French Without Tears

This amiable Ratigan Farce is based on Ratigans' own experiences in a French tuition school in Normandy.It was brought to the stage in London featuring Rex Harrison,Trevor Howard,Kay Hammond and Roland Culver.It was purchased by Paramount initially as a vehicle for Marlene Dietrich!However they decided that the featured actors,Culver apart,were not sufficient box office and replaced them.Whilst Ray Milland is quite enjoyable as the main lead one can only conjecture what the film could have been if Harrison had reprised his role for the screen.I saw the original 86 minute version at the Museum of London in 1983.I have just seen the American version which is some 20 minutes shorter.I cannot remember what is missing.A number of matters of interest.Mantovanni is featured in the party scene.The release of this film coincided with the outbreak of war,when all places of entertainment were closed.The director was "Puffin"Asquith,the son of the World war 1 PM.His mother used her influence with cabinet Ministers to get the cinemas reopened,according to the biography of David Lean.Lean was the editor on this film.Cinemas reopened 3 days later and the film was a success at the box office.

A very witty English comedy with a brilliant cast. It has a twist at the end but this comment does not reveal the end. I have enjoyed it for years whenever it is shown on TV. The cinematography is well composed and the scenery looks genuine. The dialog is clever as well as witty. The cast is well chosen and adequate for their roles in this movie. The characters are well depicted also. There is some subtle humor in the dialog too. The costumes are also appropriate for the period in which this movie is set. All in all, I would highly recommend this movie to viewers of all age groups, young and old.

I would like to buy it if it is available on VHS or DVD.

"French Without Tears" is a British-made film distributed by Paramount. It was originally a play by Terence Rattigan and apparently starred Rex Harrison (according to one of the other reviewers). His part was played here by Ray Milland.

The story is about a bunch of Brits living in France in order to take a language immersion program. Oddly, most of these folks didn't seem to care at all about learning the language and they seemed annoying because of this. The one big exception was Alan (Milland), who is the wise man in the program. He is not only working on his French but seems to know women...and watches as two of the residents of the program throw themselves at a pretty but manipulative woman. Will he, too, be able to withstand her charms?

To me, this film is enjoyable but dated. After all, a bunch of rather xenophobic Brits not bothering to learn French seems like a commentary about the British Empire of the time. The film also is a bit slow...but watchable if you are a patient viewer.

Why didn't Terence Rattigan write more comedies? He was much better at that than at serious drama, which didn't always strike home, but a comedy like this one is an ace in the genre, with brilliant dialogue, hilarious characters, sophisticated irony and irresistible charm. Ray Milland here is very close to Cary Grant and could surely have made more parts like this and even compete with his countryman, and Roland Culver in probably his best part ever is an outrageously likeable caricature of a very square naval officer. All the others are perfect as well, having some difficulty as very English dandies to get along in France with a very strict French professor, the best caricature of them all, like a double of Emil Jannings in "The Blue Angel" but funnier and more French. Add to this the eloquent and intelligent touch of Anthony Asquith's direction, and you''ll find there was something to those blasphemous suggestions that Asquith was a more accomplished director than Hitchcock. They certainly complement each other, and Asquith was more elegant and intelligent, while Hitchcock was more effective. Anyway, this comedy is a must and a classic, setting something of a paragon example for the great era of English comedies usually starring Alec Guinness, and they were many and all exceptionally good. I saw this one more than 50 years ago, but I had no memory it was that immensely good. What a positively delightful surprise of an old acquaintance!

I am using the term 'fey' to describe a film whose time may have passed and which will seem to many outdated in 2012. I don't feel the premise is workable or practical nowadays, and there are few of us left who will appreciate the subtleties and tenor of either the script or the storyline.

Here it is in a nutshell; There are five students at a school for French-speaking located somewhere in France. One is a boy and the others are English gentlemen, two middle-aged and two approaching middle-age. For some reason, the sister of the boy comes for an extended visit. She (Ellen Drew) is a knockout, and all fall head over heels for her and make fools of themselves, trying to outdo one another in various situations. There is some humorous dialogue sprinkled throughout as well as some pratfalls and slapstick that are telegraphed and obvious.

Ray Milland is very appealing and tries to stay above it all, and in one scene Roland Culver does one of the best impersonations of a drunk as has ever been on the screen, Arthur Housman and Jack Norton notwithstanding. The picture strives to be likable, and I did like it, being an old-fashioned sort of guy.

I compromised and rated it a six; Five for today's audiences and seven for those of us with long, seasoned memories.