Planned as a star vehicle and showcase for the talents of famous tenor singer Mario Lanza, The Seven Hills of Rome has, as expected, a banal plot, and poorly directed by Roy Rowland.
Lanza plays an American singer named Marc Revere who, after a fight with his girlfriend Carol (Peggie Castle), decides to follows her to Rome so that he can win her back.
However, on the train, he meets a nice Italian girl named Rafaella Marini (Marisa Allasio), who is about to move in with her uncle. Marc gives her a ride and they discover that the uncle has left for South America.
With no place to live, Marc offers her to stay with him and his cousin Pepe Bonelli (Renato Rascel), which leads to a romance, with the usual obstacles and conventional happy ending.
The slight narrative finds one excuse after another to let Lanza sings, though he does mostly impressions of popular singers like Perry Como, Dean Martin, Louis Armstrong, and others.
Unlike other singers, Lanza is not much of an actor, though in the mid-1950s he was one of Hollywood’s most popular stars.
Credits
Running time: 103 Minutes.
Directed by Roy Rowland
CastMario Lanza as Marc Revere
Renato Rascel as Pepe Bonelli
Marisa Allasio as Rafaella Marini
Peggie Castle as Carol Ralston
