Paris in Spring
Encyclopedia
Paris in Spring is a 1935
black and white musical
comedy film
directed by Lewis Milestone
for Paramount Pictures
.It is based on a play by Dwight Taylor
, with a screen play by Samuel Hoffenstein
and Franz Schulz
.
) breaks off her long term engagement with her fiancé Paul de Lille (Tullio Carminati
). Paul heads to the top of The Eiffel Tower
with thoughts of suicide. In another part of Paris and also afraid of marriage, Mignon (Ida Lupino
) breaks it off from her young lover (James Blakely). Despairing, Mignon also climbs to the top of the intending to leap to her death. There she meets Paul and the two compare stories. After discussion, Paul dissuades her from leaping and the two conspire to make their respective partners jealous by pretending to have an affair with each other.
noted that while Mary Ellis offered a degree of entertainment with her singing, Tullio Carminati did not help the film by own treating the film in a burlesque style. The further offered that while Ida Lupino and James Blakeley were moderately good in their roles, any merited praise for acting is to the credit of Lynne Overman, Jessie Ralph and to the actor in the lesor role of the Chez Simone manager.
Reviewer Graham Greene
praised Milestone's emmulation of Ernst Lubitsch
in his being able to create a film that was a "silly, charming tale", and make something "light, enchanting, and genuinely fantastic" out of a nonsense plot device.Lupino's role in Paris in Spring has been described as "dull", something which she agreed with.
in October that year and in Finland
in November. The film was sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution.
1935 in film
-Events:*Judy Garland signs a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .*Seven year old Shirley Temple wins a special Academy Award.*The Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment started in order to educate the Bantu peoples.-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:...
black and white musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Lewis Milestone
Lewis Milestone
Lewis Milestone was a Russian-American motion picture director. He is known for directing Two Arabian Knights and All Quiet on the Western Front , both of which received Academy Awards for Best Director...
for Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
.It is based on a play by Dwight Taylor
Dwight Taylor (writer)
Dwight Taylor was an American author, playwright, and film and television screenwriter.-Background:Taylor was the son of playwright Charles A...
, with a screen play by Samuel Hoffenstein
Samuel Hoffenstein
Samuel "Sam" Hoffenstein was a screenwriter and a musical composer. Born in Russia, he immigrated to the United States and began a career in New York City as a newspaper writer and in the entertainment business. In 1931 he moved to Los Angeles where he lived for the rest of his life where he wrote...
and Franz Schulz
Franz Schulz
Franz Schulz was a playwright and screenwriter who worked from 1920 through 1956.-Biography:...
.
Plot
Afraid of marriage, Simone (Mary EllisMary Ellis
Mary Ellis was a long-lived star of the British stage best known for her roles in the genre of musical theatre. After appearing with the Metropolitan Opera beginning in 1918, later appearing opposite Enrico Caruso, she acted on Broadway, creating the title role in Rose Marie...
) breaks off her long term engagement with her fiancé Paul de Lille (Tullio Carminati
Tullio Carminati
Tullio Carminati was an Italian actor most famous for roles in The Cardinal, One Night of Love, and El Cid. He also appeared in the movie, Roman Holiday....
). Paul heads to the top of The Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...
with thoughts of suicide. In another part of Paris and also afraid of marriage, Mignon (Ida Lupino
Ida Lupino
Ida Lupino was an English-born film actress and director, and a pioneer among women filmmakers. In her 48-year career, she appeared in 59 films and directed seven others, mostly in the United States. She appeared in serial television programmes 58 times and directed 50 other episodes...
) breaks it off from her young lover (James Blakely). Despairing, Mignon also climbs to the top of the intending to leap to her death. There she meets Paul and the two compare stories. After discussion, Paul dissuades her from leaping and the two conspire to make their respective partners jealous by pretending to have an affair with each other.
Partial cast
- Mary EllisMary EllisMary Ellis was a long-lived star of the British stage best known for her roles in the genre of musical theatre. After appearing with the Metropolitan Opera beginning in 1918, later appearing opposite Enrico Caruso, she acted on Broadway, creating the title role in Rose Marie...
as Simone - Tullio CarminatiTullio CarminatiTullio Carminati was an Italian actor most famous for roles in The Cardinal, One Night of Love, and El Cid. He also appeared in the movie, Roman Holiday....
as Paul de Lille - Ida LupinoIda LupinoIda Lupino was an English-born film actress and director, and a pioneer among women filmmakers. In her 48-year career, she appeared in 59 films and directed seven others, mostly in the United States. She appeared in serial television programmes 58 times and directed 50 other episodes...
as Mignon de Charelle - Lynne OvermanLynne OvermanLynne Overman was a film actor in the 1930s and early-1940s who often played a sidekick.-Selected filmography:* Dixie * The Desert Song * The Forest Rangers...
as DuPont - Jessie RalphJessie RalphJessie Ralph was an American stage and screen actress, best known for her matronly roles in many classic motion pictures....
as Grandma Leger - Dorothea WolbertDorothea WolbertDorothea Wolbert was an American film actress. She appeared in 147 films between 1916 and 1957. She appeared on the television series "I Love Lucy" in episode #137- Ricky's European Booking .She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and died in Hollywood, California.-Selected filmography:*...
as Francine - Akim TamiroffAkim TamiroffAkim Mikhailovich Tamiroff was an Armenian actor. He won the first Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor.Tamiroff was born in Tiflis, Russian Empire , of Armenian ethnicity. He trained at the Moscow Art Theatre drama school. He arrived in the U.S. in 1923 on a tour with a troupe of actors...
as Cafe Manager - Jack RaymondJack RaymondJack Raymond was a British actor and film director. Born in Wimborne, Dorset in 1886, he began acting before the First World War in A Detective for a Day. In 1921 he directed his first film and gradually he wound down his acting to concentrate completely on directing - making more than forty films...
as Elevator Man - Arnold KorffArnold KorffArnold Korff was an Austrian-born Hollywood actor and director. He made his first appearance on the American stage in Denver in 1892.-References:...
as Doctor - Rolfe SedanRolfe SedanRolfe Sedan was an American character actor.Born Edward Sedan in New York City, his mother was a Broadway theatre fashion designer and his father a symphony conductor....
as Modiste - Arthur HousmanArthur HousmanArthur Housman was an American actor in films during the Golden Age of Hollywood.-Career:Initially as a leading man, Housman later became known as Hollywood's most familiar comic drunkard in films of the 1930s, usually playing cameo parts in features but with better opportunities in short films...
as Interviewer - Jack MulhallJack MulhallJack Mulhall, born John Joseph Francis Mulhall, was a film actor since the silent film era and appeared in over 430 films....
as George, Cafe Simone Doorman - Elsa PetersonElsa PetersonElsa Peterson , was an American actress. She appeared in 25 films between 1930 and 1957.She died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.-External links:...
as Hairdresser - Michael Mark as Bartender
- Billy GilbertBilly GilbertBilly Gilbert was an American comedian and actor known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects and television shows starting in 1929. He is not to be confused with silent film actor Billy Gilbert Billy Gilbert (September 12, 1894 – September 23,...
as First Chef - William IrvingWilliam Irving (actor)William Irving was a German-born American film actor. He appeared in 174 films between 1916 and 1941. Irving died of a heart attack on Christmas Day, 1943.-Selected filmography:* Whose Baby?...
as Second Chef - Francis FordFrancis Ford (actor)Francis Ford was a prolific film actor, writer, and director. He was the older brother of film director John Ford. He also appeared in many of John Ford's movies, including Young Mr. Lincoln and The Quiet Man.He starred in the 1912 two-reeler The Deserter by Thomas H. Ince and acted in over 400...
as Drunken Peasant - James Blakeley as Albert de Charelle
- Craig ReynoldsCraig Reynolds (actor)Craig Reynolds was an American film actor of the 1930s and 1940s.-Early life and career:Born Harold Hugh Enfield in Anaheim, California in 1907, Reynolds enjoyed a film career spanning the 1930s and 1940s, although the majority of his roles occurred during the first decade of his career.As an...
as Alphonse - Joseph North as Etienne
- Harold Entwistle as Charles The Butler
- Sam Ash as Clerk
Soundtrack
- "Paris in Spring" by Harry RevelHarry RevelHarry Revel was an English composer of musical theatre.Revel was born in London. Before emigrating to the United States in 1929, he wrote musicals for productions in Paris, Copenhagen, Vienna and London....
and Mack Gordon, sung by Mary Ellis and Tullio Carminati - "Jealousy", sung by Mary Ellis
- "Bonjour et Bonsoir", sung by Mary Ellis and Tullio Carminati
Reception
The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
noted that while Mary Ellis offered a degree of entertainment with her singing, Tullio Carminati did not help the film by own treating the film in a burlesque style. The further offered that while Ida Lupino and James Blakeley were moderately good in their roles, any merited praise for acting is to the credit of Lynne Overman, Jessie Ralph and to the actor in the lesor role of the Chez Simone manager.
Reviewer Graham Greene
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
praised Milestone's emmulation of Ernst Lubitsch
Ernst Lubitsch
Ernst Lubitsch was a German-born film director. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as his prestige grew, his films were promoted as having "the Lubitsch touch."In 1947 he received an Honorary Academy Award for his...
in his being able to create a film that was a "silly, charming tale", and make something "light, enchanting, and genuinely fantastic" out of a nonsense plot device.Lupino's role in Paris in Spring has been described as "dull", something which she agreed with.
Release
The film was first released in US theaters on 28 May, 1935, and was released in DenmarkDenmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
in October that year and in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
in November. The film was sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution.
External links
- Paris in Spring at Allmovie
- Paris in Spring at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- Film Poster
