The following title is being released on Blu-ray and DVD on June 21st by Olive Films.
After many years of watching actor Ian McShane as gruff and abrasive characters on the big and small screen, I never considered that the performer had previously enjoyed success in roles as a young and charming ladies man. Such is the case in If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium, an amiable, late 60s effort that mixes humor with romance. It’s not exactly a classic, but it works well as a breezy comedy, and as an interesting snapshot of the era.
The concept itself is amusing enough. McShane stars as Charlie, a smooth-talking guide for a travel company called World-Wind Vacations. His job entails guiding a large group of American visitors through a hectic 18 day, 9 country bus trip through Europe. Of course, despite his best efforts, the trip is filled with numerous hiccups and goofy mishaps as they make their way along the many roads.
Early on, there are plenty of eccentric and somewhat trippy, psychedelic patterns to the way the feature is cut. Some of the rapid editing borders on being strobe-like in effect. It’s a bit jarring, at least initially. However, as the story progresses and the individual characters become clearer, this unusual technique calms down and the cutting becomes more traditional.
The focus of the film on the budding relationship between Charlie and Samantha (Suzanne Pleshette), a young and successful businesswoman from Minnesota. Much of the humor comes from the two challenging each other. She’s wise to his ways as he encourages them to spend at certain overpriced establishments (where he garners a commission). Samantha questions his motives and often gets in the way of his romantic encounters with girlfriends at different stops along the tour. Naturally, the more they butt heads, the closer they become. There’s definitely good rapport and strong onscreen chemistry between the two leads.
As for the other subplots, they are more overtly comedic. These gags can be hit-or-miss at times. One photographer out to take pictures of every beautiful woman he encounters comes off today as more creepy than amusing. And there’s a teenage romance subplot that pales in comparison to the central relationship. Still, the movie made me chuckle more than I anticipated. Highlights include a couple (played by Norman Fell and Reva Rose) who are separated when the wife gets on the wrong tour bus. Numerous attempts are made to retrieve her each time the groups cross paths on the road… most fail amusingly.
There’s another, very strange character named Harry (Aubrey Morris) who brings an empty suitcase, slowly filling it over the course of the trip with various stolen goods. And there’s also a gruff father (Murray Hamilton) constantly complaining about the tour and how different things are in Europe – his visit with an Italian shoemaker (played by The Bicycle Thief director Vittorio De Sica) is one of the film’s funniest scenes. The movie also has great time emphasizing the chaotic and rushed nature of the journey (it was based on an article about an actual European tour that’s just as crazed). Characters are typically exhausted, exasperated or hung over as they race from location to location.
Additionally, there are plenty of cameos as well. Singer Donovan appears and performs multiple songs for the film. Robert Vaughn, John Cassavetes, Ben Gazzara and Joan Collins all make extremely brief but entertaining appearances. And most interestingly, the movie doesn’t offer a typical Hollywood ending. Charlie is a bit of a cad and the lead character, at lease to some degree, is made to pay for his actions. It’s this unique aspect that helps the production stand out a little from others of its ilk.
Finally, it’s a lot of fun to see snapshots of the various countries as they appear. Some of the various locations include England, France, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Italy and Switzerland. They are beautifully photographed and look great in high definition. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium. This out-of-print effort is a decent effort and its fans should be very impressed by the upgraded presentation.