Incontro a Parigi

Poor Lee Bowman! There's nothing wrong with his appearance or acting, but he always plays the guy who gets thrown over for another guy. In I Met Him in Paris, he's engaged to Claudette Colbert, but she's not sure she wants to settle down for someone so steady and reliable. Off she goes to Paris to make up her mind and have one last fling. The one last fling turns into two as she gets wooed by both Robert Young and Melvyn Douglas.

If you like romantic ski lodge movies, like Last Holiday, rent this black-and-white version for a real treat. I absolutely love Claudette, and even though she's an incredible dramatic actress, she's best well known for her cutesy comedies. She's just as adorable as she always is in this one, and this time around, she gets to prance around in the snow and take a toboggan ride! And as far as the love triangle goes, it's very hard to choose between Robert and Melvyn's characters. Robert is charming, glib, and romantic, but since he comes across as being too good to be true, you can't help but want to give Melvyn a fair chance. He's dead-set against his rival and a bit of a downer sometimes, so you can't help but want to give Lee another chance! My, my, who will Claudette pick?

Yeah the plot is dumb. Why doesn't Douglas spill the beans about his friend right away? Why are Douglas and Young friends ? That aside there's some really funny moments when the trio get to Switzerland. Most of this involves Colbert, Douglas, and Young trying out some very dangerous winter sports activities. This section is very well filmed as well. Then there's the real reason to watch this movie . The sexy, sassy, sophisticated ever beautiful Claudette Colbert in her prime. This is a must for Colbert fans.

If you love romantic comedies then this passes as easy watching.Douglas and Colbert gel but the script lacked sparkle . When I analyse Colberts career it has to be said that she really isn't in many that you would describe as classics,that have stood the test of time.Her performances are generally excellent but often in mediocre films

Paramount imported two of MGM's second line leading men to appear opposite Claudette Colbert in I Met Him In Paris. This film finds Claudette as a buyer for a New York department store on a holiday in France trying to decide whether she wants to marry staid and established Lee Bowman.

But of course the last place you want to go to make decisions like that is Paris because too many temptations will find you. In this case two too many temptations in the form of cynical Melvyn Douglas and romantic Robert Young.

Young decides to invite Colbert on a skiing holiday in Switzerland and Douglas decides to invite himself along. The best scenes in the film involve all three of our protagonists learning winter sports. In fact the scene involving Claudette Colbert falling off a toboggan and being in harm's way of another racing toboggan is a great example of a really dangerous situation being played for laughs and quite successfully.

I Met Him In Paris which has the bulk of its scenes in Hollywood recreated Switzerland is a great example of a nice comedy which really could have been better if an Ernest Lubitsch or a Leo McCarey had done it. Mona Barrie has a small, but very important part that occurs toward the end of the film which I cannot say more about lest I spoil things.

Definitely fans of Claudette Colbert will appreciate this film which holds up very well after over 70 years.

Claudette Colbert stars in one of her most underrated romantic comedies (though it was a big hit at the time and so acclaimed that The New York Times listed it as one of the ten best films of the year) as an aspiring American fashion designer who is off to see Paris and leave her dull fiancé Lee Bowman behind for at least a temporary separation. Alas, Claudette is a lost babe in the woods in France, speaking no French but she runs into two young Americans who take her under her wing and have more than a little interest in taking her romantically. Moderately successful novelist Robert Young is the one who is the more spirited and to Claudette's taste; his playwright buddy Melvyn Douglas is a little too stodgy and dour for her. She thinks Douglas is a spoil sport nosing in on their fun, unaware he is actually watching out for her since Bobby boy is not yet divorced and has a habit of romancing innocent young ladies. Eventually she warms up a little to Douglas but when she learns that the boys have hidden Young's marital status from her she's enraged and none too pleased either with her old beau Bowman who clearly doesn't trust her and has shown up to check up on her. (Claudette's character herself isn't that much of an angel given she's open to being wooed even while she is promised to another). This delightful piece of fluff moves faster than the runaway bobsled Claudette finds herself on at one point and while the plot has holes (shouldn't she have been checking out the fashion scene in Paris on her vacation rather than venturing off to Switzerland with the boys?) the movie is a lot of fun and the queen of romantic comedy, Miss Colbert, gives one of her most delightful performances.