MovieChat Forums > Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell (1969) Discussion > Mamma Mia Similarity

Mamma Mia Similarity

posted 16 years ago by d-clegg
9 replies | jump to latest

I haven't seen it yet but the plot for Mamma Mia sounds very much like Mrs Campbell. Has anybody seen both?

Yes - and the plot is stolen almost completely from "Buona Sera Mrs Campbell", and the poster for the original stage show is highly similar to "Muriel's Wedding" which you may remember was full of Abba music.

[–] rocksteady8389 16 years ago

Does anyone know if anyone connected to Mamma Mia (producers, writers, etc?) have admitted any connection to Buona Sera Mrs Campbell? It's pretty sickening how blatantly they ripped off one of my all-time favorite movies and made it so....tepid.

[–] hillfox20 15 years ago

As far as I am aware there is no connection to 'Mrs Campbell'. However, the story lines are so similar that I am quite surprised that a a law suite for copyright infringement hasn't been launched. I agree that it is a 'rip off' of a funny, charming and laugh filled movie. It's also quite strange that MGM haven't released 'Mrs Campbell' on DVD considering the publicity linking the two movies.

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] hillfox20 15 years ago

Maybe your right but I'm sure that the 'estates' of the original writers are still in place (Denis Norden was one as far as I recall). Maybe the work is in the 'public domain'?. Anyway, you can now buy it on ebay as an import from Spain and the USA but be careful as the price of the US version is extortion !!.

[–] ChefFlick 15 years ago

Mama Mia is based on a musical that was based on this movie.. They are directly related for sure..

However the Mamma Via version was a little more bland..

http://www.myspace.com/mash1972

[–] Chisoxfan311 14 years ago

this was driving me nuts this morning. that crap Momma Mia happened to be on in the background, and it sure seemed a lot like a movie i seen a year ago, but couldn't remember the name. and after some research, came to find it was Mrs. Campbell, and yes, it may seem like Momma Mia is a rip off, but as ChefFlick posted, the stage production of Momma Mia (1999) is based of Mrs. Campbell

Im sure they got all the copywrite details were taken care of prior to making any of these

[–] love_mustang 13 years ago

In the frequently asked questions on the Mamma Mia IMDB page.. it says this

"Mamma Mia! is based on a long-running musical of the same name, written by British playwright Catherine Johnson. Songs for the musical, including the title song, are from the Swedish pop group ABBA, and the plot for the musical was adapted from the 1968 film Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell."

[–] louiseculmer 9 years ago

Yes. Buena sera, Mrs Campbell, is much funnier and also slightly more believable I think. Both films though are I think total fantasy when it comes to the idea that a girl doesn't mind not knowing who her father is, and the possible fathers don't mind either.