"When in Rome" is an odd film. While the first portion seems like a comedy, the final portion is a schmaltzy religious allegory.
The film begins with a career crook, Joe Brewster (Paul Douglas) slipping out of the States on a ship. His roommate is a priest, Father Halligan (Van Johnson) and the two become very chummy. However, when the Father is ready to leave the ship when it arrives outside Rome, he finds that Joe has stolen his passport and his new cassock. So, while Father Halligan is trying to get off the ship and is dealing with local Italian authorities, Joe is out doing God knows what. Later the two meet up in Rome and instead of turning him in to the police, the Father travels about the various pilgrimage churches as Joe says he wants to make amends and get his heart right with God.
While I enjoyed seeing Johnson and Douglas together, the film seeming like two separate films (one funny and the other inspirational and schmaltzy), this made the movie seem a bit confusing and strange. Worth seeing but not as good as it could have been.
The film begins with a career crook, Joe Brewster (Paul Douglas) slipping out of the States on a ship. His roommate is a priest, Father Halligan (Van Johnson) and the two become very chummy. However, when the Father is ready to leave the ship when it arrives outside Rome, he finds that Joe has stolen his passport and his new cassock. So, while Father Halligan is trying to get off the ship and is dealing with local Italian authorities, Joe is out doing God knows what. Later the two meet up in Rome and instead of turning him in to the police, the Father travels about the various pilgrimage churches as Joe says he wants to make amends and get his heart right with God.
While I enjoyed seeing Johnson and Douglas together, the film seeming like two separate films (one funny and the other inspirational and schmaltzy), this made the movie seem a bit confusing and strange. Worth seeing but not as good as it could have been.