Customer Reviews

To Paris With Love [VHS]

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Alec Guinness is charming in this otherwise-standard 1955 romantic comedy, filmed in crisp Technicolor.

Whilst on holiday in Paris, Sir Edgar Fraser (Guinness) determines to find a suitable girlfriend for his son, John (Vernon Gray), and eventually selects vivacious young counter-girl Lizette Marconne (Odile Versois). Unbeknownst to Edgar, John has concocted a similar plan for his old man, and picks up Sylvia Gilbert (Elina Labourdette), a noted socialite and model, as a possible lady companion. Complications arise when each man starts falling for the wrong woman!

The performances are the only things to really recommend about this otherwise standard, paint-by-the-numbers romantic comedy. Odile Versois is an absolute charmer; I wished she'd appeared in more films. Elina Labourdette, a stately Parisian-type Kay Kendall, is lovely as well. Alec Guinness gives off an appropriately airy, fresh performance. I don't think many people give him enough credit for his prowess as a comedic actor.

Only for completists.

General Film Distributors (GFD) presents "TO PARIS WITH LOVE" (1955) (78 min/Color) -- Starring Alec Guinness, Odile Versois Vernon Gray, Elina Labourdette, Jacques François, Austin Trevor, Jacques B. Brunius, Claude Romain, Maureen Davis, Mollie Hartley Milburn, Michael Anthony, Pamela Stirling & Claude Collier

Directed by Robert Hamer

The plot and direction are only fair, there's very little chemistry between the couples in any of their permutations. Guinness does have a good moment in the film which was straight from one of his Ealing comedies as he climbs a tree trying to retrieve a badminton shuttlecock. The script is a tad off, difficult to get our star Guinness to liven it up.

The film is nicely photographed with that wonderful opening of Guinness and his son driving down the Champs Elysee with the Arc De Triomphe in the background.

Actually, Guinness is not bad in it, he just seems to stand around almost bored with everything, unaware in his usual delightful self. It is obvious the girl he is matched with is not of his choosing, Sir Alec isn't too happy about the whole situation, and his performance shows it.

BIOS:

1. Robert Hamer [Director]

Date of Birth: 31 March 1911 - Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England, UK

Date of Death: 4 December 1963 - London, England, UK

2. Alec Guinness [aka: Alec Guinness de Cuffe]

Date of Birth: 2 April 1914 - Marylebone, London, England, UK

Date of Death: 5 August 2000 - Midhurst, Sussex, England, UK

Mr. Jim's Ratings:

Quality of Picture & Sound: 3 Stars

Performance: 3 Stars

Story & Screenplay: 3 Stars

Overall: 3 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 78 min on VHS/DVD ~ General Film Distributors (GFD) ~ (May 3, 2011)

TO PARIS WITH LOVE (1954) is a cute, often amusing, romantic comedy that stars Alec Guinness as a widowed Scottish aristocrat who takes his sheltered, twenty-year-old son to Paris, in order to introduce him to the opposite sex. The son, on the other hand is determined to find a new female companion for his father.

In a typical mix-up that can only happen in the movies, father finds himself matched with the younger woman meant for his off-spring, while Junior gets the more mature lady meant for Dad.

Truthfully, this Guinness film is not on a par with some of his better-known outings (e.g. THE LAVENDER HILL MOB, THE LADYKILLERS), but it does have several funny sequences, many nice Technicolor views of Paris and the French countryside, and, at the end of the day, it's a pleasant way to spend 80-minutes.

Robert Hamer directed the film that co-stars Odile Versois, Vernon Gray and Elina Labourdette.

© Michael B. Druxman