Love in the Afternoon (1957)

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Billy Wilder (screenplay) and
I.A.L. Diamond (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

30 June 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Drama

Tagline:

Love is a game any number can play... especially in the afternoon...

Plot:

Director Billy Wilder salutes his idol, Ernst Lubitsch, with this comedy about a middle-aged playboy fascinated by the daughter of a private detective who has been hired to entrap him with the wife of a client.

Plot Keywords:

Hotel | Love | Private Detective | Playboy | Music Band

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Gary Cooper	...	Frank Flannagan
Audrey Hepburn	...	Ariane Chavasse / Thin Girl
Maurice Chevalier	...	Claude Chavasse
John McGiver	...	Monsieur X
Van Doude	...	Michel
Lise Bourdin	...	Madame X
Olga Valéry	...	Hotel Guest with Dog (as Olga Valery)
The Gypsies	...	Themselves
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marc Aurian	...	Couple Drenched by Water Wagon (uncredited)
Vera Boccadoro	...	Couple Drenched by Water Wagon (uncredited)
Françoise Brion	...	(uncredited)
Leila Croft	...	Swedish Twin (uncredited)
Valerie Croft	...	Swedish Twin (uncredited)
Guy Delorme	...	Gigolo (uncredited)
Filo	...	Flannagan's Chauffeur (uncredited)
Gloria France	...	Client at Butcher's (uncredited)
Charles Lemontier	...	General (uncredited)
Christian Lude	...	General (uncredited)
Léo Marjane	...	Singer in French Version (uncredited)
Eve Marley	...	Tandemist (uncredited)
Georges Perrault	...	Couple Drenched by Water Wagon (uncredited)
Minerva Pious	...	Maid at the Ritz (uncredited)
Jean Rieubon	...	Tandemist (uncredited)
Betty Schneider	...	Couple Drenched by Water Wagon (uncredited)
Michelle Selignac	...	Widow (uncredited)
Franz Waxman	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Billy Wilder

Writing credits
Billy Wilder		(screenplay) and
I.A.L. Diamond		(screenplay)
Claude Anet		(novel "Ariane, jeune fille russe")

Produced by
Doane Harrison	....	associate producer
William Schorr	....	associate producer
Billy Wilder	....	producer
Lee Katz	....	associate producer (uncredited)

Cinematography by
William C. Mellor		(director of photography) (as William Mellor)

Film Editing by
Léonide Azar		(as Leonid Azar)
Chester W. Schaeffer		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Alexandre Trauner

Set Decoration by
Oliver Emert		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Jay A. Morley Jr.		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
John G. Holden	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Edward Dodds	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Paul Feyder	....	assistant director
Noël Howard	....	second unit director (as Noel Howard)
Ray Taylor Jr.	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Saul Bass	....	poster designer (uncredited)

Sound Department
Joseph de Bretagne	....	sound recordist (as Jo de Bretagne)
Del Harris	....	sound editor
Leon M. Leon	....	sound technician (uncredited)
John Oliver	....	sound technician (uncredited)
Roger A. Parish	....	sound technician (uncredited)
Richard Raguse	....	sound technician (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Sanford Roth	....	publicity still photographer (uncredited)
Al St. Hilaire	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Harry L. Underwood	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Richard Walling	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Arthur Zinn	....	publicity still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Hubert de Givenchy	....	wardrobe: Audrey Hepburn (uncredited)
Mary Tate	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Music Department
Robert Tracy	....	music editor
Franz Waxman	....	music adaptor
Albert Sendrey	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Christian Ferry	....	location manager (uncredited)
Winifred Gibson	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Allied Artists Pictures

Distributors

• Allied Artists Pictures (1957) (USA) (theatrical)
• Lorimar (1985) (USA) (all media)
• Fox Video (1992) (USA) (VHS) (For CBS/Fox )
• Fox Video (1992) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Les Artistes Associés (1957) (France) (theatrical)
• Epoca (????) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Warner Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

130 min | Spain:125 min (cut version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | Australia:PG | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating) (2006) | Australia:G (TV rating) | USA:Approved (certificate #18536) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Japan:G (2009) | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Château de Vitry, Vitry-sur-Seine, Val-de-Marne, France

Company:

Allied Artists Pictures

Trivia:

Audrey Hepburn's character (Ariane) and Maurice Chevalier's character (Claude) are named after the film's scriptwriter, Claude Anet.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Ariane returns one of her father's files to a locked safe and opens it by banging it with her fist, a thin wire used to pull open the safe is visible.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Claude Chavasse:[voiceover] This is the city - Paris, France. It is just like any other big city - London, New York, Tokyo - except for two little things. In Paris, people eat better. And in Paris, people make love - well, perhaps not better, but certainly more often. They do it any time...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Hearts Afire: Love in the Afternoon (#2.16)" (1994)

Soundtrack:

C'est Si Bon

No mismatch in the leading roles

Now this is a remarkable movie. Very funny, very romantic - and with an absolutely lovely performance by Audrey Hepburn. I don't understand the bullshit about the miscasting of the male lead. Gary Cooper might be too old for Audrey Hepburn, but he plays this role in his usual underplaying manner, and this works much, much better than most other actors would have been in his role. And because of his charisma the Hepburn-Cooper teaming is not a mismatch. Other greats of that era couldn't have been better: Cary Grant would have been too cool, Peck has never been the Frank Flannagan-type. Younger stars would've been totally outplayed by Audrey. One of Billy Wilder's best films, and if you know his filmography, that means something. Chevalier is very good and sympathetic in the supporting role. And this is one of many films you would ruin with color! I hope the days of those lunatics are over who computer-colored some of the beautiful b/w classics.