The Ambassador's Daughter

The only reason that Olivia de Havilland agreed to appear in this trifle must have been because it was going to be filmed in Paris where she was living at the time. On the positive side, there are great stars supporting de Havilland such as Edward Arnold, Adolphe Menjou and Myrna Loy, and they are very very good, as is the Star, but negatively speaking, the story has been done many times, but it could have been quite good, if a decent leading man had been engaged - there is no doubt John Forsythe was out of his depth, trying to compete with the players listed above. There were some bright moments of comedy, and it was good to see the Stars having a bit of a romp, but at times it is hard going. As lovely as she is, Olivia was too old for the part, but some of the shots of Paris helped a lot.

THE AMBASSADOR'S DAUGHTER is a generally well made film with a great cast. The story and direction though are uninspired and workman-like and robs the story of any vitality. In more capable hands, this film would have been a charmer but the producers were clearly aiming for average. It just doesn't sparkle as it should be and because the pacing or tone, which should have been lightning fast and sharp for this kind of story, is lackadaisical, this big studio production feels and looks exactly like an episode of THREE'S COMPANY. One that takes place in Paris.

The great thing about this movie is Myrna Loy. Whenever she's on screen the movie comes alive. Loy, who starred in the great THIN MAN movies, has a knack for delivering light and funny dialogue and her timing here is perfect. She easily eclipses the whole cast, which includes Olivia De Havilland, John Forsythe, Adolphe Menjou, Tommy Noonan! Thank god Myrna was in this film or else it would have been totally forgettable. Well, the location shooting was also great.

All in all, I enjoyed watching THE AMBASSADOR'S DAUGHTER for what it was but it could have been much better, a classic in fact. Now it's just average.

This movie was released in 1956, right in the middle of Hollywood's decade-long fascination with Paris. It was a fascination ignited by the critical and financial success of An American in Paris (MGM 1951), and then stoked by such films as

April in Paris ( Warner Bros. 1952), Moulin Rouge (20th Century Fox 1952), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (20th Century Fox 1954), The Last Time I Saw Paris (MGM 1954), Sabrina (Paramount 1954), Funny Face (Paramount 1957), The Sun Also Rises (20th Century Fox 1957), Love in the Afternoon (United Artists 1957), Gigi (MGM 1958), Paris Holiday (Tolda 1958), Can Can (20th Century Fox 1960), Paris Blues (Pennebaker 1961), Charade (Universal 1963), Irma la douce (MGM 1963), A New Kind of Love (Paramount 1963), Paris When it Sizzles (1964).

Unfortunately, this movie adds nothing to that generally very distinguished and successful list. (Paris Holiday is a bomb, yes.)

Others have recounted the plot, so I won't repeat that. Since this movie is about a group of non-Parisians living in Paris, it never really engages with its setting. It could just as soon have taken place in Vienna, or Rome, or ...

Little thought seems to have been put into the production. The plot is worked out at the end, which takes place in the iconographic Garnier Opera House during a performance of Swan Lake. With a wealth of operas and ballets from which to choose, Krasna picked the Tchaikovsky warhorse for no apparent reason, because he makes no effort to tie what is going on on stage to what is going on in the boxes and corridors (the plot, such as it is).

There's nothing really wrong with this movie, it's just that it's not very interesting. A cast this good should have been given a far better script.

Olivia de Havilland spent most of her post-Oscar years in serious dramas, so it's nice to see her looking so radiantly lovely in a technicolor comedy, enjoying herself in a comedy for a change. Paris is the setting and the color photography is excellent. The slight story concerns de Havilland seeking to prove to her father (Edward Arnold) and a senator and his wife (Adolphe Menjou, Myrna Loy) that American servicemen aren't all wolves and to prove it has a harmless fling with a young G.I. (John Forsythe). Unfortunately, as in all Norman Krasna comedies, plot complications develop before she winds up in Forsythe's arms for an amusing final scene. The cast sparkles with some fine work by de Havilland, Myrna Loy, Adolphe Menjou, Edward Arnold and--in one of his funniest roles--Tom Noonan. Only bad piece of casting is John Forsythe--who looks wooden and uncomfortable throughout with no comic flair whatsoever. Despite this, de Havilland manages to give a spirited performance that won the Belgian Prix Femina for Best Actress in a comedy in '56. Slight but amusing and very watchable.

It is certainly not true that because a film has as its central character a female protagonist that it must be a "woman's picture". But in an era when the novel market in cheap-minded fiction seems hopelessly divided between mindless male violent thrillers and mindless female Gothic romanciful fantasies, the viewer must expect this debate to spill over into films. Fortunately for moviegoers, as late as the 1950s, films such as "The Ambassador's Daughter" were still being made and these were films with enough realistic characters, intelligent dialogue and interesting action to please adult viewers. This is a very fine script indeed by veteran writer-director Norman Krasna. It was directed very ably and beautifully mounted. The noteworthy cast included Edward Arnold, Myrna Loy, Adolph Menjou, Frances Lederer, Tommy Noonan plus Olivia de Havilland and John Forsythe as the romantic leads. The setting is postwar Paris, and the sets are beautiful to behold. This is a film about upper crust folk; and as such we are treated to costumes by Christian Dior, impeccable lighting and gorgeous art direction. But the fact that these are members of the wealthy set does not stop the scriptwriters from devising lively and challenging involvements for all. The very good idea for the story involves de Havvilland trying to prove to her ambassador father, professionally and personally worried about such matters, that all French-based American soldiers are not "wolves". She picks on Forsythe to prove her point--and discovers she may have picked too well for her own safety, since she finds herself falling for the shy G.I. Arnold and Loy are particularly good, Menjou is his usual charming self; and de Havilland is superb. Only Forsythe seems a bit low-voltage, as he sometimes did early in his career, before "The Trouble With Harry". The film's technical elements, such as lighting, sets, art direction and all else provide the usual first-rate MGM realization. The color is lovely as well, adding to the gemlike quality of this underrated and very intelligent comedy. In an era devoted to Medieval character flaws, misbehaviors and irresponsible folk floundering in a sea of surrealistic bad writing and worse thinking, this earlier work stands out as a cinematic delight, one to be watched many times over.