| It Happened in Athens | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Andrew Marton |
| Written by | László Vadnay |
| Produced by | James S. Elliott Robert L. Lippert |
| Starring | Jayne Mansfield Trax Colton Maria Xénia Nico Minardos Bob Mathias |
| Cinematography | Curt Courant |
| Edited by | Jodie Copelan |
| Music by | Manos Hatzidakis |
Production company | Associated Producers Inc (but credited to 20th Century Fox) |
| Distributed by | Twentieth Century-Fox |
Release date |
|
Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1.25 million |
| Box office | $1.05 million |
It Happened in Athens is a 1962 Americansportscomedy-drama film released by20th Century-Fox. It is directed byAndrew Marton and featuresJayne Mansfield, newcomerTrax Colton,Maria Xénia,Nico Minardos,Roger Browne in his debut, and Olympic championBob Mathias.
In 1896, it is announced the Olympic Games will be revived and played in Athens. Young shepherd, Spiridon Loues (Colton, in a fictionalized but sometimes accurate portrayal of water-carrierSpyridon Louis), decides to enter the 26-mile marathon. Once in Athens he meets Christina Gratsos (Kalogeropoulou) a young woman from his hometown who is now the personal maid to Greece's most famous actress, Eleni Costa (Mansfield). Eleni's lover, Lt. Alexi Vinardos (Minardos), is a powerful man in Greece and a respected runner. Though Spiridon arrived after the entry date, his persistence and athletic prowess so impress the Olympic officials and Coach Graham (Mathias), that he is admitted to compete in the race.
To promote herself, Eleni announces she'll marry the winner of the marathon, having faith that it will be her beloved Vinardos. Her proposal is heavily promoted in the press. However upon meeting Spiridon, Eleni pursues him romantically. Spiridon stays true to Christina, and tries to assuage her fear of being deserted for Eleni.
After starting the race in dead last, and accompanied most of the way by his small dog, Spiridon wins the race. Eleni has a change of heart and tells Spiridon to find Christina and marry her, stating "...she's your girl, not me". Spiridon tries to run to find Christina, but faints. He is revived two hours later and initially believes everything has been a dream. Christina finds Spiridon as he returns to the finishing line to remember his glory, and they share a kiss.
The project was originally announced by MGM in 1951 from a story byLaslo Vadney which had been turned into a script byEverett Freeman.Sidney Sheldon was to produce withRicardo Montalbán,John Hodiak orFernando Lamas to star.[1] It was intended to film in Greece.[2] However MGM did not proceed.
In 1960, it was announced20th Century-Fox had purchased the script from MGM and were going to make it, withRobert Wagner mentioned as a possible star. The title was nowAnd Seven From America, with the plot revolving around seven Americans who helped Spyridon Louis win the marathon.[3]Spyros Skouras of Fox announced the film would be one of three made in Greece by the studio, the others beingThe King Must Die andThermopylae (which becameThe 300 Spartans).[4]
The film was done under the API banner via producerRobert L. Lippert; API produced low budget films for Fox, although the budget ofIt Happened In Athens was high by API standards.[5] At one stageDean Stockwell was announced in the cast.[6]Juliet Prowse was considered for the female lead[7] but Fox decided to go with Jayne Mansfield instead.[8]
At one stage it was calledWinged Victory in Athens.[9]
Shot in the fall of 1960 in Greece, the film wasJayne Mansfield's last film with Fox before her career setback to low-budget British and Europeanmelodramas andcomedies. Although Mansfield appears in only a supporting role, she received top billing.
NewcomerTrax Colton starred in the film. He had been discovered in a drug store and only made one film beforehand – a brief appearance inMarriage-Go-Round.[10]
As a publicity promotion for Colton, Fox cast the unknown actor in the lead and billed him directly below sex goddess Mansfield. During the filming of the feature, Mansfield and Colton had a brief love affair, unknown at the time.
BothNico Minardos andBob Mathias were added as supporting characters at the last minute when the appearances of both Lt. Alexi and Coach Graham were lengthened to become more thanbit players. Less experienced actors had initially been cast, but when Fox demanded the roles be lengthened, the more experienced Minardos and Mathias were brought in as replacements. Unknowns were cast in smaller and less meaningful parts that rounded out the cast.
Though thought of as one of Mansfield's latter low-budget films,It Happened in Athens was actually made on a large budget and was produced inCinemaScope andDeLuxe color. Like several other Fox films during the early 1960s, the feature was made to bring quick profit to the studio, which was going broke due to the rising costs and expanding production schedule of the expensive historical epicCleopatra.
The end of the final race in the stadium was shot on 23 October 1960 with over 50,000 extras.[11]
Upon release,It Happened in Athens was greeted with negative reviews and was abox office disappointment, making roughly $1 million in ticket sales on a budget of nearly $1.3 million. Not long after the film's failure, Fox released both Colton and Mansfield from their studio contracts.
Both performers were released due to their box office popularity. Though Mansfield was a huge box office star in the late-1950s, her movie career had faded by this point. Colton, an unknown, was released from the studio without having had a fair chance at superstardom. According to Fox, Mansfield had not worked with them full-time due to her repeatedpregnancies and they did not have enough time to promote the severely unknown Colton, who lacked faith in his own, somewhat unwanted, career in the movies.
