In the 1950s, a melodrama love story that is all technicolour splendid and situated in one of the old worlds European wonder cities, was par for the course. After William Wyler had sent Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn to Rome for her Oscar winning turn, the studios were alive with the ideas of Europe as the place to see and be. American girls and boys dutifully complied and set course for the sun, sea and seduction that was bound to be on the shores after the war that had brought much of it to its knees. For three American girls, the hope of meeting the man of their dreams means a coin in a fountain. The Trevi fountain no less. These three are secretaries working at the US Embassy in Rome and the Trevi Fountain (which is far smaller in real life and on an intersection no less) heralds a Roman adventure. They are granted much in return for their coins but will it be their dreams?

This is what I would affectionately call ‘Sunday Screening’. Its neither offensive, nor challenging. It paces a story of the post war world as a hot bed of hope and fulfilment and its best quality is its cinematic suspension of disbelief. Yes it is a part of the time when Hollywood held open the doors to Rome and stayed on the Tiber for a decade almost, making films at and on the stages of the Cinecetta studios no less. But it is charming, has charisma, gives the audience a run of joy and pleasure, an opening song from a then little know Frank Sinatra. Now there are gripes. You wont find much on the disc. No extras at all. You might also find the transfer suffers from a colour grade issue. A lack of depth in image and a rather washed out white in the interior scenes (its bleached occasionally). But if you like these types of films, about people living and loving and exploring and touring, well then this is the film for you.

Special Features:

• High-Definition Transfer
• UK Blu-ray Premiere
• Still Gallery
• Optional English SDH Subtitles for the Main Feature