The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964) Reviews

• Yellowish

  filmquestint2005-01-05

  After the success of "The V.I.P.s" the year before, Anthony Asquith and Terence Rattigan are at it again with uneven results. The excuse this time is a Rolls Royce that passes hands from star to star. It is a formula used before many times, most successfully in Julian Duvivier's "Tales of Manhattan" in which a dinner jacket plays an important part in the destinies of Edward G Robinson, Charles Laughton, Henry Fonda and Paul Robson among others. More recently the formula was used by John Badham in his "The Gun" and then Martin Donovan in the lyrically powerful "Seeds of Tragedy" in which the Rolls Royce there is cocaine. Terence Rattigan was master at dialogue and his characters tended to move in confined spaces, take "Separated Tables" for instance. In "The Yellow Rolls Royce" we travel from England to Italy to Eastern Europe and the only confinement Rattigan finds for his characters is the interior of the luxury car. On the first segment, Rex Harrison and Jeanne Moreau show Rattigan at his best, they are great fun to watch. Harrison, playing a big shot at the foreign office, does wonderful things with Rattigan's words. On the second episode Shirley MacLaine and Art Cartney are lovely as a gangster's moll and her minder but the Italo-American gangster, as played by George C Scott, is so over the top that, practically, sinks the whole little segment. French star Alain Delon plays an Italian gigolo of sorts. He is beautiful to look at but hopeless at delivering Rattigan's lines. On the third episode Ingrid Bergman plays Ingrid Bergman, beautifully and Omar Shariff plays Omar Shariff, just as beautifully. Joyce Grenfell plays a cameo as Bergman's companion, as usually, when she's on, she steals the scene. As you may have gathered, this is the kind of picture that one would enjoy the most on a rainy Sunday afternoon. That in itself is a recommendation.

• A beautiful, roomy yellow Rolls Royce provides the set for three diverse stories, all of which are a treat to watch!

  edwardscampbell2006-08-29

  What a visual treat to see the scenery of Europe, along with the acting talents of some of my very favorite performers! Three couples own a fabulous car over a period of years, each with a story worth telling. Rex Harrison presents a touching, surprisingly sympathetic husband who loves his wife too much. Jeanne Moreau is the cheating wife, probably the weakest female of the three. In act two, Shirley MacLaine shines as the gangster moll with a heart, who falls in love with the impossibly gorgeous Alain Delon. George C. Scott plays a part totally unlike any of his others, and Art Carney is a sweet cameo.I especially loved the final act of the trio, when aristocratic Ingrid Bergman, in a multi-layered performance, helps resistance fighter Omar Sharif (I could watch him brush his teeth for two hours!) transport his colleagues to safety in Yugoslavia during WWII. The car is almost a character in itself, as is Bergman's little dog, who plays her part with gusto. I especially loved the comedic moments so beautifully played by Ms. Bergman. She and Sharif make a gorgeous, sensitive couple, and are eye candy for those of us who love fanciful, impossible love affairs. A wonderful film for a rainy afternoon.

• Three faces of women and a car for a bedroom

  JuguAbraham2002-04-10

  All the three actresses are beautiful and attractive: some honest and some dishonest. The men remain the drones to the queen bee in all the three episodes. Jeanne Moreau is probably the weakest of the trio but elegant in her role as a wife who has a young lover. Shirley Maclaine is the classical stunning dumb blonde who has to make a choice to step into a stable, rich married life. The fascinating Ingrid Bergman chooses to step down from a wealthy peerage to a realistic rustic lifestyle using charming wit for achieving an honest end. This is Asquith's last film with Jack Hildyard's cinematography that is patchy but stunning at times. As a film it is average but the casting and the performances of the three ladies and George C Scott are notable.

• Does it come in any other color?

  Poseidon-32003-04-11

  An impressive line up of noted international actors was accrued for this three part film, with the title car serving as the connective tissue between episodes (which occur several years apart.) Harrison leads with a tale involving the purchase of the vehicle for his wife as a belated anniversary gift. His character could almost be a cousin to Henry Higgins and is played in much the same manner, though with a slightly more serious and sentimental edge. The wife (Moreau, in a pretty wooden portrayal) turns out not to be so deserving of the Rolls. This sequence is lavishly appointed with impressive sets and costumes and that "veddy" British air, but winds up being pretty uneventful. Next up is Scott as a gangster touring Italy with his sidekick Carney and his moll MacLaine (who, in a blonde wig looks and acts alarmingly similar to Renee Zellweger in "Chicago"!) They purchase the car to get them to his home town. However, when Scott has to return to the U.S. to take out an enemy, MacLaine becomes enamored of a local gigolo (Delon) and pursues a tentative romance with him. Miscast Scott is aloof and hammy at the same time, but wears some nice suits. Carney does some nice, low key work. MacLaine (with her chewing gum, which should have gotten billing!) wears a bit thin with all the schtick and overacting, but she pulls off a few decent moments. The real highlight of this section (and of the entire film!) is the jaw-droppingly beautiful sight of the impossibly beautiful Alain Delon. Slathered in tan body make-up, his light blue eyes stand out like pools of spring water. His charm and lean good looks overwhelm even the striking location scenery. Finally, Bergman purchases the car to get her into Yugoslavia during WWII. Sharif bums a ride and eventually involves her in the transport of resistance fighters across rugged terrain. Bergman looks terrific in the early part of this story and creates an unusual and intriguing character, complete with a yapping Pekinese and a hilarious cohort (Grenhall, in a hilarious performance that is way too brief.) She and Sharif make an odd, but attractive pair. The film is beautiful to look at (even if the fabled title car looks like a rather unattractive taxi!) However, the stories just aren't memorable enough to make this film really matter. Very little occurs in them and there is precious little dramatic payoff in each one. The director had previously done the stiflingly static "The V.I.P.'s" and, though this film is far more opened up and varied, the overall layer of reserve is still in place. Still, it's great to see the various actors doing their thing, especially Delon and Bergman, and there are several beautiful scenic shots. In the end, it's a classy, sometimes stagnant, but always elegant film.

• a trio of vignettes

  didi-52004-03-06

  This movie presents three stories one after the other, as we follow the fortunes of the first and subsequent owners of the yellow Rolls of the title. First, Rex Harrison buys it as a present for his erring wife, Jeanne Moreau. She uses an anniversary party to flaunt her boyfriend, Edmund Purdom. The car then makes its way into the hands of Mafiosi George C Scott and his moll Shirley MacLaine. She falls for French photographer Alain Delon (and who can blame her?). Finally, the car plays its part in international politics when Ingrid Bergman and Omar Sharif take it on a rescue mission. Anthony Asquith's film survives because of its construction, using the car as a lynchpin for three very different stories, character combinations, and situations. The car remains the star (perhaps because of its colour) but there are enjoyable performances here too. It isn't a challenging or particularly exciting film, but helps to pass the time. Personally I find it a better British film centring on a car than the earlier Genevieve, but that might just be my own taste.