To Paris with Love

Ealing Studio's output deteriorated noticeably when in the 1950s they increasingly worked in colour. Similarly the modesty that characterised Hamer's films at Ealing is here notable for its absence; especially as Alec Guinness isn't exactly obvious casting as a romantic lead.

Which accounts for why this rather trivial romantic comedy - despite the use of Parisian locations - provides further evidence that during the fifties a director was likely to make his least interesting work in colour.

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.

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.

"To Paris with Love" starts off with a good premise for a romantic comedy: a middle-aged widower and his 20-year-old son both decide to play matchmaker for each other, but each one soon finds himself falling for the woman he'd picked out for the other. Unfortunately, the potential of this idea is never realized. The story and direction are bland, and there's no perceptible chemistry between the couples in any of their permutations. The charm of Alec Guinness provides some appealing moments (particularly in one sequence where he attempts to impress his young lady friend by retrieving a lost shuttlecock), but too often, the script is just too flat for even Guinness to liven up.

Paris - Alec Guinness - color - one might think that would be enough, but alas, it isn't. "To Paris, With Love" is a 1955 Rank film about a father and son (Guinness as Col. Fraser and Vernon Gray as John Fraser) going to Paris in order to matchmake for one another. Plus, Col. Fraser wants more time with his son.

They meet women, all right, but it seems that Col. Fraser is attracted to a young woman closer to John's age, and vice versa. A widower, he wasn't necessarily looking for love, either, but his quiet lifestyle bothers his son. "At 42," the Colonel says, "one has a few good years left." The perception of age has really changed.

Unfortunately for all parties, the film moves like lead and is about as dull as a movie can get, except for the beautiful shots of Paris. Alec Guinness is marvelous but wasted. There is one very funny scene at the door of their hotel room, but it's not enough.

Very hard to concentrate and stay interested in this film.