Linkshoch Wonderful Movie

Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

Steineded How sad is this?

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Michael_Elliott Indiscretion of an American Wife (1953)** (out of 4)An American wife (Jennifer Jones) needs to leave Italy for Paris but she's having a hard time letting go of her Italian lover (Montgomery Clift). Originally this was released as STAZIONE TERMINI at 89-minutes but when it hit America, the producer chopped it down to just 63-minutes and added this new title. I'm not going to try and review the original since I haven't seen it but I really do hope it's better than this thing here, which is just a boring mess. Again, I have no idea why David O. Selznick decided to cut this movie down and I'm not certain if it helped or hurt it. I can say that this version here is just one big, boring melodrama that thankfully features two good actors or else this would have been a real disaster. I knew I was in trouble early on during a scene where the woman is writing a note, can't finish it and just crumbles it up. This is when the first loud, swelling music happened and this here was a clue that we were just going to get a boring, wannabe tear-jerker. Throughout the movie there were at least a dozen moments where the music would go loud and over-dramatic but I guess they were trying to use the music to make up for the fact that nothing you were watching was dramatic or emotion. This movie is really, really trying to make the viewer feel for these characters but that's pretty much impossible especially when you know so little about them. The majority of the time they just come across as two people who need to get a life. Both Jones and Clift are good in their roles but I'd say that both of them had much better days. I think just knowing how great they are made up for the fact that they weren't given much and I'm not too convinced that Monty was the right person for the role. What's really shocking is that director Vittorio DeSica made the masterpiece UMBERTO D before this thing.

mark.waltz At 63 minutes long, the American release of this Italian filmed drama seems eternal in trying to get and keep one's attention. Jennifer Jones and Montgomery Clift are cast as an American wife on a holiday and her Italian lover who are at a Rome train station wrapping up their affair. Jones previously tried to leave a "Dear John" letter for the emotional Clift who won't let her go, and when her nephew (a young Richard Beymer) shows up to say goodbye, it is apparent that there is a possibility of a scandal brewing. There seems to be footage missing that explains what lead to the romance and why it is so hard for the two to say goodbye. Jones plays a married wife and mother who seems to have no reason for infidelity, and while her attraction to Clift is clear, this absence of details is hard to make the viewer be really interested. There are some nice twists and turns in the story which do briefly increase interest, and the scene where Jones helps a sick pregnant woman with three children is very touching. The city of Rome itself seems to be a character, overcrowded with people in Jones and Clift's way in their desire for privacy. The scene in the police station (afer the two are caught trespassing on a train) is fraught with tension as the time clicks towards the departure of Jones' train, but the ultimate farewell of the two is less than dramatically intriguing.

st-shot Between his two classic works The Bicycle Thief and Umberto D. Vittorio DeSica and GWTW producer David Selznick got together to make this turgid melodrama that chugs along sluggishly the entire ride. Neo-Realist Master De Sica working with big Hollywood stars made for an unorthodox pairing and the results are disastrous.American Mary Forbes (Jennifer Jones) has a brief passionate affair with young handsome Giovanni Darvi (Montgomery Clift) while visiting Italy. She attempts to break it off but he remains persistent and she weakens amid the chaotic atmosphere of the Rome train station where they have come to exchange bittersweet goodbyes.This truncated 63 minute version of a longer film is all the proof one needs to see what an abysmal undertaking it is. De Sica who had the magic touch of perfectly casting leads with amateur actors errs in a big way by miscasting an American Method as a Latin charmer. The introspective Monty Clift is downright embarrassing as he exhibits little passion and a bad accent that makes you want to cringe. Vapid beauty Jennifer Jones is also a bad coupling as she roams the station key lit with a pained expression, incapable of stretching beyond screen queen. The cinematography is uninspired and the setting itself utilized poorly as De Sica has the same extras scurrying about like ants racing for trains from beginning to end. And with nearly a third of the film excised the editing suffers immeasurably. Even the one shot match cuts are uneven as it jumps from the expressive Clift to the blank beauty of Jones. The laughable climax of this steam less melodrama adds insult to injury as the lovers are treated like recalcitrant teens. However, it matters little since Stazione Termini never gets on track from the outset.

travchap This is without doubt the worst film I can remember! I also cannot believe some of the other rave reviews for it here. It took me about 1 minute of viewing to realize what a looser this film is. It's so unrealistic and poorly done as to be laughable. If you want to see acting that is so overdone as to be ridiculous see the scene where Jones is leaving on the train. I am,as I write this , watching it for the first (and last) time. It is also a short film lasting less then 70 minutes. And it has a distinct film noire look that is very appropriate to it's overall affect. IF you have to visit the dentist soon, see this film first and the dental work will seem fun. Some of the other reviews here indicate that this is a diamond in the rough. Those reviewers are obviously legally blind!