Jessica (1962)

I love this movie so much

That was an excellent one.

Excellent, a Must See

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

This movie is filmed in Forza D'Agro, Sicily which just happens to be my Grandmothers town, still as gorgeous today as it was back then!! Perched on a mountain very close to the sea. My great grandfather is cast as an extra in the background and appears a few times, i never met him so its great to see him! So you might call me bias, but to me it has beautiful vistas, beautiful actors majestic panoramas and these type of movies are like snippets in time and are nostalgic, lite hearted and fun to watch..... Sublime old film. Angie Dickinson is at her most beautiful in this film, at least I think so anyway. P.S I found a DVD copy of this at scooter movies.

I loved this movie when I saw it as a young man in the 60's and wish it was available today. Angie Dickinson was at her best and a relatively new face to the screen and most men were just beginning to fall in love with her. There is good humor in it and the plot is quite believable, especially if you have insight into the Italian way of looking at things in small villages especially, it is their whole world especially at this point in history; only 18 years after WW2 and much of Italy hadn't seen modernity particularly in small hamlets. A very entertaining movie with a good representation of actors of the day Agnes Moorehead, Maurice Chevalier, and of course Angie. I would love to have a copy.

This comedy of 1962 directed by veteran Jean Negulesco was a typical product of the era. Hollywood loved to do films abroad because of the ridiculous costs in the post war Europe. The studios got great natural scenery at a fraction of what they would have had to spend at home. "Jessica" seems to be a film earmarked to play at New York's Radio City Music Hall, that showed first run movies at the time it made its debut. It had all the elements going for it.As a film watched today, "Jessica" seems a bit out of place. Maybe at the time the idea of an American young woman, so modern, in contrast with the Sicilian folks, might have given the film company responsible for it, a plausible plot to go ahead. According to the credits, this film is based on a novel we have not read, so it is impossible to compare the text to the finished product.Maurice Chevalier was asked to play the wise old priest, Antonio. He uses his charm the same way he did in other films before. The young and beautiful Angie Dickinson appears in the main role. Gabrielle Ferzetti, an excellent Italian leading man didn't get to do much. Even old pros as Agnes Moorehead and Marcel Dalio are seen in supporting roles.

Of course my vote comes from when I first saw the movie, but I couldn't agree more with Diane. Is there any way to get that movie on DVD or VHS? Who is in charge of creating them? To whom should one write to spur them on to do it? Anyhow, this is one of the best movies I saw as a preteen. Hilarious. Good conversation material and fun for someone young to view. Have always wanted a Vespa after that movie. Anyhow, thanks Diane, for your comments. No wonder I have never been able to find the movie in video rental stores! Well, let me know if it ever does come out. And now for just a general comment to the website: Curious why one needs to have ten lines of comment. Didn't your English teachers always tell you to be succinct and get as much packed into a paragraph as you possibly could? Something that could easily be said in three sentences loses meaning and impact when it is dragged out into twelve sentences, for instance. Very curious.