Julia, du bist zauberhaft

Average, entertaining, fast-paced but also rugged trifle that could have done with a lighter touch of direction. Charles Boyer has no more to do than say his lines in time; Lilli Palmer is okay, but I can not imagine a younger man falling in love with her. A better director would have found a solution for the voice-over of Lilli Palmer: in stead of finding a filmic solution, every inner thought of her character is conveyed by way of the voice-over, making the film a bit tiresome at moments.

The sophisticated and elegant Lilli Palmer is superb in this delightful romantic comedy from M. Somerset Maugm.. It was remade a few years ago with Annette Bening called BEING JULIA but this 1962 version is the better one.. Her co-star Charles Boyer is also excellent as the understanding producer husband and French heart throb Jean Sorel has one of his best roles as her younger lover.. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS MOVIE to anyone looking for a funny romantic comedy, a bit bitter sweet with a London theater ambiance and an excellent performance from a beautiful and underrated International star, Miss Palmer. It is a French German production and I believe some of the actors are speaking German and dubbed into French for the French version and vice versa for the German version.. Not out on video or DVD and a bit hard to find but worth the search. Filmed in Paris but takes place in London.. They could have just filmed it in Paris and gave it a French background rather than trying to make it British, from the original source.. Though it was written in the 20s, it has been updated for the early 60s when it was made. The Annette Bening version does go back to the original time frame though. Doesn't really make a major difference though.