Wednesday, 27 March 2024

Innocents in Paris (1953 Gordon Parry)

Written and produced by Anatole de Grunwald, this is such a strange film that at times you feel like your drink's been spiked with acid. Various 'types' visit Paris and odd things happen. Financial diplomat Alastair Sim befriends his Russian counterpart Peter Illing in a roisterous night in a Russian restaurant. A stupidly simple girl Claire Bloom allows herself to be taken to the apartment of smooth Claude Dauphin (Two for the Road) who against the odds behaves honorably - there's a scene where she cooks him chops and cabbage, when there's a perfectly good bistro 'just around the corner'. (She's also in the most trippy scene where she ends up dancing with this American fellow who is just so weird.) The drummer of a brass band (Ronald Shiner) spends the night in Pigalle and almost avoids all temptations, but ends up with Gaby Bruyere. Margaret Rutherford is a painter who at one point is pestered by a really creepy Gregoire Aslan. And a kilt wearing Scot James Copeland falls for Monique Gerard. Jimmy Edwards spends the whole trip in an English bar.

It is at least filmed in Paris, but it's really not a very good film. It might have provided some sort of entertainment to ration-ridden Brits.

With Richard Wattis, Luis de Funes, and (uncredited) Kenneth Williams and Christopher Lee.





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