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Paris When It Sizzles
1964 Comedy / Romance
 Review
Exactly one decade on from their first successful pairing in Billy
Wilder’s Sabrina (1954), Audrey Hepburn
and William Holden were brought together for an even more implausible
romantic entanglement. Paris
When It Sizzles is a totally unhinged remake of the French
film classic La Fête à Henriette
(1952), directed by Julien Duvivier and scripted by Henri
Jeanson. The film retains the Gallic flavour by setting all of
the action in France (Paris and the Côte d’Azur naturellement), with
cinematographer Claude Renoir (nephew of the legendary filmmaker Jean
Renoir) capturing the colour, romance and splendour of the French
capital in summer. This film may be madder than a series of March
hare conventions but it is at least shot with supreme elegance.
At the time the film was made, Hepburn was a major star and had overtaken Holden (formerly Hollywood’s golden boy) in box office appeal. Experiencing problems in both his personal and professional life, Holden’s career was beginning to wane as he suffered increasingly from depression and alcoholism. This could explain why the Hepburn-Holden pairing in this film feels unbalanced and their on-screen romance unconvincing. Hepburn is as radiant as ever and her scenes with Tony Curtis (impersonating a method actor to perfection) are hilarious. Holden gives a good impression of a manic depressive drunk and is about as funny as a breeze block. Paris When It Sizzles has a great deal of charm, in spite of (or because of) its obvious imperfections. What probably started out as a well-meant satire on the art of movie-making ended up as a chaotic deconstructed mess, next to which Woody Allen’s more free format offerings are a model of coherence and restraint. But this is probably what makes the film so appealing. Where else would you find Audrey Hepburn being chased through a dark cave by William Holden made up as Dracula? What other film offers cameo appearances from Marlene Dietrich and Noel Coward and musical numbers from Frank Sinatra and Fred Astaire? No one is ever going to own up to putting this film on his or her Top 100 list but who can admit to disliking it? Just because it’s silly and structureless doesn’t mean it isn’t fun. © CinemaForever.com 2009 Write a review for this film...User Comments
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Director:
Richard Quine
Starring: William Holden, Audrey Hepburn, Grégoire Aslan, Raymond Bussières, Christian Duvaleix Synopsis
Richard Benson has just two days to complete a screenplay which
he has been commissioned to write by producer Alexander
Meyerheim. But all he has come up with so far is the title: The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower.
Benson has spent the last year living the life of the wealthy playboy
on the French Riviera and now, his deadline fast approaching, he heads
off a severe mental block with strong liquor. To speed
things up, he hires a secretary, Gabrielle. She is a vivacious
young woman who instantly fires his imagination. After a few
false starts, a storyline begins to take shape. It is Bastille
Day. The setting is Paris. An attractive ingénue
named Gaby falls for a mysterious stranger, Rick, who turns out to be a
liar and a thief. Pursued by Inspector Gilet, Rick prepares
a daring robbery, not knowing that Gaby is in fact working for the
police – or is she? As this madcap plot thickens faster than
quick-drying cement, Richard and Gabielle soon realise that they are
falling in love...
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© CinemaForever.com 2009