Folies Bergère de Paris

Folies Bergère de Paris (Roy Del Ruth, 1935) is a Lubitsch-like confection with numbers inspired by the kaleidoscopic choreography of Busby Berkeley. It's also among the best films I've caught this year. The story sees a vaudeville entertainer (Maurice Chevalier with his familiar persona) impersonate a baron (Chevalier again), leading to romantic complications for both. Ann Sothern is the entertainer's good time gal, with Merle Oberon the baron's flighty wife. It's witty and invigoratingly entertaining, with a fine performance by Chevalier in his dual role and a top supporting cast that includes Eric Blore, Robert Greig and Halliwell Hobbes. Despite the enjoyable plotting, the film's finest moments come through the slew of great numbers at both the beginning and the end of the film. The Singing a Happy Song finale, which won an Oscar for dance direction and features several hundred straw hats of varying sizes, is really something, but all the tunes are great: Valentine, Rhythm of the Rain, Au Revoir l'Amour and You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth. This was Chevalier's last Hollywood musical until Gigi, 23 years later.

I had no idea this would be as good as it was. I had thought that the only musicals worthy of watching were Busby Berkley's famous four: 42nd STREET to DAMES, Fred and Ginger's at RKO and Jessie Matthews' at Gaumont-British since everything else was just a cheap, unimaginative copy. Now I know better - this is a great - what a revelation!

It doesn't start off too promising, the first ten minutes is just Maurice Chevalier doing his thing but then it steps into action so don't be put off by the beginning. This picture has everything and more you'd expect from an absolute top notch 1930s musical-comedy: a proper story, jaunty songs, romance, a genuinely funny script, likeable characters you're interested in, spectacularly choreographed dance numbers, a silly but not stupid plot and an overall uplifting, happy feel.

Because Daryl Zanuck, when at Warners oversaw the original Busby Berkeley musicals, you might have thought that when he started up Twentieth Century Pictures he'd simply try to copy his earlier success by making something similar. He was cleverer than that. Whilst Warner Brothers continued tiredly to churn out the same old story with the same old cast over and over again, each time getting worse and worse and worse, Zanuck gave us something different. We've still got a few Busby Berkley type routines but this is not really comparable say to the gritty glory of GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933, this is more of a traditional light comedy (if you were to compare it wouldn't be as good, but ten or twenty times better than '..of 35' or '..of 37') Even with directorial skill of Roy del Ruth, poached from Warners, the style of this is cleaner, more stylish, closer in feel to the Jessie Matthews musicals Gaumont-British were producing such as EVERGREEN - not just because they often feature her in a silly story of mistaken identity as well. In some ways Maurice Chevalier himself is a little like her inasmuch that what makes this film so enjoyable is the personality of its star. Like with Jessie Matthews, his personable and engaging personality simply gushes through the screen at you and you can't help feeling that he is smiling directly at you - he actually sings better than she does but he would certainly not look as good in one of her sexy dresses!

Simply marvelous music-comedy starring one of my favorites, Maurice Chevalier. Chevalier is at his usual debonair, charming, mischievous in this little gem of a film, impersonating entertainer Eugene Charlier and aristocratic Baron Fernand Cassini, with a very amusing plot based upon mistaken identity antics.

His two leading ladies are both gorgeous: lovely, beautiful,elegant, sophisticated, regal, Merle Oberon as the Baroness and gorgeous, down-to-earth, fiery, ravishing Ann Sothern as Mimi, Charlier's partner.

A couple of huge production numbers featuring Chevalier and Ann Sothern add for more fun.

Above all, those were the days when Hollywood had such gifted and priceless talented character actors as Eric Blore, Halliwell Hobbes, Robert Greig et al, who were fantastic playing a variety of butlers, sidekicks, serious politicians etc., supporting perfectly the stars.

Completely enjoyable classic film from start to finish. Try to catch it on the FOX Channel.

The Fox Movie Channel showed all three versions of this story today starting with "That Night In Rio" then "On The Riviera" and ending with "Folies Bergere" I live Danny Kaye and Don Ameche so I won't pick a favorite I just like the idea of seeing different versions of the same film all at once.I also love old movies so this one was enjoyable too. Great musical numbers.No one misses the old movie houses more than me it's just not the same watching the films from the 30's,40's and 50's etc on VHS or DVD.My wish would be to have a bunch of same titled movies run on the same day in an old theatre and then turn up the lights and talk about them.This one is a great start.

In the early to mid 1930s, Maurice Chevalier made some exceptional American films such as LOVE ME TONIGHT and THE MERRY WIDOW. While I usually am not a fan of Jeanette MacDonald films, his presence elevated them to great heights thanks to his on screen personality and lovely singing voice. While this film is fun and is well worth seeing, it is clearly several steps below these other films in quality--mostly because the script is a tad silly. The main idea is a giant cliché. The audience is supposed to believe that there are two men who are unrelated who look and talk exactly alike. While such an idea worked pretty well in THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER and THE PRISONER OF ZENDA, here the writing wasn't good enough to enable many audience members to accept this idea--especially because the two are so exact that even a wife cannot tell the difference! If you can ignore the central idea as well as the film going on a bit too long and having too many Busby Berkeley-style dance numbers, you are left with a film that is still worth your time and is a little better than your standard time-passer.