Hoping to settle a bet between Dad and a skeptical U.S. Senator, the daughter of America’s ambassador to France goes undercover as a fashion model to date a young U.S. officer on leave in ‘the mythical city of Paris.’ Will the young man do his country proud and behave himself or disgrace the service with a forward pass? Not a bad idea for a romantic farce, theoretically helped by location shooting in ‘the miracle of CinemaScope.’ And while the two female leads are charming (Myrna Loy’s Senator’s wife; Olivia de Havilland, 21 years after her film debut as the eponymous daughter . . . who by all rights should be about 21!), Norman Krasna’s script fails to deliver much in the way of wit or surprise. Still, he might have gotten by on workable structure alone if only he didn’t freeze as director (his third & last try) on those depth-of-field challenged early CinemaScope lenses: interiors staged like a high school commencement; touristy exteriors barely enlivened by cinematographer Michel Kelber’s picture postcard views.* The men on hand (Adolphe Menjou, Tommy Noonan, Edward Arnold, Francis Lederer) overplay weak material while bland romantic lead John Forsythe overdoses on underplaying, too earnest to win laughs. Phantom of the Opera buffs may enjoy getting inside Le Palais Garnier, but slim pickin’s for everyone else.
DOUBLE-BILL: As director, Krasna had beginner’s luck on PRINCESS O’ROURKE/’43, with de Havilland and good early turns from Jane Wyman, Jack Carson & Robert Cummings. OR: *Michel Kelber in excelsis for Jean Renoir’s FRENCH CANCAN/’55, made entirely on studio sets (interiors & exteriors); look for the stunning 2010 restoration.
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