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This was a big studio attempt to tap into the counter-culture movement. It attempts to be satiric, ironic, quirky, and off-beat. And it succeeds much of the time. The direction, editing, and sound can be witty, playing with the subject matter, situations, and setting. The comedy doesn't always work, the pace drags in places, and the characters get tedious at times riding their respective hobby-horses. But there's a lot of fun on the way, and a decent love story between antipathies, played by Suzanne Pleshette, and Ian McShane. You'll also see a lot of faces more familiar to you from TV of the era and succeeding decades. In the end, the movie does manage not to be bound by conventions of Hollywood storytelling. To know what I mean, you'll have to watch it all the way through yourself. Just know some of these 60s counter-culture films worked and some didn't. Those that didn't usually had one foot in the production code era and one foot in the cultural revolution that had not yet hit the suburbs yet, with a script seeming to be at war with itself. This is one film that worked and did not have these problems.

Comedy about a group of Americans on a 18 day (I think) tour of Europe.

Unlike some previous posters, I've never been to Europe, so watching this film was not like reliving old memories. On its own, this was a very pleasant movie. The script is not bad and the jokes are pretty funny. There are some real groaners too, but the good ones far outweigh them. And the cast is full of talented character actors giving their all.

The movie basically concentrates on a romance between the tour guide Charlie Cartwright (Ian McShane) and tourist Samantha Perkins (Suzanne Pleshette). Usually romance subplots in comedies are the kiss of death, but this one works. McShane is very handsome and Pleshette incredibly beautiful; the dialogue is well-written; they both give good performances and they have great chemistry with each other. It also is a good excuse to show all the romantic places in Europe (this was shot on location). And the romance has a surprising, realistic ending.

Another point of interest is an 18 year old girl Shelly (Hilary Thompson) meeting a guy her age Bo (Luke Halpin). Their fashions are VERY 60s and the dialoge is SO old-fashioned...but it's all interesting. Also a visit to Canaby Street in London (which was the place to be in the late 60s) is visually fascinating. Also Murray Hamilton's one liners throughout the movie are frequently hilarious.

They visit London, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Venice and end in Rome. I saw a widescreen print on TV in strong color and the movie just looked beautiful. Sometime it was like seeing a travelogue but an INTERESTING travelogue.

It's not a great movie but a pleasant one. You could do worse! Recommended.

Suzanne Pleshette stars and looks great here. Lots of good character actors, including Michael Constantine. One thing I notice, like other 1960's movies, this one doesn't mind basing gags on the concept of pretty young women and lecherous older guys who would like to chase them.

Taking the movie as a whole, it's worth watching once: for Suzanne, the European scenery, the sometimes funny scenes, and a few affecting ones. Murray Hamilton stands out as especially good in this movie. I bought this on DVD; to me, it is more of a catch-it-on-cable type movie, in terms of value.

I was nine when I first saw this film, when it first came out, and loved it ever since. Funny even with it's vintage 60's songs, and an appearance of pop star Donavan, it hasn't dated at all. In fact it's more like a time capsule of it's time, which was 1969.

The film is about a bunch of Americans taking a european tour is ten days. We have a large assortment of characters played by some expert character actors. There's the WWII veteran played by Michael (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) Constantine who has taking the tour because it goes to the same places he went to in the army. Then there is the typical ugly American (Murray Hamilton) who was forced to come on this tour by his wife(Peggy Cass), he hates every minute of it till Rome where.. no you got to see it for yourself. There is a poor husband, Norman (Mr. Roper) Fell who gets separated from his wife (Reva Rose) when she gets on the wrong tour bus and tries to find a way to get her back. Then there is Miss Sam (Suzanne Pleshette) who has decided to take a vacation from her fiancé, to get her head straight, but then becomes the object of tour guide Charlie(Ian McShane)'s advances. Also wonderful in the film is Sandy Baron, Mildred Natwick, Pamila Britton, Marty Ingles, and Aubrey Morris.

It was directed by Mel Stuart who followed this up with the classic, "Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Company". I ended up seeing this film three times in the theaters.It gets better with every viewing.

If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969)

A complete throwaway, and delightful, entertainment, with a charming Suzanne Pleshette as the sporadic leading lady in a romantic comedy set all over Europe. As the tour bus glides its way through the usual hot spots, in a typical (to this day) whirlwind race through major capitals from London to Rome, we see a playful satire of down home American types out of their element. It has funny moments, and some good comic actors, but it's almost thrown together and the story, whatever its short laughs, is pretty thin stuff.

But then, a lot of comedies have no desire to be great films, and don't even worry about plot so much as finding some way under heaven to get as many funny situations in an hour and a half as possible. Pleshette I think is meant to play a kind of simpler American Audrey Hepburn, and she really does have a spark and sincerity on screen that works. She falls in love with the tour guide, a sharply dressed British fellow who seems more 1963 than 1969 (picture John Lennon by 1969) played by Ian McShane, an appealing but easily caricatured type. The rest of the cast is only present for gags and one liners, including a few very cameo cameos that get a lot of attention but are hardly worth watching the film for.

The one exception, though, is a complete run through of Donovan singing "Lord of the Reedy River" in his faint precious tenor, alone on his guitar, surrounded by a room full of strung out kids dressed in perfect hippie clothes, a poster of Che on the wall. The movie makers knew this was a small coup, Donovan being at the time still a famous remnant of the early folk and folk rock movement (and a famous part of the Bob Dylan tour of England in 1965). A crude youtube version (with subtitles) is here: http://youtu.be/7M4D2B18cz8.

Another reviewer notes that this is a truly "retro" film and what they really mean is that this isn't retro at all but it's the real deal, 1969 in 1969, and is a kind of capsule of some characteristic aspects of the time. It's a frivolous version of those scenes, from the exaggerated Italian extended family in Venice to the dancing to Swiss traditional music, but it does show a common liberation of the time, including a painfully sexist amateur photographer who photographs girls in miniskirts in each and every country as a kind of countdown. Of course, the director makes the movie equally sexist in the process, gawking at each of the models (victims?) as it goes. Harmless fun for some, cheesy demeaning distraction for others, and typical of many 1960s movies either way.

Overall it's fun and funny and a joyful film, rather upbeat in more ways than just the humor. It's not New Hollywood, there is no socially cutting edge here, and no filming innovations (aside from some playful fast edits). But it tours the viewer through some wonderful, if well known, parts of Western Europe and has some laughs. And it has a beautifully unexpected ending, very poignant after all. Thank you Suzanne Pleshette.

The film is not a cinematic gem, but a bit of enjoyable 60's fluff.

It rolls along at a pace and doesn't let up, much like the tour party visiting the European cities. Unfortunately there is not too much about the actual places, but that's not why we are watching this film.

The ensemble of actors all work well, although I'm not too sure about the cameo roles. For example, blink and you'll miss Senta Berger, Joan Collins, John Cassavetes, Ben Gazarra and so on, but then again, that's the fun perhaps.. As the for the main parts, I thought Suzanne Pleshette was the best, trying to resist the attention of the tour guide (Ian McShane), who has a "girl in every port" but others actors were worthy contributors too.

If you want a 60's film then this just about hits most bases, with clothes (Carnaby Street), Music (including Donovan for one tune), light heartedness, a few hippies (sharing a smoke), love interest (without nudity), old vehicles etc. Your choice. Me? I enjoyed the ride/tour, and was exactly what I was looking for.

"if It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium" is a comedy film about an American tourist group traveling to see Europe. And when one says Europe, it means trying to cram as many countries and cities as possible into however many days. In this case, it's nine countries in 18 days. And, it's by bus most of the time, with a short cruise on the Rhine River in Germany and a gondola ride in Venice, Italy.

None of the people knew anyone else, but they all come together to take their dream vacation. Some saved for years for the trip. Some have different stories. One is a veteran returning nearly 15 years after the war and hoping to look up a woman he had met during the war. One guy is a kleptomaniac, or souvenir collector. Another will look up distant relatives in Italy. Suzanne Pleshette plays Samantha Perkins who's on the trip to find out if she really loves the guy back home enough to marry him. And the tour guide is a playboy, Charlie Cartwright, who knows his stuff.

The film could almost serve as a travel docu-drama with a light touch. The comedy is there but ever so lightly. To call it a romance is a stretch. This was probably of interest in the age when Americans dreamed about such travel. It was a type of craze for a couple decades in the mid-20th century. Not that Americans ever stopped touring, but the crammed tour group type of travel gradually phased down to tour groups forming in the states and then going to two or three countries in 10 days to two weeks. Many others began taking in just one country at a time and traveling alone or as couples or families to visit and appreciate one culture a little better - and enjoy it more.

In modern times, specialty tours and cruises are the most fun and best way to travel. I've been to several areas of China on a three-week hiking tour, been to the Orient twice, took pilgrimages to eastern Europe and the Middle East, and cruised the Yangtse River, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and to Alaska. And, I saw and traveled most of Western Europe while serving 2 ½ years in the U.S. Army.

This film has quite a good cast. It has a smattering of humor here and there, but nothing very funny and no exceptional acting. The best thing about it is the occasional good scenery and locales. Those who enjoy travel may enjoy it some. But well into the 21st century now, many more probably won't find it very interesting.

While not a laugh-out-loud comedy, "If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium" is a humorous, affectionate take on group travel that will resonate with anyone who has been on a European bus tour. Ian McShane is the British guide for World Wind Tours Number 225, which will sweep through nine countries in eighteen days. McShane's American tourists include such comedic talents as Norman Fell, Marty Ingels, Reva Rose, Peggy Cass, Pamela Britton, and Sandy Baron. Although not well known for comedy, Murray Hamilton, Michael Constantine, and Mildred Natwick are spot-on funny as well and fill out the bus-load of stereotypes. Murray Hamilton stands out as the congenital cynic who was dragged away from his comfy couch for the trip. Hamilton's expressions and delivery capture the feelings of every male who has submitted to his wife's desire for a cultural experience in a foreign land.

The photography by Vilis Lapenieks captures the beauty of a Europe that flits by faster than the group can either absorb or appreciate. Strangely enough, only the Marty Ingels character, who is obsessed with photographing beautiful women to inspire jealousy among his male friends back home, appears to carry a camera. Predictably, a romantic liaison develops between tourist Suzanne Pleshette, who is as lovely as ever, and guide McShane. The Pleshette-McShane relationship, however, shines in contrast to the bloodless attraction between teens Hilary Thompson and Luke Halpin, who had better chemistry with dolphins. However, when the movie hits its target, it is engaging and oddly nostalgic, which the wistful title tune by Donovan underscores. For many, a quick glimpse of European wonders is a once in a lifetime experience whose memories must endure, and McShane emphasizes to Pleshette that tourists like her get an enormous return for their money.

Unfortunately, younger viewers may not react to the satire and sharp observations, because the film is firmly set in the 1960's. Veterans of World War II are increasingly rare and few make trips back to the battlefields. Hotels no longer monogram their towels for sticky fingered guests. Carnaby Street is no longer a mecca for mod fashion, and inoculations are unnecessary for European trips. However, anyone who has crossed the pond will recognize that Rome will never be a place to rent a car, American franchises abound in European cities, and yodeling is still an acquired taste. "If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium" is a time capsule for those who want to relive or catch a glimpse of European travel before the EU, the euro, and the proliferation of the English language homogenized the continent and stole some of the fun away. With a bit of nostalgia, some talented comedians, and director Mel Stuart's pacing, which is nearly as fast as the tour bus, the film is gentle fun and above average entertainment.

If nothing else, IF IT'S TUESDAY, THIS MUST BE BELGIUM serves as a nice travelogue for any armchair traveler to enjoy with a glass of wine (or beer, if that's your taste!) It's a funny, uncomplicated look at a bevy of assorted American tourists doing a quick tour of several foreign countries--and the various humorous situations stemming from just such a tour.

Funniest bit has one of them (Reva Rose) getting on the wrong tour bus and spending the rest of the film trying to catch up to her husband. SUZANNE PLESHETTE attracts the attention of tour guide IAN McSHANE, so there's love interest going on amid the comical situations.

Among the other tourists are MILDRED NATWICK, MURRAY HAMILTON and PEGGY CASS. It's all in good fun and entertaining enough whether you've been on such a trip or not.

Trivia note: The N.Y. Times noted that it was appropriate for this one to wind up at Radio City Music Hall during the height of the summer season, since that's where most tired tourists went to see a show in New York.

This film is quite dated and not funny. And looking at the beautiful stannary is not enough.

This film was actually an outgrowth from a story on the TV show "60 Minutes" which followed a high-speed tour through tourist highlights in Europe. The humor holds up very well, and the film now provides a wonderful chance to see some marvelous character actors from the mid-1960's back when they were still in their prime.

Sketch-like comedy with mod trappings has a group of griping American tourists (including Murray Hamilton, Norman Fell and Mildred Natwick) taking in the sights of Great Britian and Europe by bus, each displaying his or her own (irritating) idiosyncrasies. Crass picture filled with characters one would hope to avoid in this lifetime, although Suzanne Pleshette's beauty is a visual compensation. The jokes are obvious, and director Mel Stuart can't wring any fresh laughs out of them--although he does manage to shoehorn into this scenario everyone from John Cassavetes to pop singer Donovan! Wears thin quickly. Remade as a television movie in 1987. *1/2 from ****

What makes this 1969 movie so entertaining is the collection of character actors who are given an opportunity to showcase their talents. Lots of little stories about a group of American tourist who are essentially barnstorming their way through Europe on a tour bus make up the plot. Each one of them has some special experience in one of their many tour stops.

This is one of those movies that can be watched over and over and never gets old. It is doubtful that a film like this could be made now because there just doesn't seem to be the same kind of character actors today who could appear and deliver in small scenes like the performers in this movie do.

As you can see, others - not many others, granted, but others - liked this movie. I'll leave it to you to figure out why.

It's true there are some fine comedians here, like Peggy Cass and Norman Fell. But they aren't given anything interesting to do. Cass's character only writes postcards, and with each new city, remarks on how it is spelled in the local language. That's not enough to create a funny character. Fell has no more to work with.

The other characters have no more to them, and so no more chance to be funny or interesting.

In general, the jokes are lame, and there are the usual ethnic stereotypes.

This sort of rapid bus excursion through Europe, which still exists today, could provide all sorts of humor. But you don't get it here.

What a shame.

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The one thing I will say for this movie is that, since it was shot in various European locations in the late 1960s, it does give you a chance to see certain tourist sites like Venice as they once existed but now, overrun with tourists, can no longer be seen.

Other than that, it seems hard to believe that a major studio like MGM could have released something that looks so underdone.

Even though I was born a couple of decades after this movie was released, I wanted to watch it when it played on TV because it was given a perfect 5/5 rating by my local newspaper's TV listings. When I tuned in, I was even more excited when I found out that it was a David Wolper and Mel Stuart collaboration because I really loved 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.' It's a shame that 'If It's Tuesday This Must Be Belgium' is not available on DVD. Even though it was made about 30 years ago, the misadventures of the ensemble cast are as funny as ever. The fine balance between the witty humor and acerbic banter in this movie is something that is rare in movies today. The only movies that come close are a few of Wes Anderson's (Rushmore, Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic), but instead of being faux retro, 'If It's Tuesday This Must Be Belgium' really is retro. It shows all of Europe's fabled landmarks in the tongue-and-cheek manner that you can't get from any movie unless it really was made in 1969. I liked the part when the group was at a cheese market in Amsterdam and the tour guide says, "There's an auction of gouda cheeses and edam cheeses. And pretty good-a edam cheeses they are." That is like so corny it's funny. After watching this movie, I actually did want to take a European bus tour! But the best thing about this movie is its great cast, particularly the beautiful Suzanne Pleshette and the devilishly handsome Ian McShane.

An all-star cast of 1960s comedians embark on a guided tour to see 9 European countries in 18 days. A very attractive "pre-Bob" Suzanne Plechette is the focus of a young tour guide (and the film), who sees the successful American tourist as his ultimate amorous challenge. Through many very funny situations involving the colorful cast, the two leads eventually fall in love. At the end of the trip Suzanne must choose between champagne and caviar in her metropolitan US home or cheese with cheap wine with a sincere, but common man in Europe. What would Leona do?

This lighthearted entertainment certainly reflects the times it was filmed in (1969). American tourists had rightfully earned a certain "reputation" regarding their adventures in Europe (including the affairs of American servicemen in WWII). I was put off more by the constant negative remarks from the Suzanne Plechette character. She acted like a total snob and alienated herself from the other tour members (and the audience) with her superior attitude. I think that not even Bob Newhart (as the bumbling psychiatrist) is man enough for this over-the-top emancipated "woman". This major flaw overshadows an otherwise very pleasant film.

I have no idea. But I know that I first saw that movie as a child, shortly after it came out, and never stopped loving it. I think the best word to describe the entire film is "colorful". The cast is, the characters are, the cinematography is, the script is. I bought a VHS copy a few years back and every 6 months or so, I just have to pop it in, jump into bed with my wife and a bowl of popcorn and enjoy it again. The movie hasn't aged well at all but as another reviewer said, it's a pure time capsule of 1969 and that in itself is a great positive attribute.

1. Beautiful scenery 2. Girls in mini skirts 3. Suzanne Pleashette. Otherwise not funny. Ian McShane is annoying and unattractive . The rest of tourists are a bunch of whiny twits.

Well when I last saw this one I was wearing Green check trousers and an Orange nylon jumper. Got to be at least 25 years. Ouch. But this one has worn rather better than me.

From memory I was expecting a sort of American Carry On movie - and I suppose this isn't a bad comparison. But the jokes are still funny - quite sharp infact at times. The acting isn't too OTT - no Kenneth Williams mugging here - and the scenery of an as yet unspoilt Europe was a nice reminder of what Europe used to be like.

Yes - the plot is pretty 'souffle' (light, sags in the middle) - but Ian McShane holds it together. Infact , both me and the wife were at a loss as to why I.M. never made it mega-big. He had a lot going for him back then, and he's aged well.

Worth a watch - should bring back some memories for any who first got to know Europe on a coach tour (Wallace Arnold as in my case).

I've been waiting for years for this gem to come out on DVD. Now I have my own copy and I still love this film. One of the many reasons I love it is that the year it was released (1970) I took almost the same tour; we also hit Paris, France. It's quite accurate and I love the humor. You can't put American tourists in one category. They are as varied as all Americans are. Taking a speed tour of Europe can be exhausting, but oh, the memories. Most will return on a more relaxed itinerary. What a great cast too! I agreed with most ALL the above reviews save the negative ones. Pleshette's character was not snobby, nor a complainer. She was friendly to the other tourists. Although many complained, by the end of the film a good time was had by all the tourists. I would've enjoyed traveling with this cast of tourists, but not with anyone who thought them boorish. I highly recommend this terrific little classic to anyone, tourist or homebody.