Three Coins in the Fountain: Lookin' for Love

Louis Jourdan and Maggie McNamara.

Time has not been kind to Three Coins in the Fountain, a 1954 blockbuster that earned a Best Picture Oscar nomination. What may have once seemed fresh, colorful, and romantic now comes across as lightweight, sluggish, and a little condescending to its three female protagonists. Of course, the Rome scenery is still spectacular and the title song, as crooned by Frank Sinatra, has become something of a standard. Incidentally, the cinematography and the song each won Oscars.

Stars Maggie McNamara (The Moon Is Blue), Jean Peters, and Dorothy McGuire play secretaries who room together in the city of love. Maria (McNamara) has just arrived and quickly become enamored with a handsome, playboy prince (Louis Jourdan). Anita (Peters), who has fallen into a rut and decided to return to the States, suddenly realizes she and a good-looking interpreter (Rossano Brazzi) have romantic feelings toward each other. Finally, there's Frances (McGuire), who has been working for a reclusive author (Clifton Webb) for 15 years--hiding her love for him behind a strictly professional veneer.

Jean Peters and Maggie McNamara--framed for Cinemascope.

Each woman must overcome significant obstacles en route to finding true love. This is where Three Coins in the Fountain becomes borderline condescending, implying that love is necessary for a single woman to find happiness. It would have been more effective--and certainly more realistic--if one of the three experienced an unhappy ending. Flash forward just six years later to Where the Boys Are, in which four female college students spend spring break in Fort Lauderdale, and you'll find a more potent ending.

Three Coins in the Fountain must also overcome an oddly-structured screenplay in which each woman's love story is presented as almost a stand-alone tale. For example, Anita's subplot takes place near the start of the film and then is virtually forgotten when the narrative shifts to Maria and then Frances. The separate stories link up hastily at the end, but, by then, you may be trying to remember the subplot with Anita.

The Rome locations are striking, though they were used more effectively in the previous year's Roman Holiday. Also, for a film that won an Oscar for cinematography, it's jarring to see several scenes utilizing grainy rear-screen projections.

The Loni Anderson remake.

Still, there is no denying that Three Coins struck a chord with post-war audiences looking for love fantasies. The premise has also proven to be a reliable one. Three Coins director Jean Negulesco helmed a 1964 remake, The Pleasure Seekers, which was set in Madrid and starred Ann-Margret, Carol Lynley, Pamela Tiffin, and Gene Tierney. Yvonne Craig starred in an unsold 1970 pilot for a Three Coins in the Fountain TV series. And Loni Anderson starred in 1990 made-for-TV version called Coins in the Fountain.