Debutantes and housewives travel down the Amalfi coast to do all the tourist activities. This is actually a fun travelogue of the past. It's like Merchant and Ivory trying to sell an Italian vacation. It's actually funny seeing these bored housewives play with a local's pipe. They're too sheltered to have ever touched a pipe. It's of a time and a place. It has no substance but it is everything. It has characters and they do stuff. It has local flavors and American tourists. It's a 50's time capsule. It's a slice of imaginary pie.
3 Reviews
Bland Short
Michael_Elliott26 September 2009
Amalfi Way (1955)
** (out of 4)
A rather bland short from MGM takes us on a tour of the Amalfi coast in South Italy. We take a look at the coastline, which as the documentary tell us, has several Juliet's for the various Romeo's out there. We also see various famous churches and get an idea of what it would be like to visit them. This is a pretty boring short from start to finish and it doesn't help that narrator John Costello appears to be falling asleep while working. The camera-work isn't all that interesting and one has to wonder why MGM was trying to copy their own TravelTalks series, which ended a year earlier. It's clear they were going for the same effect but this thing here just comes off as a lazy copycat.
** (out of 4)
A rather bland short from MGM takes us on a tour of the Amalfi coast in South Italy. We take a look at the coastline, which as the documentary tell us, has several Juliet's for the various Romeo's out there. We also see various famous churches and get an idea of what it would be like to visit them. This is a pretty boring short from start to finish and it doesn't help that narrator John Costello appears to be falling asleep while working. The camera-work isn't all that interesting and one has to wonder why MGM was trying to copy their own TravelTalks series, which ended a year earlier. It's clear they were going for the same effect but this thing here just comes off as a lazy copycat.
Makes Me Long For James A. Fitzpatrick
boblipton28 May 2020
This black-and-white travelogue distributed by MGM shows tourists exactly what to do and how to spend their money while visiting the picturesque Italian town.
If you read my reviews of travelogues, you'll find a lot of sniping at James A. Fitzpatrick's efforts, and he deserves it. However, while Mr. Fitzpatrick capitalized on his film series by running a travel agency on the side, his efforts seemed calculated to inspire people to visit because of the beauty and history of the place. This, however, seems strictly commercial. Even the smoothly spoken narration seems oily in comparison.
If you read my reviews of travelogues, you'll find a lot of sniping at James A. Fitzpatrick's efforts, and he deserves it. However, while Mr. Fitzpatrick capitalized on his film series by running a travel agency on the side, his efforts seemed calculated to inspire people to visit because of the beauty and history of the place. This, however, seems strictly commercial. Even the smoothly spoken narration seems oily in comparison.
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