Deux Anglais à Paris

Alec Guinness starred in an impressive number of very good comedies in the 1950s, and most of these are now sadly quite obscure. The obscurity of Robert Hamer's 'To Paris with Love' *isn't* such a tragedy, however. There are one or two genuinely funny lines in this film, but the laughs are far too infrequent to justify watching it, even in light of its rather forgiving 78 minute runtime. The performances are not too bad and Guinness's is predictably solid, but when the film's problems are situated in the writing and directing even a legion of A-listers would probably fail to elevate it out of mediocrity. To the fans of 'Kind Hearts and Coronets' who've found their way to this later pairing of Hamer and Guinness: don't get your hopes up.

While this gentle romantic film To Paris With Love (1955) is admittedly no masterpiece it does provide you with a nice cast, irreplaceable views of post-War Paris in 1955, including the grand old cars, stylish fashions men and women wore back then, the kind of music they listened to, how clean everything looked and how polite people were with one another in that era. All in Technicolor (it says Technicolor on the print itself right on the title frame, not Eastman Color as someone else stated, which is different and tends to diffuse more with time).

Alec Guinness is sweet in the film as he visits Paris with his 20 year old son (Vernon) in the hopes of finding a nice French girl for him. Little does he know that his son also hopes to find a nice older French woman for him. What occurs instead is that the son falls for an older woman and the father falls for a younger woman! I thought that both situations were understandable -- both women were attractive -- but still one senses early on they will merely end up being temporary flirtations and not the real thing.

If you are a romantic person you will probably enjoy the film. If you're not you're probably better off watching something else more realistic. I liked it. To each their own.

In a recent biography of Alec Guinness I couldn't find too much about To Paris With Love. I'm sure Guinness did the film to get a free trip to Paris out of it. The film has no other reason for existence.

Paris of course is nicely photographed with that wonderful opening of Guinness and his son driving down the Champs Elysee with the Arc De Triomphe in the background. Unfortunately it goes downhill from there.

There is just no chemistry at all between Guinness and the young girl who he has a brief fling with in Paris. According to the recent biography of Guinness by Piers Paul Read, Guinness positively disliked the girl, found her conduct unprofessional. As to what Odile Vernois thought of her co-star, no record is available. They have as much chemistry as two neutered cats.

Guinness does have a good moment in the film which was straight from one of his Ealing comedies as he climbs a tree trying to retrieve a badminton shuttlecock. But I wouldn't wait through the film for it.

At least Alec got a trip to Paris out of the deal.

In the 1950s, Alec Guinness made a long string of some of the most wonderful comedies ever made. However, it's very sad that most of you have probably never seen them and only remember this actor for his work in STAR WARS. THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT, THE HORSE'S MOUTH and KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS (among many others) are all fabulous Guinness films and I would heartily recommend just about every film Guinness made in the 50s--except for this somewhat dull film. Unfortunately, TO Paris WITH LOVE isn't particularly funny nor is it particularly distinguished. If it hadn't been for Guinness in the lead, I truly doubt I would have ever bothered watching it--it's just so mediocre.

The story is about a man and his 20-something son going on a holiday to Paris and both are intent on setting the other up with a lady. The problem is, Guinness ends up with the young one and the son gets the older girlfriend--and you know that both would really be better off switching partners.

Despite being so ordinary, there's nothing bad about the film or the acting. I think the problem mostly is that with such high expectations, the film was bound to disappoint.

I missed the opening credits of To Paris with Love, and for the first ten minutes, I thought David Niven was starring in the film. Then, David Niven took off his hat and lacked his usual curls. It was Alec Guinness! Remember the David Niven impersonation he gave in The Bridge on the River Kwai? It was a very good impersonation, complete with a little bounce in his chair after thumping his arm down on the table. This movie was his audition for that impersonation; I'm not trying to be unkind or diminish Alec's talent. I happen to love David Niven! And to see either one of them in a love story is always a treat. I've since gone back to watch the beginning and was treated to the hilarious lyrics of "A Bachelor Gay Am I" to set the tone.

In this unconventional comedy, Alec and his grown son, Vernon Gray, travel on vacation to Paris. Alec thinks his son is immature and needs to grow up and learn about the ways of the world. Vernon thinks his dad is a stuffed shirt and needs to let his hair down. They both think the answer to the other's problem is a love affair, and they go about setting each other up with women. However, the matchmaking goes awry when they each fall for the lady they'd picked out for the other. While Alec experiences a takes the December role with the young Odile Versois, Vernon experiences the May role with the older Elina Labourdette.

I loved the premise of this movie, and the romantic scenes the usually unromantic Alec got to act in were worth it, but this isn't my favorite May-December movie. The tone of To Paris with Love is all very light and doesn't allow the audience to invest into either of their relationships. It's far more of a whimsical vacation movie than a romance. There was one very amusing scene, in which Alec takes Odile to dinner and they watch an unusual onstage performance. Only a top hat and a feather boa are seen, and while they perform the visual act of courtship, the puppeteers only speak one word apiece: "John" and "Martha". Using varying tones, they convey a host of meaning - until the meaning gets extremely clear. Alec and Odile clearly grow closer as they listen to the noises, and in the "afterglow", he bestows to her a present of beautiful earrings. How did they get that scene past the censors? Don't get your hopes up, though. That was only one scene, and the rest of the movie is different.