| A Tale of Five Cities | |
| Caption: | US theatrical poster |
| Director: | Romolo Marcellini Emil E. Reinert Wolfgang Staudte Montgomery Tully Géza von Cziffra Irma von Cube |
| Producer: | Ermanno Donati Boris Morros Alexander Paal Paul Pantaleen Maurice J. Wilson |
| Starring: | Bonar Colleano Gina Lollobrigida Eva Bartok |
| Music: | Hans May |
| Editing: | Maurice Rootes |
| Runtime: | 86 minutes |
| Country: | United Kingdom Italy Austria France West Germany |
| Language: | English Italian |
A Tale of Five Cities (Italian: '''Passaporto per l'oriente''' and released as A Tale of Five Women in the US) is a 1951 British-Italian international co-production comedy drama film directed by Romolo Marcellini, Emil E. Reinert, Wolfgang Staudte, Montgomery Tully, Irma von Cube and Géza von Cziffra.[1] The five cities cited in the title are: Rome, Paris, Berlin, London, and Vienna.[2]
Englishman Bob Mitchell leaves his longtime home in America to enlist in the Royal Air Force. After the war has ended, a drunken accident in a Berlin nightclub results in his losing his memory.
As he has no identity tags, doctors mistakenly repatriate him to America, where magazine writer Lesley learns of his condition. The only evidence of his past that he has is a set of five bank notes from different countries, each signed with a woman’s name.
Lesley’s magazine sponsors a trip for him to visit the five countries where the bank notes were issued, hoping he'll learn crucial details of his identity.
Shooting took place at the Riverside Studios and Walton Studios as well as on location around the various cities. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Don Russell, Jean d'Eaubonne, Fritz Jüptner-Jonstorff and Walter Kutz.[3]
Kine Weekly said "Omnibus romantic comedy melodrama. Prodigious and original, it accompanies an amnesia victim, formerly an officer in the RAF on an identity-seeking mission to various European capitals, sponsored by an American magazine. First-rate British offering."[4]
Monthly Film Bulletin said "The story, stretching coincidence as it does, is highly improbable, and the script fragmentary. A Tale of Five Cities, too, has failed to make as much use as might be expected of the opportunities provided by the varied locations. As a whole, indeed, the film suffers from trying to cover too much ground, and to include too many varied stories. Much of it is superficial and unoriginal. But there are some pleasant humorous touches and, although many of the players seem inexperienced, Bonar Colleano does adequately as the bewildered young man."[5]
Leslie Halliwell said: "Tedious pattern drama remarkable only for its then untried cast."[6]
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "mediocre", writing: "Some authentic atmosphere, otherwise a misfire."[7]