Audrey Hepburn and Gary Cooper star opposite each other in this romantic comedy, set in Paris. Hepburn is Ariane Chavasse, the daughter of Claude Chavasse, private investigator (Maurice Chevalier) who is best known for tracking down unfaithful spouses. His files are full of stories of deception, intrigue, and forbidden love, and Ariane has been reading them like novels, unbeknownst to him. His current client is sure his wife is cheating on him, and after following her around, Claude has the evidence. Madame X is indeed involved with an American by the name of Frank Flannigan (Cooper) a playboy who has more than one girl in every port.
When Claude reports his findings to Mr. X, that poor gentleman goes a bit balmy. Pulling a gun out of his pocket, he tells Claude that he intends to go to the hotel and shoot Mr. Flannigan that very night. Ariane overhears, goes to the hotel, and sneaks into Mr. Flannigan’s room, warning him and saving his life.
She knows from reading his file that he’s up to no good, but she finds herself fascinated by him anyway. She agrees to come back the next afternoon, but will not tell him who she is or how she knew that his life was in danger. He’s intrigued by her, and doesn’t hesitate to show her.
Over the next few days, they meet regularly. She’s intent on playing games with him. She tells him that she’s a woman of the world, with many boyfriends dangling on chains all over Europe. She discovers he’s a jealous type and uses it to her advantage. The stories she tells about these “boyfriends” are really hilarious, as is most of the dialogue. My favorite exchange takes place when she’s telling him about her latest. (I paraphrase)
Her: “He’s in the import/export business.”
Him: “What does he import and what does he export?”
Her: “He exports perfume and he imports bananas. It’s made him very rich.”
Him: “Oh?”
Her: “Yes. For every bottle of perfume, he gets twelve bananas.”
Him: “That doesn’t seem very profitable.”
Her: “Oh, but it is. The bottles of perfume are very small, and the bananas are very big.”
She spends the entire movie misleading him, trying to play his game but ends up getting involved anyway.
I found this movie very funny. I didn’t care for Gary Cooper in the role, though – he just wasn’t convincing as the dashing playboy. I would have liked Cary Grant a lot better. But Audrey Hepburn glowed, as usual, even if she did sport some of the worst hairdos I’ve ever seen. But do keep in mind, while nothing is ever shown, the moral undertones of the movie aren’t as high as they could be. I chose to overlook that and enjoy the banter, but you may decide differently. I would also like to point out that at the time this movie was made, the term “making love” was used to mean “courting” or “making out” and didn’t have the more intimate meaning it does today. At any rate, I would classify this one as a “Mommy movie” and not necessarily a family film, although your children won’t be scandalized if they wander through the room.
(This film was not rated)
Related Blogs: