After watching It Started in Naples (1960), I am unsure as to whether it is stereotypically Italian or something authentic.  As to the latter of those two extremes, there is the location shooting, which captures the picturesque views of the Italian Mediterranean coastline.  This Catholic also appreciated the religious culture on display, one steeped in Church traditions.  On the other hand, there is a lot of people yelling at one another, something I believe Americans think is the only way in which people in the title city’s country communicate.  Further, the film does not even take place in Naples, but rather on the island of Capri.  Granted, it is nearby, but what person living in the United States cares about such distinctions.  In this day and age, I can tell you it is even fewer than 1960.  Thus, as usual, it will take me talking through the movie to make sense of it.

It does make some sense to say It Started in Naples.  That is where we meet Philadelphia lawyer Michael “Mike” Hamilton (Clark Gable).  The first shot is him arriving by train in the Italian city he has not visited since his days fighting in World War II.  He has come to Europe to settle the affairs of his recently deceased, and long-time estranged, brother.  The estranged part is because he had absconded from America one day without notice, never returning to the wife and family he left.  The person who greets Mike at the station is a fellow law practitioner, Mario Vitale (Vittorio De Sica), who launches into a number of surprising developments.  Despite Mike’s desire to conclude affairs as quickly as possible and return to his country to be married, he is shocked to learn that his brother had a separate wife and family in Italy.  Indeed, the philandering sibling had a son, named Nando (Carlo Angeletti), who is now eight.  Not wanting to leave a child in the lurch, Mike determines to meet the boy.  Doing so proves tricky, though, as his current guardian and aunt, Lucia Curcio (Sophia Loren), is involved in a local festa honoring the Madonna in Chains.  This is an Italian title for the Virgin Mary of which I was not aware before this film, but I digress.  Mike makes brief contact with Lucia before she is swept away.  Out of sight of Mike, Mario informs Lucia of the newcomer’s identity and how he plans on meddling in Nando’s affairs.  To Mike, Mario says that they must go to the Isle of Capri where Lucia lives in order to make headway for Nando.  Mike does so reluctantly, and his phone call to his fiancée in Philadelphia does not go well.  In the morning, he locates the so-called “palace” in which she says she dwells, being guided there by Nando, who Mike finds smoking cigarettes.  Not only is Nando a tough street urchin, but Lucia has a much humbler subsistence than she initially purported.  Upon being alerted to Mike’s presence, Lucia does much to keep his mind off of anything but Nando.  The conversation goes nowhere, and he ends up back at his hotel once more trying to explain to his fiancée the predicament in which he finds himself.  Because the town in which he is staying never seems to sleep, to his intended wife’s annoyance, he decides to lean into it and go out for a drink.  The bar into which he ducks features Lucia doing a song-and-dance routine.  Seeing this as another opportunity to conduct his affairs, he invites her to his hotel.  When she once again tries to give him the runaround, he threatens legal action.  The problem he encounters is that Nando is not keen on leaving.  Despite Lucia cleaning her nephew up and sending him to school as Mike believes should happen, Nando does so reluctantly while remaining concerned for his aunt.  Thus, Mike decides to try and sway the boy to his way of thinking, starting by shooting off the fireworks that his brother had been selling before his death.  It works, and Mike and Nando begin spending more time with one another.  The person who is being neglected in this scenario is Mike’s intended back in Philadelphia.  Her discontent does not last long, however, and they break off their engagement during an angry, and final, phone call.  News of the dissolution of Mike’s marriage prospects reaches Lucia through Mario, who also tells Mike that Lucia is interested in him.  This is how the romance between Lucia and Mike begins, and they spend the next few days staying out to all hours of the night.  Yet, it becomes apparent to her that he is doing this simply for fun.  His attitude is underscored during yet another festival to Our Lady (and you will get no complaints from this Catholic) when Nando suggests to Mike that the American marry Lucia.  Mike tries to explain to the boy that the adult relationship is a daliance, but Nando runs away angry.  Mike’s search for Nando brings him to Lucia, and the American rehashes his position to her.  Despite her playing coy, it is evident that this has an emotional impact on her.  As such, it comes down to the day in court.  During the hearing, Mario appears to be arguing in Italian in favor of Lucia keeping custody of Nando.  Mike says some words of his own, but he realizes that his attempts at defending himself are foolish.  Lucia wins and Mike is about to leave for the United States.  Lucia, though, tries to get Nando to go with Mike, saying that the boy will get in the way of her pursuing a new relationship.  Instead, Nando convinces Mike to stay in Italy, and we close with Mike bringing Nando home to Capri.

With the way allegiances switch in the closing minutes of It Started in Naples, it becomes a little confusing as to what is happening.  I understood that Lucia is trying to do what is best with Nando, but it also seemed to me that her and Mike are being stubborn.  Then again, that is film for you.  What is also a little unclear is the Catholic culture I mentioned in the introduction and synopsis.  The simple fact is that not all people who call themselves Catholic follow Church teaching.  This is easy enough to show with Lucia.  She is the centerpiece of the Madonna in Chains festival, and in the later one, she goes simply to pray for her friends.  This is how she described her participation, not me injecting my Faith into my analysis.  At the same time, she dances and sings in skimpy outfits into the wee hours of the morning in a cigarette smoke-filled nightclub.  One would not commonly associate such behavior with somebody who is serious about being a Christian.  Then again, this also belies stereotypes I hold about being a follower of God.  Indeed, one might accuse me of being a Pharisee.  I bring this up because of a talk I recently heard from Father Mike Schmitz that relates how people in Jesus’ day reacted poorly to his choice of companions.  The way Father put it, Jesus hung out with the kids smoking behind the football stadium.  Father is right, of course.  After all, Jesus says in Luke 5:32, “I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”  As for the movie, I do not wish to cast the relationship between Lucia and Mike in such a light.  If anything, he is trying to convert everyone to Americanism.  My point is that we do not know the heart of those we perceive in sin, and that we should try to view them as Christ does.

It may be only a glimpse, but some of this attitude can be seen in It Started in Naples with the relationship between Mike and Nando.  The older man seeks the best for the boy, and there is something to be said for such a disposition.  This does not solve my conundrum as to the film’s authenticity, but it is something.