The Yellow Rolls-Royce
The Yellow Rolls-Royce | |
---|---|
Directed by | Anthony Asquith |
Written by | Terence Rattigan |
Produced by | Anatole de Grunwald |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Jack Hildyard |
Edited by | Frank Clarke |
Music by | Riz Ortolani |
Production company | De Grunwald Productions |
Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release dates |
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Running time | 122 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Box office | $5.4 million (US)[3] 949,156 admissions (France)[4] |
The Yellow Rolls-Royce is a 1964 British dramatic composite film written by Terence Rattigan, produced by Anatole de Grunwald, and directed by Anthony Asquith, the trio responsible for The V.I.P.s (1963).
Apparently adapting an idea from In Those Days, a 1947 German drama by Helmut Käutner that had its US premiere in March 1951,[1] The Yellow Rolls-Royce uses a yellow 1931 Rolls-Royce Phantom II[5] to frame the story of three very different owners: an English aristocrat, a Miami gangster and a wealthy American widow. It is set in the years up to and including the start of World War II.
Prompted by the production team's success with The V.I.P.s, the film boasts a similar all-star cast,[2] including Rex Harrison, Ingrid Bergman, Shirley MacLaine, Omar Sharif, George C. Scott, Alain Delon and Jeanne Moreau.
The soundtrack song "
Plot
A stunning yellow
20,023 miles later,
camp in the mountains. She makes several trips to pick up more villagers and deliver them to safety there. She wants to stay and help repel the invaders, but Davich insists it is not her fight. Instead, he asks her to return to America and tell the people what she has witnessed.
The car is next seen being loaded onto a cargo ship.
Some years later, the Rolls is driving along the Henry Hudson Parkway, passing beneath a road sign reading I-95, 1, George Washington Bridge, Bronx, 178 St. – Next Right, as the closing credits roll, its intermediate life once-again skipped for the viewer, its future yet to be known.
Cast
- Ingrid Bergman as Gerda Millett
- Rex Harrison as Charles, Marquess of Frinton
- Shirley MacLaine as Mae Jenkins
- Jeanne Moreau as Eloise, Marchioness of Frinton
- George C. Scott as Paolo Maltese
- Omar Sharif as Davich
- Alain Delon as Stefano
- Art Carney as Joey Friedlander
- Joyce Grenfell as Hortense Astor
- Edmund Purdom as John Fane
- Michael Hordern as Harmsworth, Manager of Hoopers
- Lance Percival as Assistant Car Salesman at Hoopers
- Roland Culver as Norwood
- Moira Lister as Angela, Lady St. Simeon
- Harold Scott as Taylor
- Richard Pearson as Osborn
- Isa Miranda as the Duchesse d'Angoulème
- Grégoire Aslan as the Albanian Ambassador
- Riccardo Garrone as G. Bomba, Owner of Genova Auto Salon
- Wally Cox as Ferguson
- Carlo Croccolo as Michele, Mrs. Millett's Chauffeur
- Guy Deghy as the Mayor
- Martin Miller as Head Waiter
Production
In early April 1964, Robert H. O'Brien, President of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer informed the press about the upcoming Rolls-Royce project, with production set to start on 6 April.[7] Along with the announcement, Anatole de Grunwald was assigned to produce the original screenplay by Terence Rattigan.[7] By that time, Ingrid Bergman, Rex Harrison, Shirley MacLaine, Alain Delon, Jeanne Moreau, George C. Scott and Omar Sharif were already cast in the key roles.[7]
Shooting took place in MGM's British Studios in London and on location in Great Britain and Italy.[7]
Reception
The film's reviews were "tepid," but the film performed "respectably" at the box office.[2]
Critical
Contemporary reviews were mixed. According to
Box office
The film grossed $5.4 million at the US box office, among the top ten films in box office receipts for 1965, a year in which Mary Poppins topped the list with $28.5 million.[3]
The movie was not particularly successful at the French box office, failing to reach more than one million admissions.[4][dead link]
The film's producers also benefited financially from television's willingness to pay studios more for more timely broadcasting rights to new films: The Yellow Rolls-Royce received its television premiere on CBS[8] in the autumn of 1967.[9]
Awards and nominations
Year | Award ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1966 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Original Score | Riz Ortolani | Nominated |
Best Original Song | Forget Domani by Riz Ortolani and Norman Newell | Won | ||
1965 | BAFTA Awards | Best Cinematography - Colour | Jack Hildyard | Nominated |
Best Costume Design - Colour | Anthony Mendleson | Nominated |
References
- ^ a b c The Yellow Rolls-Royce at Music Hall: Three Stories Linked by Car's Ownership, a 14 May 1965 review by A.H. Weiler from The New York Times
- ^ a b c d Article: The Yellow Rolls-Royce from Turner Classic Movies
- ^ a b The Box Office: The Gross Is Greener, a 14 January 1966 article from Time
- ^ a b Box office information for film at Box Office story
- ^ a b Cinema: Back-Seat Romance, a 21 May 1965 review from Time
- ^ Restoration of The Yellow Rolls-Royce, Neal Kirkham
- ^ Lewiston Evening Journal. 4 April 1964. p. 4-A.
- ^ Television, a 6 October 1967 article from Time
- ^ Television: Every Living Room a Nabe, a 23 June 1967 article from Time
External links
- The Yellow Rolls-Royce at IMDb
- The Yellow Rolls-Royce at the TCM Movie Database
- The Yellow Rolls-Royce at AllMovie
- The Yellow Rolls-Royce at the American Film Institute Catalog
- The Yellow Rolls-Royce at the better source needed]
- The Yellow Rolls-Royce at Rotten Tomatoes