At 63 minutes long, the American release of this Italian filmed drama seems eternal in trying to get and keep one's attention. Jennifer Jones and Montgomery Clift are cast as an American wife on a holiday and her Italian lover who are at a Rome train station wrapping up their affair. Jones previously tried to leave a "Dear John" letter for the emotional Clift who won't let her go, and when her nephew (a young Richard Beymer) shows up to say goodbye, it is apparent that there is a possibility of a scandal brewing. There seems to be footage missing that explains what lead to the romance and why it is so hard for the two to say goodbye. Jones plays a married wife and mother who seems to have no reason for infidelity, and while her attraction to Clift is clear, this absence of details is hard to make the viewer be really interested. There are some nice twists and turns in the story which do briefly increase interest, and the scene where Jones helps a sick pregnant woman with three children is very touching. The city of Rome itself seems to be a character, overcrowded with people in Jones and Clift's way in their desire for privacy. The scene in the police station (afer the two are caught trespassing on a train) is fraught with tension as the time clicks towards the departure of Jones' train, but the ultimate farewell of the two is less than dramatically intriguing.

This is one of the most surprising movies I've seen in a very, very long time. The film's director, Vittorio DeSica is one of my very favorites and I try to watch everything of his I can. His other films such as THE CHILDREN ARE WATCHING US, UMBERTO D. and MIRACLE IN MILAN are masterpieces, so I naturally thought STAZIONE TERMINI would at least be a good film. Instead, it was absolutely horrible in practically every way. I think the main problem was that in this film, DeSica had abandoned the type film that made him so famous, the so-called "Italian Neorealist" style. In the movies I listed above, DeSica used non-actors and the films excelled due to their realism and down to earth style. However, here, DeSica was "cursed" with a larger budget and the talents of David O. Selznick. While Selznick was no doubt a talented man, his style and type of films he made were in no way like those of the neorealist school. Plus, being a Selnick production, the film had to star Selznick's live-in and perennial leading lady, Jennifer Jones. This was a bad choice, but it got even worse when the Hollywood-minded Selznick ALSO cast Montgomery Clift as Miss Jones' lover. These famous actors were all wrong for DeSica's style, but it got even worse because Clift was cast as an Italian professor--yet he didn't even have a trace of an accent!!! This was apparently an anti-neorealistic movie, as all attempts to film "normal" people went out the window. Apparently the big bucks that came with a Selznick production were just too tempting to DeSica and he sold his soul.

Now if the problem had only been the casting decisions, I still could have lived with the film. Sure, I would have been disappointed, but there still could have been a good movie hiding under all the Hollywood glitz. Unfortunately, the casting was possibly the least problem with this awful film. I can't recall another mainstream film with dialog this bad or syrupy or as poorly written. I expected something artistic or meaningful but it delivered something like an Ed Wood flick--it was THAT bad. The repulsive gushing and mushiness of the dialog is practically stomach-turning, as Clift and Jones slobber all over each other and whine about their love. Sure, a tiny bit of this might have been okay, but to extend this self-indulgent claptrap for practically the length of the film was unforgivable. Also, some amazingly stupid dialog was in the film about how Clift loved Jones so much he wanted to make her his wife and beat her regularly to show he loved her. In fact, later when he was angry about her spurning his love, he back handed her---wow, now THAT'S a great way to show her you love her!! And Jones, being a total low self-esteem weasel, actually apologizes to him later after this altercation!! Another problem, and this one shocked me, was that at times the film had poor cinematography--with fuzzy or out of focus shots that made it look like the film was made by a rookie. I really think that the film looked as if DeSica just gave up and wanted to get the whole mess finished as quickly as possible. By the way, even the music was bad--way too loud and way too much at times.

By the way, if you care about the plot (and I don't really think it matters),Jones has been having an affair with Clift. However, she has a daughter and husband back in America and is naturally torn. Clift comes to the train station and whines and begs her to stay and she is like a yo-yo in her decisions--one minute swearing to stay and the next declaring she'll go. Enough already--just GO!! In many ways, it's like an Italian version of BRIEF ENCOUNTER--just not nearly as well made.

Apparently I am not the only one who hated this film. When it was shown in the same form I watched it, the audiences hated it and Selznick "re-tooled" the film and trimmed it significantly. I did not watch this newer version, but based on what he had to work with, the only way it would be significantly improved is if it were trimmed to the length of a movie trailer! Aside from tons of cash and alcohol, I doubt if there is anything that can induced me to watch the other version (INDISCRETION OF AN American WIFE)--my disgust for this movie is THAT great!! Sappy, poorly directed and cast as well as having some of the worst dialog in history--avoid this movie unless you are a masochist.

Monty Clift and Elizabeth Taylor lit up the screen in A Place in the Sun with their performances. My belief is that David O. Selznick thought that with his wife Jennifer Jones opposite Clift, some of the magic from that film would rub off here.

But there's no magic in Stazione Termini. I saw a butchered version that reached the American cinema. Now it's possible that what now would be called a director's cut would have been better, but I doubt it. Jennifer Jones is fine as the American wife who is leaving Rome after an affair with a local played by Monty Clift. But basically I sat through 63 minutes of one long goodbye.

Up to a few minutes ago I had seen at one point every Montgomery Clift movie except this one. I wish I hadn't seen this one. Poor Monty Clift is about as Italian as Lech Walesa. I think Monty knows this one was going to be a stinkeroo for him and it shows. At one point director Vittorio DeSica explains that Clift has an American mom to explain the lack of Italian accent. Why didn't he cast someone like Rossano Brazzi in the part, God only knows.

I'd guess that Mr. Selznick had something to do with it. David O. Selznick was not terribly rational when it came to his wife's career. Maybe in an American story Jones and Clift might have set some sparks off. But not here.