A Breath of Scandal
| A Breath of Scandal | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | Michael Curtiz |
| Produced by |
Marcello Girosi Carlo Ponti |
| Written by |
Walter Bernstein (adaptation) Ferenc Molnár (play) Ring Lardner Jr. (uncredited) |
| Starring |
Sophia Loren Maurice Chevalier John Gavin Angela Lansbury |
| Music by |
Alessandro Cicognini Robert Stolz |
| Cinematography | Mario Montuori |
| Edited by | Howard A. Smith |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
|
Release date
|
16 December 1960 |
|
Running time
|
97 min. |
| Country | Italy United States |
| Language | English |
Walter Bernstein (adaptation)
A Breath of Scandal, known as Olympia in Italy, is a 1960 film adapted from Ferenc Molnár's stage play Olympia. It stars Sophia Loren, Maurice Chevalier, John Gavin and Angela Lansbury and was directed by Michael Curtiz. The film is set at the turn of the 20th century and features lush technicolor photography of Vienna and the countryside of Austria. The costumes and lighting were designed by George Hoyningen-Huene and executed by Ella Bei of the Knize fashion house (Austria). Due in part to Curtiz's direction which Sophia Loren was at odds with, Italian director Vittorio De Sica was hired to reshoot certain scenes with Loren after hours without Curtiz's knowledge.
The film is based on the 1928 play Olympia rather than being a remake of the 1929 MGM film His Glorious Night.
The film was part of a three-picture deal, which Loren had, had with Paramount. It was also a co-production between Paramount and producers Ponti and Girosi. Filming started on 1 June 1959 in Vienna.
John Gavin, who had been borrowed from Universal, later recalled, "we were being directed by Michael Curtiz, which sounds so good on paper." Apparently, he soon realized the director was past it.
I said to Sophia [during the shoot], "We're in a terrible picture. He may have been a great director once but he doesn't know what he's doing."
According to Gavin, Sophia had looked worried and asked, "do you really think so?"
Gavin later called the film a "turkey" saying Sophia Loren playing a princess was "not what she does best."
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Wikipedia