''A Breath of Scandal'' (released as ''Olympia'' in Italy) is a 1960 American/Italian

international co-production A co-production is a joint venture between two or more different production companies for the purpose of film production, television production, video game development, and so on. In the case of an international co-production, production companies ...

romantic

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film directed by

Michael Curtiz Michael Curtiz ( ; born Manó Kaminer; since 1905 Mihály Kertész; hu, Kertész Mihály; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed cla ...

, based on the

stage play A play is a work of drama, usually consisting mostly of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and intended for theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Reading (process), reading. The writer of a play is called a playwright. Pla ...

''Olympia'' by

Ferenc Molnár Ferenc Molnár ( , ; born Ferenc Neumann; 12 January 18781 April 1952), often anglicized as Franz Molnar, was a Hungarian-born author, stage-director, dramatist, and poet, widely regarded as Hungary’s most celebrated and controversial playw ...

. It stars

Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress. She was named by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest female stars of Classical Hollywood ci ...

Maurice Chevalier Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", "Louise", " Mimi", and "Thank Hea ...

, and

John Gavin John A. Gavin (born Juan Vincent Apablasa; April 8, 1931 – February 9, 2018) was an American actor who was the president of the Screen Actors Guild (1971–73), and the United States Ambassador to Mexico (1981–86). Among the films he appeared ...

, with

Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...

Milly Vitale Camilla "Milly" Vitale (16 July 1933 – 2 November 2006) was an Italian actress. She was the daughter of Riccardo Vitale (Rome Opera House Director, deceased 1979) and choreographer Natasha Shidlowski Vitale (deceased 1994). She appeared in n ...

Roberto Risso Roberto Risso (22 November 1925 – 16 November 2010) was a Swiss-born Italian film actor. Life and career Born Pietro Roberto Strub in Geneva, Risso joined the cinema industry when he was still a university student of architecture, playing a ...

Isabel Jeans Isabel Jeans (16 September 1891 – 4 September 1985) was an English stage and film actress known for her roles in several Alfred Hitchcock films and her portrayal of Aunt Alicia in the 1958 musical film '' Gigi''. Early life and career Bo ...

, and

Tullio Carminati Tullio Carminati (September 21, 1894 – February 26, 1971) was an Italian actor. He rose to fame in Italy and the United States initially as a silent film actor, starring in such films as '' The Duchess of Buffalo'' (1926), '' The Bat'' (1 ...

. The film is set at the turn of the 20th century and features lush

technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

photography of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and the countryside of Austria. The costumes and lighting were designed by

George Hoyningen-Huene Baron George Hoyningen-Huene (September 4, 1900 – September 12, 1968) was a fashion photographer of the 1920s and 1930s. He was born in the Russian Empire to Baltic German and American parents and spent his working life in France, England and t ...

and executed by Ella Bei of the Knize fashion house (Austria). In part because Loren was at odds with Curtiz's direction, Italian director

Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Sciuscià'' and ''Bicycle Thieves'' (honorary) ...

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 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

film ''

His Glorious Night ''His Glorious Night'' is a 1929 pre-Code American romance film directed by Lionel Barrymore and starring John Gilbert in his first released talkie. The film is based on the 1928 play ''Olympia'' by Ferenc Molnár. ''His Glorious Night'' has ...

''.

Plot

In 1907, a widowed Princess Olympia of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

has been banished from the Imperial Court to her late husband's country estate. The bored Princess spends her time improving her rifle marksmanship by using flowers, statues and the postman as her targets. When she tires of that, being an expert equestrienner as well as an expert

markswoman A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision shooting using projectile weapons (in modern days most commonly an accurized scoped long gun such as designated marksman rifle or a sniper rifle) to shoot at high-value targets at longer-th ...

, she rides a wild stallion to her hunting lodge. On the way she is thrown from her mount by the appearance of an automobile driven by a visiting American mining engineer Charlie Foster. She feigns injury to get to know Charlie better as she keeps her royal heritage a secret from him, for Charlie believes her a peasant. Treating her with his

first aid First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with either a minor or serious illness or injury, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery. It includes initial in ...

expertise, Charlie gives her his own pyjamas but mistakenly gives her a sleeping pill with a glass of wine that sends Olympia into a deep sleep. Waking in Charlie's pyjama top, but not the bottom, Olympia fears the worst has happened and flees back home where news as arrived that she is able to return to the Imperial Court in Vienna. Olympia is greeted by the news by her mother that she is to be married to Prince Ruprecht of

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

. She is also reunited with Charlie who has come to see her father Prince Philip about mining and refining

bauxite Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO(O ...

in the Empire. Her rival Countess Lina is determined to ruin Princess Olympia's life by informing the Imperial Chamberlain Count Sandor of Olympia's scandalous conduct with the American.

Cast

as Princess Olympia *

as Prince Philip *

as Charlie Foster *

as Countess Lina *

as Princess Eugénie *

as Albert *

as can-can girl * Carlo Hinterman as Prince Ruprecht *

as aide de camp *

Friedrich von Ledebur Friedrich Anton Maria Hubertus Bonifacius Graf von Ledebur-Wicheln ( – ) was an Austrian actor who was known for ''Moby Dick'' (1956), ''Alexander the Great'' (1955) and ''Slaughterhouse-Five'' (1972). Early life Ledebur was born in Nisko, ...

as Count Sandor *

Adrienne Gessner Adrienne Gessner (23 July 1896 – 23 June 1987) was an Austrian actress. Gessner appeared in over fifty film and television shows during her career, including the 1955 costume film '. Gessner appeared in a mixture of German and Austrian films dur ...

as Amelia

Production

The film was part of a three-picture deal, which Loren had, under contract with Paramount. It was also a co-production between Paramount and producers Ponti and Girosi. Filming started on June 1, 1959, in Vienna. John Gavin, who had been borrowed from

Universal-International Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

, 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 uring 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, Loren had looked worried and asked, "Do you really think so?" Gavin said, "The next thing I know Vittorio De Sica is turning up on set, at 2:00am every morning to give Sophia a few hours coaching before shooting started. Imagine! Drama classes at that hour! Still, I wouldn't have minded a little help myself. So I asked him and he said 'Don't change a thing. Everything you do is so American.' That sort of left me up in the air without a compass."

Reception

Gavin later called the film a "turkey" saying Loren playing a princess was "not what she does best."

References

External links