Actually half decent, though with a fatal flaw at its center: John Kerr's limp, indifferent performance as an Italian (!) on the run from the law for committing a murder. He and Mel Ferrer, playing his protective brother, do not look even remotely Italian! Kerr especially is as American as American can be. He always seems like he's trying to screw up the courage to ask the prettiest cheerleader to the big dance. It's impossible to overlook and makes it very difficult to get into the story. Kerr is supposed to be the rebel, the hothead, the time bomb, and it just does not come across at all.
Ferrer does not fare much better. He seems hollow, computerized, though he briefly comes to life in a couple scenes with glowing Pier Angeli. Ferrer is the dramatic equivalent of a kite on a not terribly windy day. He has practically no weight. Theodore Bikel's earthy, lusty turn as a transient grape picker is like a life preserver around the film. He resuscitates the picture and gets it back on its feet again after an uninspired opening.
"The Vintage" (those two words get said a lot throughout and take things uncomfortably close to self-parody at times) really benefits from a soaring score and that epic CinemaScope look. The shots of those freshly picked, vibrantly purple grapes are absolutely mouth watering. The tragic ending really could've been memorable had the movie been cast with better skilled, more dynamic actors.
Ferrer does not fare much better. He seems hollow, computerized, though he briefly comes to life in a couple scenes with glowing Pier Angeli. Ferrer is the dramatic equivalent of a kite on a not terribly windy day. He has practically no weight. Theodore Bikel's earthy, lusty turn as a transient grape picker is like a life preserver around the film. He resuscitates the picture and gets it back on its feet again after an uninspired opening.
"The Vintage" (those two words get said a lot throughout and take things uncomfortably close to self-parody at times) really benefits from a soaring score and that epic CinemaScope look. The shots of those freshly picked, vibrantly purple grapes are absolutely mouth watering. The tragic ending really could've been memorable had the movie been cast with better skilled, more dynamic actors.