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

Director:

Mel Stuart

Writer:

David Shaw (writer)

Release Date:

24 April 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Europe sent us Dutch Elm Disease, German Measles and Russian Roulette. We sent them World-Wind Vacation tour #225. Now we're even.

Plot:

A group of travelers from the United States race through seven countries in 18 days. Included in the group are Samantha Perkins...

Plot Keywords:

Family Relationships | Pub | Kleptomaniac | Country Name In Title | Baseball

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 2 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Suzanne Pleshette	...	Samantha Perkins
Ian McShane	...	Charlie Cartwright
Mildred Natwick	...	Jenny Grant
Murray Hamilton	...	Fred Ferguson
Sandy Baron	...	John Marino
Michael Constantine	...	Jack Harmon
Norman Fell	...	Harve Blakely
Peggy Cass	...	Edna Ferguson
Marty Ingels	...	Bert Greenfield
Pamela Britton	...	Freda
Reva Rose	...	Irma Blakely
Aubrey Morris	...	Harry Dix
Hilary Thompson	...	Shelly Ferguson (as Hilarie Thompson)
Luke Halpin	...	Bo
Mario Carotenuto	...	Giuseppe

Runtime:

Argentina:105 min | USA:99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | UK:A (original rating) | Canada:F (Ontario) | USA:G (edited for re-rating) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | UK:PG (video rating) | Argentina:Atp | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:M (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

Company:

Wolper Pictures

Trivia:

During one of the interludes that Shelly Ferguson (Hilary Thompson) spends with the free-spirited Bo (Luke Halpin), she admires the slogan "Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came" that he has displayed on his motorcycle. That phrase is also the title of the next (and last) movie in which their co-star, Pamela Britton, appeared before her untimely death in 1974.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where he first meets Hilarie Thompson, Luke Halpin is shown wearing regular street clothes and shoes. When he mounts his motorcycle, the camera cuts away to someone wearing brown riding boots, kicking the motorcycle to start. Then as he drives away, he's back in his original footwear.

Quotes:

Fred Ferguson: [angrily frustrated, to a clueless Italian cobbler] Tan! Y'understand tan?

Movie Connections:

Followed by If It's Tuesday, It Still Must Be Belgium (1987) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Row Row Your Boat

Why is it just so good?

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.