Like "West Side Story", this is a 1961 film adaptation of a successful Broadway play which was itself based on "Romeo and Juliet". However, in this instance, it uses only the basic premise of the Shakespearean play and the love story actually takes a backseat to the politicking. In this Cold War satire starring, written by and directed by Peter Ustinov, a tiny European country named Concordia holds the casting vote in a crucial United Nations vote. Its wily President attempts to play both ends against the middle by setting up the son of the Soviet ambassador with the daughter of the US ambassador.
This is a fun, low-key film with some nice commentary on US-Soviet relations. Although the satire is not as biting as in other films, there is little in it which would not be applicable today if the names were changed. It suffers from some pacing problems though. Ustinov is superb and seldom less than hilarious as the President of Concordia. He gave himself all the best material! The sequence in which he runs back and forth between the US and Soviet embassies where he is plied with drink and gets increasing drunk is certainly the best part of the film. However, aside from Peter Jones, the rest of the cast is not particularly impressive. They are all just adequate, really. Sandra Dee is very sweet as Juliet but not much more than that. Ustinov's "Spartacus" co-star John Gavin was good in that film as Julius Caesar but I don't think that he was a good enough actor to play the larger role of Igor Romanoff. They have little in the way of chemistry, unfortunately.
This is a fun, low-key film with some nice commentary on US-Soviet relations. Although the satire is not as biting as in other films, there is little in it which would not be applicable today if the names were changed. It suffers from some pacing problems though. Ustinov is superb and seldom less than hilarious as the President of Concordia. He gave himself all the best material! The sequence in which he runs back and forth between the US and Soviet embassies where he is plied with drink and gets increasing drunk is certainly the best part of the film. However, aside from Peter Jones, the rest of the cast is not particularly impressive. They are all just adequate, really. Sandra Dee is very sweet as Juliet but not much more than that. Ustinov's "Spartacus" co-star John Gavin was good in that film as Julius Caesar but I don't think that he was a good enough actor to play the larger role of Igor Romanoff. They have little in the way of chemistry, unfortunately.