That Girl from Paris (1936)

Nikki Martin, a parisian opera star, takes off in search of adventure and true-love leaving her arranged husband to be at the alter. While hitchhiking, Nikki meets handsome American ... See full summary »

Director:

Leigh Jason

Writers:

W. Carey Wonderly (story), Jane Murfin (story),

Stars:

Lily Pons, Jack Oakie, Gene Raymond

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Lily Pons	...	Nicole 'Nikki' Martin
Jack Oakie	...	Whammo Lonsdale
Gene Raymond	...	Windy McLean
Herman Bing	...	'Hammy' Hammacher
Mischa Auer	...	Butch
Lucille Ball	...	Claire 'Clair' Williams
Frank Jenks	...	Laughing Boy Frank

Storyline

Nikki Martin, a parisian opera star, takes off in search of adventure and true-love leaving her arranged husband to be at the alter. While hitchhiking, Nikki meets handsome American musician, Windy McLean and his band the 'McLean Wildcats'. Windy immediately spites her, but Nikki falls in love with him and follows him to New York by stowing away on the ship his on. The steward finds her hiding in Windy and the Wilcats room. She is locked up by authorities and Windy and the band are fired. When the ship reaches New York, Nikki escapes off the ship and finds out the Wilcats apartment. They demand her to leave, fearing being implicated but she refuses. Clair, Windy girlfriend shows up with Hammacher, and offers the band a low paying job at a roadhouse in another city. Anxious to depart, they accept. Nikki becomes the bands singer. Clair becomes jealous and reports her to the authorities, causing the band to flee again...

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Plot Keywords:

ship | roadhouse | opera | hitchhiking | musician | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

1 January 1937 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Parisiense

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the film debut of the The Robert Mitchell Boy Choir.

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Connections

Version of Street Girl (1929)

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Soundtracks

"I Love You Truly"
(1906) (uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Carrie Jacobs Bond
Sung at the second wedding by the St Brendan Boys' Choir (aka Mitchell Choirboys)
Sung also by Jack Oakie with modified lyrics

User Reviews

Irresistibly Tuneful RKO Operetta Showcases Lily Pons

This is really a wonderful surprise, a charmingly contrived, irresistibly tune-filled operetta, made for RKO in 1936, directed by Leigh Jason. It was intended as a vehicle for its star, Lily Pons, playing the role of a Parisian opera star Nikki Martin that flees her wedding and becomes a stowaway hiding in a ship compartment occupied by an American Jazz band. Nikki meets and falls in love with the band leader Windy McLean (Gene Raymond) and she travels with his band from France to America.

Ms. Pons was a superior opera star of its time and "That Girl From Paris" is all hers, though other players, Jackie Oakie, Gene Raymond, Lucille Ball, Mischa Auer, Hermann Bing are all exceptionally good as well. Tall, willowy, coolly complacent (some would say stand-offish), Ms. Pons was no beauty like Jeanette MacDonald or Grace Moore, but she is endowed with an overpoweringly deep, searing opera voice that would put both Jeanette & Grace to shame. As much as the studio is promoting its opera star, RKO is also including as much classical & jazz music as possible and for this, it succeeds.

Much of the movie's charm & vivacity seems to run out of gas in the last fifteen minutes or so as the filmmakers try to endow the contrived scenario with a happy, forced ending, but everything before it was a sheer delight.