Ariane

This odd combination of story, characters, and cast could easily have fallen apart irretrievably in the first few minutes. That it holds together is due primarily to Audrey Hepburn's unsurpassed charm and Billy Wilder's resourceful story-telling technique. It ends up being enjoyable most of the time, sometimes very much so, in spite of itself.

The story is rather strange - for it to "work" you have to buy into a number of unlikely possibilities, and even then, you have to accept the main characters as sympathetic even when they don't deserve it. It's the kind of hollow concept that you see much more often in present-day movies, which are made for audiences who don't care about plausibility, and who are easily persuaded that a shallow, pseudo-romantic attraction between two characters automatically makes them sympathetic.

None of that is to imply anything against the stars. Audrey Hepburn is so engaging as Ariane that it makes you want her to be happy, even though much of her behavior is fatuous. Maurice Chevalier is enjoyable and is obviously well-cast, and John McGiver also adds some good moments. Gary Cooper's character doesn't work very well, but that should not be blamed at all on Cooper. The character just is not as appealing as the scriptwriters presume him to be, and Cooper should actually be commended for making him as likable (or as un-unlikable) as possible.

Wilder's skill made some strange stories work pretty well in his time, and he also deserves much of the credit for keeping this one afloat. There are also some very good sequences in the screenplay, for all that it was uneven in general. The odd thing about "Love in the Afternoon" is that if you can tolerate the poor setup and get past the obvious flaws, you can really enjoy most of the movie, because it does have several positive things to offer.

This delightful light romantic comedy is worth viewing just for Audrey Hepburn's darling performance as the innocent ingénue pretending to be a woman of the world. Gary Cooper is sadly miscast as the international playboy who is the target of Hepburn's affections, a role that Cary Grant could have walked through in his sleep. Ewan McGregor played a similar role to nice effect in the recent Down With Love, but McGregor, regrettably, is no Cary Grant. Who is? <sigh> But back to Love in the Afternoon... Maurice Chevalier is charming in his role as Hepburn's private detective father and John McGiver is funny as a befuddled cuckold. Billy Wilder's direction is naturally impeccable. But the movie is all Audrey after all, and isn't that enough?

There is likely no more romantic ending to a Hollywood movie than the one in this soufflé-light 1957 romantic comedy, where Audrey Hepburn tries to keep up with a departing train upon which Gary Cooper stands and listens intently to her babbling about her fictitious sexual conquests. Hepburn plays Ariane, a young cellist and the daughter of a Parisian private investigator named Claude Chevasse. She has an unbridled interest in her father's often tawdry cases, chief among them the affairs of Frank Flannagan, a millionaire industrialist and aging playboy who finds himself in various trysts with married women around the world. A certain Monsieur X has come to Chevasse to catch his wife in a suspected extramarital fling with Flannagan. Overhearing Monsieur X's intention to kill his wife and her lover, Ariane decides to warn Flannagan, and they embark on an afternoons-only affair under the pretense that she is as much a worldly bon vivant as he is. Things come to a head when Flannagan becomes infatuated with this mysterious "thin girl" and recruits Crevasse to find out who she is.

Master filmmaker Billy Wilder leaves his unmistakable stamp on this confection with a clever, ironic script co-written with his long-time partner I.A.L. Diamond in their first collaboration. The dialogue is full of their trademark sparkling banter, and leave it to Wilder to use a Gypsy string quartet to act as a chorus for Flannagan's sexual shenanigans. Hepburn is her usual impeccable self as Ariane and especially good fun when she layers the deceptions about her checkered past. Cooper played this type of boulevardier role in the 1930's under masters like Ernst Lubitsch, and it is quite enjoyable to see him come back to this milieu two decades later as an aging lothario. Looking weather-beaten after years of Westerns and adventure pictures, he was given a lot of grief because of the age difference between him and Hepburn, but I actually find the gap quite touching and Cooper surprisingly game. Maurice Chevalier is ideally cast as Crevasse even if has to play down his naturally effervescent manner. Granted the film runs a little too long at 126 minutes, but it is fine, light entertainment similar to Wilder and Hepburn's previous collaboration, the classic 1954 "Sabrina". The print transfer on the 2005 DVD is fine though not outstanding. Unfortunately there are no extras included.

I am not a fan of romantic movies but there are a small handful that I love and by far the one I love most (of the less bigger scale types like "Gone With the Wind") is "Love in the Afternoon". I love the story, the camerawork and especially the lead players...Gary Cooper and Audrey Hepburn. I love these two so much that it's hard to put another great screen couple above them. They make the whole story come alive in their own way. Coop with his dry but lovable wit and charming good looks, and Audrey with her universal charm, wholesomeness and great beauty. I have read in the book "The Complete Films of Audrey Hepburn" that Cary Grant and Yul Brynner were the first two choices to play Coop's part. Thank God that neither were able to. Coop as the character of Frank Flannagan makes the film more romantic and his ever-popular sweet-guy, no-airs-of-any-kind persona makes the film less stuffy than it would with Grant or Brynner. Audrey of course is the perfect Ariane and they shine together in each other's arms. Call it a cliche but that comment fits this film perfectly. See it if you're in the mood for good, romantic farce.

Immensely charming comedy set in Paris where a Cinderella-type role masterfullly played by Hepburn gets closely involved with a wealthy womanizer . As the rich playboy called Flannagan (Gary Cooper) becomes interested in the daughter , Ariane Chavasse (Audrey Hepburn) , of a sympthetic private detective , Claude Chavasse (Maurice Chevalier) , who has been hired to entrap him with the wife of a client (John McGiver) who decides to shoot him . To be aware the beautiful daughter rushes to Flannagan to prevent his murder . And of course , she winds up falling in love with him . An oh-so-very shy young girl , but she lists 20 men in her past! . It's got the hit tune "Fascination" .Love is a game any number can play... especially in the afternoon...It's more likely in Paris and more LOVELY IN THE AFTERNOON!

Amusing and funny movie in ¨Billy Wilder's Sabrina¨ style also starred by Audrey Hepburn about the classic love story in which a duo of oppossite characters , after a series of incidents resulting in the two eventually become attracted to each other . This romantic comedy is intelligently and pleasingly written to gives us lots of fun , laughters and smiles . The hit of the show is undoubtedly Audrey Hepburn who gives one of the best screen acting as the naive and good girl , while Gary Cooper gives a nice acting in his usual style as a middle-aged playboy becomes fascinated by the daughter of a private detective. Here Gary Cooper seems more relaxed and agreeable than usual ; however , Cooper's a little old for the Casanova role , but Hepburn is always enchanting . And , of course , Maurice Chevalier is awesome as likeable and understanding father .

Emotive and romantic musical score and atmospheric black and white cinematography by cameraman William Mellor . This slick, smooth comedy is stunningly written I. A. L. Diamond and Billy Wilder himself , based on the novel "Ariane, jeune fille russe" by Claude Anet . Being competently directed by the genius Billy Wilder . It belongs his first and better period during the 40s and 50s when realized sensational and acerbic films as ¨Double indemnity¨, ¨Ace in the hole¨ , ¨Sunset Boulevard¨, ¨Stalag 17¨ and ¨Seven year itch¨ ; subsequently in the 60s and 70s he realized nice though unsuccessful movies as ¨Buddy buddy¨,¨Fedora¨ , ¨Front page¨and ¨Secret life of Sherlock Holmes¨. Rating : 7/10. Above average , essential and indispensable watching ; extremely funny and riveting film and completely entertaining . It justly deserves its place among the best romantic comedy ever made . It's the kind of movie where you know what's coming but , because the treatment , enjoy it all the same .