The Last Time I Saw Paris

What a terrible case of bad casting. Van Johnson has the emotional range of Herbie the Love Bug. There is no chemistry between him and Taylor, who is as gorgeous as ever and makes you wonder why SHE could fall so hard for HIM. Why in the HELL is HE in this movie!!

The rest of the cast is near perfect by comparison. The story... er, well... it's terribly contrived and predictable. Aside from Johnson making his character a big baby, I could follow most of it with my disbelief suspended. This role calls for someone who 1) is loveable, 2) is a rake, 3) is a believeable drunk, 4) is physically at least half as attractive as Taylor, and lastly, 5) can act worth a damn. Needless to say, the person they chose fits none of these characteristics. William Holden would have been perfect in this role. I'd like to hear the back story of how Johnson got the part, because he must have been blackmailing someone.

Though downbeat and sometimes sad, this is a generally well-crafted human drama that explores several aspects of family life and relationships. Elizabeth Taylor is the standout in a good cast, with Van Johnson also getting some good scenes. The postwar Paris setting is used in a number of well-conceived ways in the story.

Johnson plays the main character, a reporter and would-be novelist who begins the movie with a trip back to Paris, and begins reminiscing about the past. The character's career disappointments and family crises give much of the story a markedly pessimistic (if not depressing) tone, yet Johnson plays the part believably, and the story brings out some worthwhile thoughts, as his character gradually loses his perspective on things.

As his wife, Taylor's appeal and energy stand out every time she is on screen, but more importantly, she develops the character consistently throughout the story, often in interesting contrast to Johnson's character. She starts out as a rather spoiled, fun-loving young woman, then gradually takes on more depth and character. Her performance adds considerable meaning to the rest of the movie, and it also help in making the other characters more believable.

Walter_Pidgeon (sorry, otherwise can't get it past the spell-checker) seems to be having fun as the easygoing father, and Donna Reed does a solid job in a rather thankless role as Taylor's more serious, sometimes envious sister. Eva Gabor and a young Roger Moore play characters who are one-dimensional yet important to the plot.

Overall, everything works pretty well. The pace is just a bit slow at times, which occasionally makes for heavy going during the sadder stretches. But these always have a point, and as a whole it is a worthwhile drama with some interesting characters.

Lush not terribly faithful rendition of Fitzgerald's Babylon Revisited is hampered by the miscasting of Van Johnson in the lead. There is no way other than script demands that Elizabeth Taylor would pick the vapid Johnson let alone stay with him throughout the increasingly boorish behavior he subjects her too. Donna Reed fulfills the requirements of her part but it asks little of her skill. The film is beautifully shot with that MGM sheen and Walter Pidgeon gives a terrific performance as Elizabeth's madcap father. Fitzgerald is hard to adapt to begin with and the script writers don't have a firm grasp on the material so it becomes a colorful soap opera but little else.

Come on, IMDb-ers! Check the credits for a film before you embarrass yourselves. It was Eva Gabor, not her sister, Zsa Zsa, who had a small role in this film. Mama Jolie and her glamorous daughters are a part of the American celebrity/entertainment scene that so many of us remember rather fondly and Eva, among them, was quite a charming actress. (Check out her appearances in Minnelli's "Gigi" and the Paul Newman/Joanne Woodward clunker, "A New Kind of Love," in which Eva almost stole the show, despite the presence of Thelma Ritter who usually carried off that particular prize.)

"The Last Time I Saw Paris" was typical mid-Fifties high gloss soap opera from M-G-M, and it's a bit of a surprise that Richard Brooks was the director, since he's noted for somewhat more topical and/or hard-hitting stuff. But, as a look back at the gorgeous Elizabeth emoting most fetchingly at the peak of her camera-worthiness, this one can hardly be beat.

F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story "Babylon Revisted", reworked by three screenwriters (including director Richard Brooks), becomes a well-dressed but chilly, mopey star-vehicle. Americans in Paris find themselves wealthy after striking oil, but the writer-husband's inability to sell a story--coupled with a drinking problem and an attraction to a catty socialite--puts a strain on their marriage. Elizabeth Taylor does what she can with the masochistic wifey role, even getting what actresses like to call "a good hospital scene," but Van Johnson has more of an opportunity as a performer to show range and emotion (the writing is slanted that way). The scenario becomes episodic after the couple comes into money, while the final portion of the plot continues 15 minutes longer than necessary, presumably to 'teach' angry relative Donna Reed about forgiveness...and to show Johnson begging for love, something that apparently humbles every tortured writer's soul. **1/2 from ****