Chapter Nineteen

In 1960, Rossano was the subject of This is Your Life which was a fascinating watch because this was a programme where I could see him being himself. He also appeared on the Dinah Shore show with Jimmy Durante. After that show, RCA offered Rossano a recording contract which he took up. Here are a couple of the EPs that were released. 

The Dinah Shore Show can be viewed on YouTube. The quality is pretty awful and I'd recommend viewing it on your phone. If you view it on the big screen, the image is far too grainy. The link is below and Rossano makes his first appearance at around 23 minutes. Watch until the end as he is in and out of that episode with both Dinah and Jimmy Durante: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GDByWy8ksU

This is Your Life. 

Rossano was the subject of that programme in April 1960. 

Standing: Presenter, Ralph Edwards. Director, Jean Negulesco. Schoolfriend, Dr Giovanni Zanelli. Rossano's brother-in-law, Franco. Actress, Mitzi Gaynor. Oscar Brazzi. Hidden is Jack Fancourt, a man Rossano helped during the war.

Seated: Slightly obscured is Rossano's mother holding Maria-Lidia. Rossano. Rossano's sister, Franca and Lydia.

Thanks for Ralph Edwards Productions for the use of this photo.

Light in the Piazza is one of my favourite films of Rossano's. I think it is beautifully filmed and stays very true to the book. Indeed, I feel the film is better than the short story it is based on. And, it's filmed mainly on location in Florence so, if you've been to Florence, you will recognise many of the locations. The DVD is available and the book, including all the short stories, is excellent.

My thanks to The Everett Collection Inc for allowing me to use this black and white photo on the website as well as in the book. This photo shows Rossano, Olivia de Havilland, George Hamilton and Yvette Mimieux on the Piazzale Michelangelo for a publicity shot.

The photo on the far right shows Rossano and Olivia de Havilland in a scene. My thanks to Daniel Boutieller, TCD, Paris, for this shot.

Not a great photo, but here's Rossano taking Olivia de Havilland around Florence during the shooting of Light in the Piazza.

The whole of Florence was a film set for Light in the Piazza but here are a couple of locations. The hotel where the American guests were staying and the piazza where the parade took place. Rossano, apparently, enjoyed taking his co-stars on a tour of his home town.

On the left is what was called Grand Hotel, now St Regis, Piazza Ognissanti 1, alongside the River Arno.

In the middle is the Piazza di Santa Maria Novella, just south of the railway station where the parade took place prior to the big football match.

On the right is the church of Santo Spirito where the wedding took place. I would thoroughly recommend visiting this church as it is absolutely beautiful inside. You must ensure that your arms are covered and that you are not showing your legs too much so be prepared. But, it's well worth covering up for. It's in the Piazza Santo Spirito and, on some days, there is a vibrant market set up selling crafts and food items.

Here's Rossano with Rhonda Fleming on the set of Pao De Acucar (Instant Love) which was filmed in Argentina in 1963.

Rome Adventure was, as you may gather from the title, filmed mainly around Rome. It is one of the worst films I've ever seen and was slated by the critics. It is available on DVD and streaming. Even Rossano was not keen on this film and probably regretted doing it. One critic described it as a travelogue with a ridiculous plot. Rossano isn't in it that much but it's certainly a film that deserves to stay in the archives. The one redeeming feature is that you do get some lovely shots of Rome and the surrounding countryside.

The Battle of Villa Fiorita is available on DVD and is based on a coming-of-age novel by Rumer Godden. The book is excellent and, as I mention in the book, it's a shame that the scriptwriters didn't explore the relationships between the children and Rossano's character in greater detail. I think if this were remade today, it would make a beautiful film providing they stuck to the character dynamics rather than the journey the children make from England to Italy. 

Rossano's co-star in The Battle of the Villa Fiorita was Maureen O'Hara. Here is Rossano, Maureen and his beloved dogs. It was filmed mainly around Lake Garda, one of the many beautiful areas in Italy. Martin Stephens, who starred in the film as Maureen's son, Michael, recalls spending many happy weeks by the lake. My thanks to Martin Stephens for this photo.

The other photo is of the now an exclusive hotel (Villa Fiordaliso) that served as the location for the Villa Fiorita. It was once the residence of Claretta Petacci, Benito Mussolini’s mistress. With thanks to Niccolò Brunelli for the photo and to the team at the Villa Fiordaliso.

Lake Garda is a must-see, especially out of season when the tourists are not overcrowding everything. I went over the Christmas period and it was a delight. If you're able to spend a few days there, do go. I can understand why the cast of The Battle of the Villa Fiorita relished filming in this area.

The Christmas That Almost Wasn't is a wonderful way to see Rossano as far removed from the Latin Lover as possible. This is a film for very young children. Rossano's character reminds me of Dick Dastardly from Wacky Races. It's difficult to get hold of but I believe some streaming platforms may now show it. I also managed to get hold of an LP which has the narration of the story with a few clips and songs from the film. 

There is quite a funny anecdote in the book about Lydia calling the police to arrest Rossano and the writer and co-star, Paul Tripp. I'd love to have been a fly on the wall during that event.

Thanks to The Everett Collection for allowing me to use the black and white photo of Rossano and Lydia in this film.

The Bobo, Woman Times Seven and Krakatoa, East of Java were moderately successful. The latter is available on YouTube. The former is, like many films of the 60s, very dated and not terribly funny, even though it has Peter Sellers in it. Not one of his best.

This chapter also gives itself over to Rossano's nephew, Carlo, who provides us with a good overview of working and filming with his uncle while in South America. 

Rossano was starring and directing a film (Seven Men and One Brain) in Argentina and Carlo's rock band were playing in a couple of scenes, although little of it made the final edit. But, he gives us a good description of being on a film set and the advantages of being Rossano's nephew! This film is available on YouTube. It's a bit crazy and very much of its time but, if you want to view it, it's there.

Another film, during this time, was Honeymoon with a Stranger, where Rossano teamed up with his co-star from Little Women, Janet Leigh. This film is also available on YouTube but the quality is dreadful and please be patient, it takes some time before anything actually happens.

After a spate of mediocre films, Rossano struck gold with The Italian Job. He features in one of the best opening scenes ever made on film. A classic Italian car, classic Italian location and iconic Rossano at the wheel. Put that together with Matt Monro singing On Days Like These, well, it doesn't get any better. 

The sunglasses were later rebranded and named The Rossano. My thanks to Gareth Llewelyn CEO and Founder of Renauld Sunglasses Ltd for the image of the sunglasses. www.Renauld.co.uk. 

Thanks, also, to The Everett Collection for the black and white photo.

Regarding the best opening to a film, I read somewhere that one critic said that Rossano had one of the best opening scenes in a movie (The italian Job) and one of the most memorable final scene (South Pacific). The Italian Job, of course, also had one of the classic endings with the coach hanging over the clifftop.

Towards the end of the decade, Rossano was arrested by the FBI when entering JFK from Italy for failing to pay his taxes. He owed over one million dollars! He employed someone to sort that out for him and that man managed to reduce the sum down considerably. Have a read of the book for more information.

Just when Rossano was disappearing from the public eye, he was catapulted back to the top (in Italy) in the television series Melissa. This was a thriller written by the great writer, Francis Durbridge. Very few people alive today got to see Rossano acting on the stage and, even though this is a television series, many of the sets were similar to stage sets and it is easy to see why this was his preferred method of acting. His acting steps up a gear and I can understand why stage critics raved about him.

This series is available on YouTube but, of course, it is in Italian so it's difficult to follow. The UK did their own version of Melissa a few years later starring Peter Barkworth which is available to purchase. He's no Rossano but the story is such a good one that it is worth viewing.