{ "id": "epqbr8rr58", "slug": "three-coins-in-the-fountain", "title": "Three Coins in the Fountain", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": 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"https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Three Coins in the Fountain is a 1954 20th Century-Fox romantic comedy-drama directed by Jean Negulesco, starring Clifton Webb, Dorothy McGuire, Jean Peters, Louis Jourdan and Maggie McNamara, about three American secretaries in Rome; it won Oscars for color cinematography and its title song.", "snippet": "Three Coins in the Fountain is a 1954 20th Century-Fox romantic comedy-drama directed by Jean Negulesco, starring Clifton Webb, Dorothy McGuire, Jean Peters, Louis Jourdan and Maggie McNamara, about three American secretaries in Rome; it won Oscars for color cinematography and its title song.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1950s", "markdown": "# Three Coins in the Fountain\n\n**Three Coins in the Fountain** is a 1954 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Jean Negulesco, in which three American women working as secretaries in Rome toss coins into the [Trevi Fountain](https://www.edgepedia.org/trevi-fountain) and each finds romance. It was produced by Sol C. Siegel for Twentieth Century-Fox, from a novel by John H. Secondari with a screenplay by John Patrick, and it was among the biggest grossers of its year.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/51378-THREE-COINS-IN-THE-FOUNTAIN?cxt=filmography) • [2](https://www.hometheaterforum.com/three-coins-in-the-fountain-blu-ray-review/)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Release | New York opening 20 May 1954; wide theatrical release June 2, 1954; running time about 101–102 minutes[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/51378-THREE-COINS-IN-THE-FOUNTAIN?cxt=filmography) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/three_coins_in_the_fountain) |\n| Principal cast | Clifton Webb, Dorothy McGuire, Jean Peters, Louis Jourdan, Maggie McNamara, with Rossano Brazzi[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/51378-THREE-COINS-IN-THE-FOUNTAIN?cxt=filmography) |\n| Technical distinction | Shot in Technicolor and CinemaScope, largely on location in Rome, Venice and Merano; described by the Harvard Film Archive as the first CinemaScope film shot entirely on location[4](https://harvardfilmarchive.org/calendar/three-coins-in-the-fountain-2016-03) |\n| Academy Awards | Won Best Cinematography (Color), Milton Krasner, and Best Song, \"Three Coins in the Fountain\" by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn; nominated for Best Picture[5](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1955) |\n| Source | John H. Secondari's novel *Coins in the Fountain*; working titles were *We Believe in Love* and *There's No Place Like Rome*[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/51378-THREE-COINS-IN-THE-FOUNTAIN?cxt=filmography) • [6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/536424/three-coins-in-the-fountain-1954-three-coins-in-the-fountain) |\n| Title song | Sung uncredited by Frank Sinatra over the opening montage, and a hit for The Four Aces[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/51378-THREE-COINS-IN-THE-FOUNTAIN?cxt=filmography) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot and characters\n\nThe story follows three American secretaries sharing an apartment in Rome. Miss Frances ([Dorothy McGuire](https://www.edgepedia.org/dorothy-mcguire)) has worked for fifteen years as secretary to the expatriate American writer John Frederick Shadwell ([Clifton Webb](https://www.edgepedia.org/clifton-webb)) and has secretly loved him for most of that time. Anita Hutchins ([Jean Peters](https://www.edgepedia.org/jean-peters)), about to leave her post at the US Distribution Agency claiming she is going home to marry, is in fact in love with the Italian interpreter Giorgio (Rossano Brazzi), a relationship their employer forbids. Newcomer Maria Williams (Maggie McNamara) catches the eye of the womanizing aristocrat Prince Dino di Cessi (Louis Jourdan).[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/51378-THREE-COINS-IN-THE-FOUNTAIN?cxt=filmography) • [6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/536424/three-coins-in-the-fountain-1954-three-coins-in-the-fountain) • [7](https://www.on-magazine.co.uk/arts/film-reviews/three-coins-in-the-fountain/)\n\nEarly in the film the three women throw coins into the Trevi Fountain, drawing on the legend that throwing a coin into the fountain will ensure a return to Rome; in the film the second coin means romance and a third, marriage.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/536424/three-coins-in-the-fountain-1954-three-coins-in-the-fountain) • [8](https://www.reelstreets.com/films/three-coins-in-the-fountain/) Frances asks for another year of happiness, Maria hopes to stay in Rome at least a year, and Anita refrains from tossing a coin since she is about to move back to the United States.[9](https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3t96798m) Along the way the plot includes misunderstandings, a potentially terminal illness, and forbidden love, and the women reunite with their suitors at the fountain at the end of the film.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/536424/three-coins-in-the-fountain-1954-three-coins-in-the-fountain) • [9](https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3t96798m)\n\n## Production\n\nPer the studio's publicity material, most of the picture was filmed on location in Italy, in Rome, Venice, and the village of Merano, while certain interior scenes were instead filmed at the Twentieth Century-Fox studio in Los Angeles, where lighting conditions were superior.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/51378-THREE-COINS-IN-THE-FOUNTAIN?cxt=filmography) TCM's account states interiors were done at Cinecitta Film Studios in Rome.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/536424/three-coins-in-the-fountain-1954-three-coins-in-the-fountain) Director Negulesco and producer Siegel were advised by Fox executives not to shoot in [Technicolor](https://www.edgepedia.org/technicolor) and [CinemaScope](https://www.edgepedia.org/cinemascope) in Italy, which they felt could not technically support the formats; the studio instead brought Fox's entire Technicolor/CinemaScope crew to Italy.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/536424/three-coins-in-the-fountain-1954-three-coins-in-the-fountain)\n\nThe Harvard Film Archive notes that it is almost programmatic in its documentation of monuments, from the fountains of Rome in the opening sequence to outlying sites such as the Via Appia Antica and the [Villa d'Este](https://www.edgepedia.org/villa-deste) at Tivoli, and calls it the 1950s American equivalent of Piranesi's Roman views.[4](https://harvardfilmarchive.org/calendar/three-coins-in-the-fountain-2016-03) According to a March 1953 news item, the picture was originally scheduled to be shot in black and white, with [Barbara Stanwyck](https://www.edgepedia.org/barbara-stanwyck), Gene Tierney, Vittorio Gassman and [Jeanne Crain](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeanne-crain) set to co-star with Clifton Webb and Louis Jourdan.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/51378-THREE-COINS-IN-THE-FOUNTAIN?cxt=filmography)\n\n## Reception and awards\n\nAt the 27th Academy Awards, held March 30, 1955, the film won Best Cinematography (Color) for Milton Krasner and Best Song for \"Three Coins in the Fountain,\" music by [Jule Styne](https://www.edgepedia.org/jule-styne) and lyrics by Sammy Cahn; it was nominated for Best Motion Picture, losing to *On the Waterfront*.[5](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1955) The Harvard Film Archive records that Krasner won his only Academy Award for this film.[4](https://harvardfilmarchive.org/calendar/three-coins-in-the-fountain-2016-03)\n\nContemporary reviews admired the visuals while dismissing the story. Bosley Crowther of *The New York Times* called the plot \"entirely contrived\" with \"logic minus zero,\" writing that \"the whole thing is as slick as Cellophane.\" John McCarten in *The New Yorker* enjoyed the CinemaScope vistas of Rome but said he \"can't say that I was entranced by the accompanying story.\" Variety praised its \"warmth, humor, a rich dose of romance and almost incredible pictorial appeal.\"[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/536424/three-coins-in-the-fountain-1954-three-coins-in-the-fountain) • [10](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1954/05/29/view-of-rome) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/three_coins_in_the_fountain) Retrospective assessments have been similarly mixed: on Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 60% Tomatometer from 10 reviews, and the Classic Film and TV Café describes it as now seeming \"lightweight, sluggish, and a little condescending to its three female protagonists.\"[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/three_coins_in_the_fountain) • [11](https://www.classicfilmtvcafe.com/2022/06/three-coin-film-review.html?m=1) Critics frequently compare it with [William Wyler](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-wyler)'s *Roman Holiday* (1953), released the previous year in the same city, which reviewers generally judge the better film.[7](https://www.on-magazine.co.uk/arts/film-reviews/three-coins-in-the-fountain/) • [4](https://harvardfilmarchive.org/calendar/three-coins-in-the-fountain-2016-03)\n\nThe film's structure drew particular comment: each woman's love story is presented almost as a stand-alone tale, with Anita's subplot set near the start and then largely set aside until the stories link up at the end.[11](https://www.classicfilmtvcafe.com/2022/06/three-coin-film-review.html?m=1)\n\n## Legacy\n\nThe film popularized the coin-toss tradition at the Trevi Fountain; the European Film Academy records that the tradition became popular with this film.[12](https://www.europeanfilmacademy.org/activity/trevi-fountain-rome-italy/) The title song became a popular standard, and [Louis Jourdan](https://www.edgepedia.org/louis-jourdan)'s performance in the film helped him win the part of Gaston in *Gigi* (1958).[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/536424/three-coins-in-the-fountain-1954-three-coins-in-the-fountain) • [7](https://www.on-magazine.co.uk/arts/film-reviews/three-coins-in-the-fountain/)\n\nThe premise has been remade repeatedly. Negulesco himself directed *The Pleasure Seekers* (1964), a version of Secondari's book set in Madrid and starring [Ann-Margret](https://www.edgepedia.org/ann-margret), Carol Lynley and [Gene Tierney](https://www.edgepedia.org/gene-tierney); [Yvonne Craig](https://www.edgepedia.org/yvonne-craig) starred in an unsold 1970 television pilot; and Loni Anderson starred in the 1990 made-for-television film *Coins in the Fountain*.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/51378-THREE-COINS-IN-THE-FOUNTAIN?cxt=filmography) • [11](https://www.classicfilmtvcafe.com/2022/06/three-coin-film-review.html?m=1) The film was also an early entry in the \"Hollywood on the Tiber\" era, roughly 1951 to 1965, when American studios shot frequently in Rome for financial reasons.[13](https://www.christian-sauve.com/2020/06/three-coins-in-a-fountain-1954/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Three Coins in the Fountain (1954), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/51378-THREE-COINS-IN-THE-FOUNTAIN?cxt=filmography)\n2. [Three Coins in the Fountain Blu-ray Review, Home Theater Forum](https://www.hometheaterforum.com/three-coins-in-the-fountain-blu-ray-review/)\n3. [Three Coins in the Fountain, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/three_coins_in_the_fountain)\n4. [Three Coins in the Fountain, Harvard Film Archive](https://harvardfilmarchive.org/calendar/three-coins-in-the-fountain-2016-03)\n5. [The 27th Academy Awards (1955), Oscars.org](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1955)\n6. [Three Coins in the Fountain (1954), by Lorraine LoBianco, Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/articles/536424/three-coins-in-the-fountain-1954-three-coins-in-the-fountain)\n7. [Three Coins in the Fountain (1954) – Film Review, On Magazine](https://www.on-magazine.co.uk/arts/film-reviews/three-coins-in-the-fountain/)\n8. [Three Coins in the Fountain, Reelstreets](https://www.reelstreets.com/films/three-coins-in-the-fountain/)\n9. [All the World's a Studio: The Internationalization of Hollywood Production, eScholarship](https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3t96798m)\n10. [Views of Rome, The New Yorker, May 22, 1954](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1954/05/29/view-of-rome)\n11. [Three Coins in the Fountain: Lookin' for Love, Classic Film and TV Café](https://www.classicfilmtvcafe.com/2022/06/three-coin-film-review.html?m=1)\n12. [Trevi Fountain (Rome, Italy), European Film Academy](https://www.europeanfilmacademy.org/activity/trevi-fountain-rome-italy/)\n13. [Three Coins in a Fountain (1954), review by Christian Sauvé](https://www.christian-sauve.com/2020/06/three-coins-in-a-fountain-1954/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of the 1950s*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/three-coins-in-the-fountain", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/three-coins-in-the-fountain.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Three Coins in the Fountain\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/three-coins-in-the-fountain. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Three Coins in the Fountain](https://www.edgepedia.org/three-coins-in-the-fountain)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/three-coins-in-the-fountain](https://www.edgepedia.org/three-coins-in-the-fountain). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Three Coins in the Fountain\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/three-coins-in-the-fountain. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Three Coins in the Fountain is a 1954 20th Century-Fox romantic comedy-drama directed by Jean Negulesco, starring Clifton Webb, Dorothy McGuire, Jean Peters, Louis Jourdan and Maggie McNamara, about three American secretaries in Rome; it won Oscars for color cinematography and its title song." }