordings were made while he was
undergoing a crash diet for the film. Who could sing well under such
conditions? As we know, he only arrived in Rome at the end of May (and
he was very heavy at the time), and the recordings were made the
following month, with the filming following almost immediately
afterwards. Mario had to lose a large amount of weight in a matter of
weeks, and there's no way that a singer surviving on a handful of
boiled shrimps and a breadstick each day would have felt at his best
physically. That had to affect his singing.

Thank goodness in the case of For the First Time that none of the
prerecordings took place until after Lanza had got himself into
shape.

Cheers
Derek

[Armando]

On Aug 3, 10:17 am, Derek McGovern <derek.mcgov...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Mario had to lose a large amount of weight in a matter of
> weeks, and there's no way that a singer surviving on a handful of
> boiled shrimps and a breadstick each day would have felt at his best
> physically. That had to affect his singing.

Yes, Derek, absolutely!

Plus the fact that I suspect he wasn’t working on his voice daily, as
he should have been. I also believe that, contrary to earlier reports,
he went to the Salvador Mundi hospital to lose weight before pre-
recording the soundtrack for the film.

The combination of the rapid weight loss and lack of daily vocal
exercises is no doubt the reason for the below par singing.

As we know he had been working on the much more demanding musical
selections for For the Tirst Time while he was still at the Walchensee
sanatorium and the results speak for themselves.

[leeann]

Derek wrote:
Yes, Tonino Delli Colli (now there's an appropriate
> surname for this film: "of the hills"!) was certainly an outstanding
> cinematographer. How ironic that he was famous for his use of the
> close-up!!  But I wonder if the lack of close-ups in Seven Hills had
> something to do with the then relatively new widescreen format?
> Perhaps Roy Rowland (wrongly) felt that close-ups would overpower the
> audience on such a big screen.

Hi Derek, there's an interesting question, and it seems one that
requires a library trip rather than a run through digital databases--
in English anyway. Here are a few sort of educated guesses based on
compiling bits here and there from limited online materials. I'm
wondering whether--besides the obvious challenges of script
development for this movie--perhaps the cinematography in the film
may have had something to do with the fact that it was a co-production
(MGM and Titanus) and because of the relative newness of Technirama
and widescreen, as you point out.

It seems as if Delli Colli did this film possibly during a transition
in his career: he'd been known for his black and white cinematography,
but he also filmed Italy's first color film in 1952 when he was under
contract to Carlo Ponti to shoot five films a year. In fact, during
1957, he seems to have worked on SEVEN films, including Povera ma
belli and Susanna tuta panna that also starred Marisa Allasio. How
different production methods and schedules were then! None of the
other films attributed to him in 1957 were in color.

He talks about the transition to color: “The shooting technique was
more or less the same. There was a substantial change in the concept
of things that had originally been considered secondary such as set
decoration and costumes. Everything took on a different importance and
different value." Apparently a great deal of the amazing work in color
he's known for through his later work was partially a result of
working closely with directors over time so that he and Pasolini and
Leone, for example, developed symbiotic relationships in the course of
multiple films--with delli Colli weighted toward the technical steps
to achieving the cinematographic effects the directors were after.
Clearly that relationship wouldn't have existed with Rowland.

Just conjecture. Best, Lee Ann

[leeann]

Dear Derek,

and...ONE more thing. I have a feeling you've posted this before,
however, and I just can't find it. Please just delete as appropriate.

The Oxford Companion to the American Musical likes this movie by and
large.

The Seven Hills of Rome entry states, "…a fine showcase for singer
Mario Lanza, the film musical is a valentine to the singer and the
city of Rome, both in top form. …uninspired screenplay. …the movie
filmed in color in Technirama on location, offered ravishing views of
the Eternal City. Lanza gave one of his more playful performances, not
only singing opera selections and new numbers by a variety of
songwriters,but also clowning about and doing impersonations of Dean
Martin, et al. The hit Arrividerci, Roma was used hauntingly in the
film. Roy Rowland directed, keeping his focus on the two stars, Lanza
and Rome…" How about that.

To digress, the entry on the Student Prince refers to Edward Purdom as
“wooden” and point out that the movie “lacks chemistry between the
lovers and rarely is emotionally involving. ...The most beloved of all
screen opera singers was the dashing tenor Mario Lanza who probably
prompted more interest in opera than any other singer…Sadly, comments
on Lanza, the man, oversimplify and misrepresent him: “his
temperamental lifestyle and addiction to drugs and alcohol ended his
career prematurely…" Best, Lee Ann

[Derek McGovern]

That's a charitable review of Seven Hills, Lee Ann! Arrivederci Roma
"used hauntingly in the film"? Hmmn, that wouldn't have been my choice
of words, especially with Luisa De Mio's screechy contribution
undermining it. Still, it is a nice scene.

The constant references of late to Lanza having a drug problem are
annoying. Few people would deny that he had a problem with *alcohol*,
but the suggestion that he was a drug addict as well is just
sensationalist rubbish!

Cheers
Derek

[leeann]

On Aug 7, 3:41 pm, Derek McGovern <derek.mcgov...@gmail.com> wrote:
> That's a charitable review of Seven Hills, Lee Ann! Arrivederci Roma
> "used hauntingly in the film"? Hmmn, that wouldn't have been my choice

> of words, ...

I suppose there's the off-chance the writer meant "hauntingl" as in
"Luisa de Mio's voice scares the bejibbers out of me?" No, guess
not. :-)

[Vince Di Placido]

I always considered "The Seven Hills of Rome" a bit rough! Everything
is just sloppy, the worst elements being the script, song choices,
editing & sound recording. It's a shame because the locations & the
fresh start in Italy should have made for an exciting production but
it just seems to have become a bit confused.
Looking back on the newspaper clippings from the time, one of the
elements that were focused on were the pre-recordings being made in
the Vatican auditorium & the fact that the acoustics were so fantastic
& they were going to be great recordings as it turned out they were
the worst soundtrack recordings for any of Mario's films...

[Derek McGovern]

With the official DVD of this movie finally available (at least for those in the US), I thought I'd revive this thread. (And if you've bought the DVD, please do share your thoughts on its sound and picture quality here.)

Incidentally, I stumbled upon this 2006 book at Amazon just now: More Movie Musicals: One Hundred Best Films, Plus Twenty 'B' Pictures, by John Howard Reid. Surprisingly, Seven Hills of Rome is in there (along with The Great Caruso), and receives more than two pages, most of it taken up with reviews from the Sunday Herald (scathing & unfair comments), Time (kinder than usual, but managing to be both sexist and inaccurate), Variety (glowing!), etc. The author also makes some interesting comments, most of which I agreed with, e.g. the direction is "strictly functional," the film "looks a more attractive proposition on paper than it does in actual fact," "the songs by and large are not worthy of [Lanza's] talents," and the "series of imitations looks better than it actually sounds (oddly enough, though, Armstrong's When the Saints Go Marching In comes off best").

The thing I found most interesting, however, was the claim that the film was originally released with a running time of 107 minutes, then shortened to 104 minutes in Australia and 103 in the UK! Now it's possible the author's information is wrong---after all, he does list "Earthbound" and "Never Till Now" as being in the film---but I'm intrigued by the thought of a possible missing 3-4 minutes....

[Derek McGovern]

Here's Warner Bros' preview clip of the official DVD:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq_45zqTvxI&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PLE498EEC21E5FFD39

Great picture quality! The colour is excellent, and everything is very sharp. I already had the widescreen version of this film on laserdisc, but if you've only ever seen it in the "chopped" TV/VHS version, then be prepared for a huge amount of every detail on the screen.

The clip is of "Arrivederci Roma," and the sound is slightly better than on the VHS and laserdisc versions.

Anyway, I've ordered the DVD---and I guess others here will be tempted as well (despite the fact that the movie's pretty bad).

[Barnabas Nemeth]

Hi Derek,

 

Agree, this is the least succesfull movie of Mario. Even though any Lanza record is valuable enough to have. I got it on laser disc and a brazil version of DVD that is pretty good. A suppose the new official version would superior.

Barnabas

2012/7/2 Derek McGovern <derek.m...@gmail.com>

[Derek McGovern]

Barnabas: You can see what the quality is like on the clip I posted. Since the Brazilian version wasn't taken directly from a print of the film, I'm sure it's not as good as this version to look at.

By the way, in case you were confused by this sentence in my previous post---"...then be prepared for a huge amount of every detail on the screen"---what I meant was "be prepared for a huge amount of EXTRA detail on the screen." I definitely need glasses!

[Barnabas Nemeth]

Derek: I agree with your remarks regarding the differences in the picture and sound qualities. What I miss further on is "Caruso Favourites" on Living Stereo SACD series. 

Barnabas

2012/7/2 Derek McGovern <derek.m...@gmail.com>

Barnabas: You can see what the quality is like on the clip I posted. Since the Brazilian version wasn't taken directly from a print of the film, I'm sure it's not as good as this version to look at.

[Derek McGovern]

I've finally received the Warner Bros. DVDs of Seven Hills of Rome and For the First Time. I'll post my thoughts on the latter on the appropriate thread, but as far as Seven Hills is concerned, I thought the picture quality was good---certainly better than I've seen it before---with decent sharpness and not too much grain and nice colour, and the sound a touch warmer & mellower than I've heard it before. (The sound is still not very good, though.)

However, I'm not sure that I'll ever watch it again! The improved picture quality did absolutely nothing to improve my opinion of this movie. Watching it again just now reinforced its utter lack of momentum and an even serviceable plot. On top of that the dialogue is banal (Olivier couldn't have pulled it off), the musical selections are mostly uninspired, and, vocally, it's the only Lanza film that lacks even a single thrilling moment. Mario was right when he described it as "terrible"!

[Barnabas Nemeth]

Yes, the SHR is the weakest Lanza movie by far, in any point of view. The plot, his play, his form and appearence, the music selections as well. Forgettable, unfortunately. Barnabas

2012/7/30 Derek McGovern <derek.m...@gmail.com>

[leeann]

I think the thrilling moments in this film come from the cinematography--the perspective and thrill of the opening shots of the train, the detail captured during walkthroughs of the streets of Rome. No surprise there, though, since Tonio Delli Colli was the Director of Photography.

Otherwise--what a waste of magnificent talent. Maybe the best music to come out of the time spent on this film actually might have been his controversial side trip to Naples where the audience apparently thought his singing brilliant, although brief,.

It's always bothered me that Lanza's discussion of future plans included more movies. While  second-guessing, predicting, or revisionist history isn't usually a good idea--it just seems to me that the nadir of Seven Hills is indicative that studios still hadn't really figured out Lanza's niche, how to use his abilities for blockbuster, crowd-pleasing, quality productions, and it wasn't going to get any better--despite the upswing of For the First Time.

For sure, the time had passed for the kinds of movies he was making; yet it seems unlikely the studios would have created state-of-the-art, cutting edge vehicles that utilized his abilities.

It was time for change that brought the voice to new heights.. Best, Lee Ann

[leeann]

Just an apology. In a couple of posts, I've called the Director of Cinematography Tonio Delli Colli.

Well, his name is TONINO Delli Colli. It would seem that someone who made such significant contributions to the world of film ought to have his name free of careless typos. Best, Lee Ann

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Lee Ann: Well, you only got his name slightly wrong. He was really "Antonio"---and "Tonio" is obviously derived from that. And "Tonino" is simply the diminutive of "Tonio"! So basically you were right :)

What I can't get over is the sheer variety of films that Delli Colli worked on. It's amazing to think that the same man shot both the banal Seven Hills and the extraordinarily disturbing Salo, or 120 Days of Sodom!

Cheers
Derek

[norma]

Dear Derek,

                    I have wondered about Mario`s singing of Questa Quella in SHOR..It seems very bright voiced compared to the rest of the songs.Any comments?

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Cheers Norma

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Norma: I can't say it sounds especially bright to my ears. With the exception of "Arrivederci Roma," the entire Seven Hills soundtrack features a lighter-sounding Lanza than the dark, rich voice that we hear, say, in Serenade two years earlier.  But of course, the aria "Questa o Quella" should be sung lyrically---and The Duke is a lyric role (as opposed to a dramatic one).

Cheers
Derek