"Come September" (1961)

This is basically your standard cute '60s romcom.  But it has Bobby Darin in it, which adds a little extra flair :-)

Wealthy American playboy-businessman Robert Talbot (Rock Hudson) is having an unexpectedly bad time of it.  He decided to return to his vacation home, an Italian villa, in the summertime instead of in September, as is his habit.  Once there, he discovers that his trusted majordomo Maurice (Walter Slezak) does not keep the villa in impeccable condition during the rest of the year when Robert is in America -- he turns it into a hotel!  

In fact, Robert's home is currently inhabited by a group of American teenage girls, chaperoned by a formidable matron named Margaret (Brenda de Banzie).  Margaret is determined to keep her charges untouched by man or beast while she shepherds them about Italy.  But camped outside the hotel is a group of the most terrible beasts of all: teenage boys.

To make matters worse, Robert's Italian girlfriend Lisa Fellini (Gina Lollobrigida) has gotten tired of being his main squeeze for only part of the year.  Since Robert has shown no intention of marrying her, she's gotten herself engaged to another man.  Of course, Robert is sure he can win her back, if he can just get her alone at his villa for a while.

Robert finds himself feeling protective of these seemingly innocent American girls, and does his best to keep those beastly boys away from them.  But all his pseudo-fatherly advice does little to convince the girls to keep a clear head around the boys -- and it does far less than one drunken pass at Sandy (Sandra Dee) made by Tony (Bobby Darin).  The girls realize the guys might not have the most honorable intentions, right about the same time that the boys realize they're going to have to learn to be deserving of those nice girls.

Everything turns out fine in the end, of course.  You can rely on '60s romcoms to deliver oddball misunderstandings and kooky situations galore, but always always always with a happy ending.  

Come September tends to be considered Bobby Darin's screen debut.  Although he had appeared in a couple of small television roles and played himself in Pepe (1960), this was the first time he played an actual role on the big screen.  His character, Tony, is kind of a stinker for most of the film, pestering Robert, always trying to get Sandy alone, and acting as ringleader for the pack of boys.  But he plays Tony as having a lot of intelligence that he's hiding under his mischievous grin, and you get the feeling that, once he decides being serious is worth it, he's going to be just as dedicated to that as he has been to hijinks.

Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee fell in love while shooting this movie and were married soon after.  Their off-screen romance boosted the film's popularity when it was released.  

Of course, this is Rock Hudson and Gina Lollobrigida's movie, not Bobby and Sandy's -- and they make a fantastic pair!  I always think Rock Hudson is at his best when he is playing "exasperated but trying really hard to be gentlemanly about something," and that's basically his character's mood for this entire film, so I get a big kick out of it.

Come September was actually shot in Italy; most of the location shots were done in Portofino.  I think that really helps to lend the film an idyllic, Old World grace that studio shots and matte paintings wouldn't have provided so well.

Is this movie family friendly?  If your kids aren't old enough to pick up on the string of double-entendres in Bobby Darin's song "Multiplication," and aren't worldly wise enough to understand why Lisa is trying to sneak into Robert's room at night, sure.  No cussing, and no actual smut, though Lollobrigida does wear some low-cut dresses and we see her in lingerie.

This review is my contribution to the Screen Debuts and Last Hurrahs blogathon hosted by the Classic Movie Blog Association.  My first time participating in an event as an official CMBA member!