French Without Tears

I am using the term 'fey' to describe a film whose time may have passed and which will seem to many outdated in 2012. I don't feel the premise is workable or practical nowadays, and there are few of us left who will appreciate the subtleties and tenor of either the script or the storyline.

Here it is in a nutshell; There are five students at a school for French-speaking located somewhere in France. One is a boy and the others are English gentlemen, two middle-aged and two approaching middle-age. For some reason, the sister of the boy comes for an extended visit. She (Ellen Drew) is a knockout, and all fall head over heels for her and make fools of themselves, trying to outdo one another in various situations. There is some humorous dialogue sprinkled throughout as well as some pratfalls and slapstick that are telegraphed and obvious.

Ray Milland is very appealing and tries to stay above it all, and in one scene Roland Culver does one of the best impersonations of a drunk as has ever been on the screen, Arthur Housman and Jack Norton notwithstanding. The picture strives to be likable, and I did like it, being an old-fashioned sort of guy.

I compromised and rated it a six; Five for today's audiences and seven for those of us with long, seasoned memories.