Paris - When It Sizzles (1964)

Director:

Richard Quine

Writers:

Julien Duvivier (story) &
Henri Jeanson (story) ...

Release Date:

8 April 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

RELAX...IT'S ALL RIGHT TO LAUGH AT THIS TENDER LOVE STORY!

Plot:

The sprightly young assistant of a Hollywood screenwriter helps him over his writer's block by acting out his fantasies of possible plots.

Plot Keywords:

Script | Screenplay | Screenwriter | Love | Scriptwriter

Cast

William Holden	...	Richard Benson / Rick
Audrey Hepburn	...	Gabrielle Simpson / Gaby
Grégoire Aslan	...	Police Insp. Gilet
Raymond Bussières	...	François (gangster #1)
Christian Duvaleix	...	Maitre d'Hotel
Michel Thomass		(as Michel Thomas)
Dominique Boschero
Evi Marandi
Noel Coward	...	Alexander Meyerheim

Also Known As:

Together in Paris (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:G (TV rating) | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | USA:Approved | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:11

Filming Locations:

Hôtel du Cap, Antibes, Alpes-Maritimes, France

Company:

Richard Quine Productions

Trivia:

During one scene, Audrey Hepburn and William Holden compare Frankenstein to My Fair Lady (1964), the latter of course being the film Audrey would soon star in. Charade (1963), Hepburn's next produced film, also contains a reference to My Fair Lady (1964).

Goofs:

Continuity: During the chase, Gaby's hat and veil are both through the sunroof of her car in the long shots, but only her hat is out for the in car shots.

Quotes:

Richard: Cut to the Eiffel Tower. The main title. The trumpets segue into the inevitable title song. Maybe we can get Sinatra to sing it.
[Frank Sinatra begins to sing]

Movie Connections:

References Moby Dick (1956)

Soundtrack:

That Face

You Had to Be There

This film seems to want to cash in on the genre that was so popular in the 1960s. Before the James Bond movies, anything to do with contemporary Europe in American films was either a musical or a noirish spy film. This movie reflects the big-screen, brightly colored and chock full of designer clothing look that was typical of the 60s. This was a time when movies were struggling to compete with color television, and the films got bigger, splashier, and took us to more and more exotic locations.

Paris When It Sizzles is very typical of the movies I remember from that time. It looks very much like the Pink Panther franchise, but it strives to be more sophisticated. I frankly think the direction and editing of the movie drag it down. There are is some very witty dialog ("how funny that we both kept giraffes!"), lots of in-jokes about the movie-making process, two very attractive stars (three if you count Tony Curtis in a supporting role), but it still drags more than it should. Except for Curtis, who is really funny and gets the tongue-in-cheek slant of the film just right, the rest seem to be laboring much too hard. The physical jokes (chase scenes, etc.) are overblown and generally go on too long. The whole look of the film seems heavy-handed when it should have been light and breezy. I have the impression this film was intended as farce, but it's more like that proverbial lead balloon. It's too bad, really. This could have been a lot funnier than it is. Nevertheless, Hepburn looks beautiful and soldiers on gamely, as she always did. Even if she did not enjoy making this movie, as has been reported, you wouldn't suspect it from her performance. She was the right choice for this role, but an actor never knows until she sees the final cut of a movie what it's going to look like. And yeah, I agree, that Dracula thing was pretty awful. Curtis' "Method" actor performance almost makes up for it. And what just what was Noel Coward doing in this picture, anyway? He's about as much of a Hollywood producer as Audrey Hepburn is Xena the Warrior Princess.

To really see how surreal farce was done right in the 1960s, I recommend the Beatles' "Help."