Romance à la carte

The beginning scenes of this totally English comedy are set at and about a posh restaurant, Roberto's, in the West End of London, where we meet the two bickering protagonists, Louis (Leslie Perrins) and Rudolph (Anthony Holles). Louis is the chef at Roberto's, and we enjoy his flair for creating his menu list of the day, when he is not at loggerheads with Rudolph, the maitre d'hotel, since each is convinced that he is the essential element in the success of the restaurant. Since Louis is dedicated to aiding the down and out, he comes to the assistance of Anne, an out of work and home cabaret performer, (Dorothy Boyd) when she has not enough wherewithal to pay her luncheon bill, and is about to be turned over to the police by the meanspirited Rudolph. Louis pays her tab and sees that she is hired as a cigarette girl where she is under the supervision of Rudolph, who attempts to check her growing affection for Louis, her benefactor, who has also given Anne use of a room in his lodging. Tired of being ever watchful of the crafty Rudolph, the chef quits his post and opens his own establishment, Chez Louis, directly across the street, and the fun begins. MacLean Rogers, found working at the helm of many sprightly British comedies, directs with skill and is also responsible for the superlative editing that is the primary cause of the film's always appropriate pacing. Cinema history records that virtually every person involved in the making of this work performed solely in England, which is paramount in creating an atmosphere most suitable to the tone of the production. One can find no flaw in the nuanced interpretation of Perrins, graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, who honours the well-crafted scenario of Vera Allinson.