cmdahoust I have heard of this film for a number of years, but finally had to opportunity to see it via DVR. The title of this film has always intrigued me and made me curious about this film. I really enjoy movies from the 60's & 70's and this one was no exception. As other's have mentioned it's a great time capsule from the 1960's and for baby boomers it will take you back. Yes, it is dated but holds up well. Some of the things that stood out to me were the circumstances the characters got themselves into that would not happen today (the man loosing his wife for a few days - i.e. no cell phones). Having traveled to Europe several times, I enjoyed this film because it brought me back to places I have seen and makes me want to go back again sometime for some new experiences. The remark by the character played by Peggy Cass at the beginning of the tour about Europe being so different than the U.S. reminded me of John Travolta in Pulp Fiction comparing Europe to the U.S. 'They have the same things we have, only their things are a little different. ..~ Chow.

calvinnme This was a big studio attempt to tap into the counter-culture movement. It attempts to be satiric, ironic, quirky, and off-beat. And it succeeds much of the time. The direction, editing, and sound can be witty, playing with the subject matter, situations, and setting. The comedy doesn't always work, the pace drags in places, and the characters get tedious at times riding their respective hobby-horses. But there's a lot of fun on the way, and a decent love story between antipathies, played by Suzanne Pleshette, and Ian McShane. You'll also see a lot of faces more familiar to you from TV of the era and succeeding decades. In the end, the movie does manage not to be bound by conventions of Hollywood storytelling. To know what I mean, you'll have to watch it all the way through yourself. Just know some of these 60s counter-culture films worked and some didn't. Those that didn't usually had one foot in the production code era and one foot in the cultural revolution that had not yet hit the suburbs yet, with a script seeming to be at war with itself. This is one film that worked and did not have these problems.

jacobs-greenwood ... but no movie stars in key roles, unless you (graciously) count Murray Hamilton, Norman Fell or Mildred Natwick. There are cameos by Robert Vaughn, John Cassavetes, Ben Gazzara, Vittorio De Sica and Anita Ekberg, but the main roles were played by yet-to-be (TV) stars - like Ian McShane and Suzanne Pleshette - and other somewhat unknown (at least today) character actors like Sandy Baron, Michael Constantine, Pamela Britton, Reva Rose, Marty Ingels and Peggy Cass.The story is about a busload of Americans tourists in Europe that get a surface-level road & boat tour of many of the continent's highlights in less than 3 weeks time. Charlie Cartwright (McShane) is their guide, who is necessarily part parent, nanny, psychiatrist, coach, friend and even lover to his charges, a job he's apparently done for more than a dozen years. Kind of like a sailor with a girl in every port, charming Charlie's off-duty exploits are frequently interrupted by various problems that crop up during this, his 225th tour.Of the tourists, Suzanne Pleshette as Samantha Perkins gets most of the screen time, and the film's title could have been "Prudence returns to Rome all grown up" after her 'Adventure' with Troy Donahue in 1962. She being the only young single woman on the bus, Charlie flirts with her throughout but doesn't make any progress until late in the movie, stereotypically after getting her drunk. In fact, the filmmakers exploit quite a few stereotypes throughout the movie, though none offensively even when available.Even at only 98 minutes, it drags a bit when Donovan - who wrote the title song, which refers to the routine nature of the tour - sings "Lord of the Reedy River" (catch it on youtube, if you'd like) at a youth hostel. All in all it's a fairly harmless romp and there are some sweet scenes, but probably too few humorous ones to recommend it very highly.

preppy-3 Comedy about a group of Americans on a 18 day (I think) tour of Europe.Unlike some previous posters, I've never been to Europe, so watching this film was not like reliving old memories. On its own, this was a very pleasant movie. The script is not bad and the jokes are pretty funny. There are some real groaners too, but the good ones far outweigh them. And the cast is full of talented character actors giving their all.The movie basically concentrates on a romance between the tour guide Charlie Cartwright (Ian McShane) and tourist Samantha Perkins (Suzanne Pleshette). Usually romance subplots in comedies are the kiss of death, but this one works. McShane is very handsome and Pleshette incredibly beautiful; the dialogue is well-written; they both give good performances and they have great chemistry with each other. It also is a good excuse to show all the romantic places in Europe (this was shot on location). And the romance has a surprising, realistic ending.Another point of interest is an 18 year old girl Shelly (Hilary Thompson) meeting a guy her age Bo (Luke Halpin). Their fashions are VERY 60s and the dialoge is SO old-fashioned...but it's all interesting. Also a visit to Canaby Street in London (which was the place to be in the late 60s) is visually fascinating. Also Murray Hamilton's one liners throughout the movie are frequently hilarious.They visit London, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Venice and end in Rome. I saw a widescreen print on TV in strong color and the movie just looked beautiful. Sometime it was like seeing a travelogue but an INTERESTING travelogue.It's not a great movie but a pleasant one. You could do worse! Recommended.