Sophia Loren's magnetic screen presence has enchanted audiences for years; her star power never dims as she delights and dazzles.
Despite her long list of impressive films, "Houseboat" stands out as a mediocre, family-friendly viewing. The 1958 production, directed by Melville Shavelson, also stars Golden Era leading man Carry Grant.
Loren plays Cinzia Zaccardi, the sheltered daughter of a famous Italian conductor. After climbing out of a window and landing in a boat, Cynthia finds herself at a street carnival, looking for adventure and romance. Instead, she meets a little boy named Robert (Charles Herbert) who has run away from his father, Tom Winters (Grant). Tom, an absentee dad, has returned from Europe after his wife dies to look after his three kids, who — for good reason — resent him. When Cinzia takes Robert home, Tom offers her a job as a maid to help him out with Robert and his siblings, David (Paul Petersen) and Elizabeth (Mimi Gibson). Bored and restless, Cinzia accepts. This marks the beginning of a series of mishaps and misadventures that infuriate Tom but bring Cinzia and the family closer together.
A romantic relationship between the handsome, uptight Tom and beautiful, vivacious Cinzia is predictably inevitable, but this does not dilute the film's comedic and cinematic qualities. Some of the film's more ridiculous events, such as the family's moving guest house being demolished by a train and resulting in them moving to a leaky houseboat, make it all the more endearing to watch. What does diminish the film's quality is the storyline of Cinzia, who escapes her father only to find herself in the hands of another father figure. She left because she was tired of being caged up, but instead found herself holed up and domesticated in a houseboat.
There is nothing wrong with a woman (or man) who chooses to stay home and raise kids — it is one of the most honorable professions, but it isn't the only one. For a 1950s film, this was not only blasé but representative of just how limited women's prospects were during this time.
Loren's star burns bright throughout the film, illuminating Grant's performance. Whereas Audrey Hepburn charmed audiences with her dainty femininity and Marilyn Monroe seduced viewers with her own particular brand of sex appeal, Loren captures them with her vivacious and enigmatic charisma. When portraying Cinzia, viewers can actually relate to the character. Loren brings a raw sensibility to her — one that does not feel carefully formulated to produce Hollywood appeal.
During the carnival scene, when Cinzia finds herself with Robert, she makes several attempts to get rid of him. She is not expectedly motherly, and her first instinct is to distance herself from him. At one point, she even tricks him into giving her his pizza, tapping on his shoulder, her voice lazed with melted sugar as she asks: "My friend, would you like me to show you how to eat that properly?"
Although Cinzia's child-like selfishness is off-putting at first, particularly since she was willing to let a child wander off on his own, it offers an element of believability to the character. Rather than take immediate responsibility, Cinzia, a sheltered adult child herself, grows up just a little within a few minutes to look after somebody other than herself. The most heartwarming moment on screen occurs when she grabs Robert for a dance, abandoning her handsome partner, and then carries him home — not as a mother figure, though this is likely what filmmakers wanted to insinuate, but as a decent human being.
Although Loren sounds monotone during certain scenes, the Academy Award-winning actress holds her own against Grant. Her character's bright thirst for life slowly removes Tom's seemingly permanent scowl. Grant's portrayal was, as to be expected, nearly impeccable. He manages to turn one off with his horrible, stiff parenting skills, and then win affection as he attempts to loosen up and become a better father to his children.
"Houseboat" is no cinematic masterpiece, and certainly neither Loren's nor Grant's greatest work, but it is a fun film to watch with family or while home alone.
Reach Columnist Agnessa Kasumyan here.
Annenberg Media