Why I Love Suzanne Pleshette in Rome Adventure

Welcome back to another Wednesdays in Rome blog post! Today we're diving into Rome Adventure, a soapy and melodramatic movie starring Suzanne Pleshette and Troy Donahue as a couple of hot people spending time together in Rome. 

gif by me

This is such a great, soapy movie, but beyond the romance and the intrigue, it's also a great portrait of a young woman who wants to live and is bold enough to go to Rome on her own to achieve this. 

via Cinema Sips

Rome Adventure is about a young librarian named Prudence who wants to live life, after being fired from the all girls boarding school she worked at for sharing a romance novel with the students. So, like the character in the book, she decides to go to Rome. There, she meets Troy Donahue (which...I just don't see it) and falls in love. 

via derekwinnert

But the main point is this: she's in Rome because she wants to be there, and she's unafraid to be there on her own. She's happy to play tourist by herself and goes out to get herself a job at the American Book Shop (owned by an ex-pat named Constance Ford, because that's the type of name you get in these movies).

Throughout Rome Adventure, Prudence is happy to just meander. And once she falls in love with Troy Donahue's Don Porter, all the better: she has a travelling companion who's willing to play tourist with her over the summer holidays in Northern Italy. 

via happythoughtsdarling

If you love sumptuous location shooting, Rome Adventure is the movie for you. I've never been particularly big on travelling to Rome, but this movie sealed the deal for me. I'd recommend losing yourself on the Reelstreets article for all the filming locations. I need to stay at the Fischburg Castle! 

There are soapy moments, and a case of 'leading lady walking in at the wrong moment and mistaking what she sees' and a great villainous turn for Angie Dickenson, so if you love a good melodrama in the style of Susan Slade (which I enjoyed in spite of Troy Donahue), here's another glowing recommendation. The ending seems a little rushed but it's perfectly romantic, but again: it's not Prudence's aim to fall in love; it's just a happy coincidence. 

Have you ever seen Rome Adventure? Let me know what you thought in the comments, and come back next Wednesday for our next Roman adventure!