United States

This wild and wacky romantic comedy, co-written and directed by two-time Oscar winner Billy Wilder, is in the hilarious tradition of his other classic comedies which include The Seven Year Itch, Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, One, Two, Three and The Fortune Cookie and it is, said the Sunday Express."a very funny film". Jack Lemmon is in sparkling comic form as a stuffy American tycoon who arrives on the island of Ischia to collect the body of his father who has died in a car crash. He discovers that his father's long time mistress also died in the accident - and her daughter, attractively played by Juliet Mills, has also turned up on the scene. And, as comic complications caused by Italian red tape escalate, Lemmon and Mills fall in love... The star performances are perfect. "Lemmon's comic talent shine out" said the Evening Standard and, noted Variety, Juliet Mills was "a happy choice, endowing the part with warmth and understanding". There is quite excellent support from Clive Revill, as a know-it all hotel manager and a memorable appearance by Edward Andrews as a visitor from the United States State Department. Brilliantly scripted, finely directed, Avanti! is, said the Daily Mirror, "A most enjoyable movie... a polished, sophisticated romp".