The Last Time I Saw Paris is a
1954The year 1954 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 12 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces wife Marion Benda. The two were married in 1927.* A reproduction of "America's First Movie Studio", Thomas Edison's Black Maria, is constructed...
romantic drama made by MGM, loosely based on
F. Scott FitzgeraldFrancis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are evocative of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the twentieth century's greatest writers. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost Generation" of the Twenties...
's short story
Babylon Revisited"Babylon Revisited" is a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, first published in the The Saturday Evening Post on February 21, 1931, and had many parallels to Fitzgerald's own life, both personal and historical. “Babylon Revisited” is widely considered to be the apex of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short...
. It was directed by
Richard BrooksRichard Brooks was an American screenwriter, director, novelist and occasional producer.-Early life and Career:...
and produced by
Jack CummingsJack Cummings was an American film producer and director. He was married to Betty Kern, daughter of Jerome Kern....
. The screenplay was by
Julius J. EpsteinJulius J. Epstein was an American screenwriter, who had a long career, most noted for the adaptation - in partnership with his twin brother, Philip, and others —- of the unproduced play Everybody Comes to Rick's that became the screenplay for the film Casablanca , for which its team of...
,
Philip G. EpsteinPhilip G. Epstein was an American screenwriter most known for his adaptation in partnership with his twin brother, Julius, and others of the unproduced play Everybody Comes to Rick's that became the screenplay for the Academy Award-winning film Casablanca .Epstein was born in New York City and...
and Richard Brooks.
The film starred
Elizabeth TaylorDame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor, DBE , also known as Liz Taylor, is an English-born British-American actress. Known for her acting skills and beauty, as well as her Hollywood lifestyle, including many marriages...
and
Van JohnsonVan Johnson was an American film and television actor and dancer who was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios during and after World War II....
, with
Walter PidgeonWalter Davis Pidgeon was a Canadian actor who lived most of his adult life in the United States.-Early life:...
,
Donna ReedDonna Reed was an American film and television actress.-Early life:Reed was born Donna Belle Mullenger on a farm near Denison, Iowa, the daughter of Hazel Jane and William Richard Mullenger. The eldest of five children, she was raised as a Methodist...
,
Eva GaborEva Gabor was a Hungarian-born socialite and actress. Best known for her role as Lisa Douglas, the wife of Eddie Albert's character Oliver Wendell Douglas, on Green Acres. Unlike her sisters, Eva had great success as an actress in film, Broadway and television...
,
Kurt KasznarKurt Kasznar was a stage, film, and television actor.-Early life:Kasznar was born in Vienna, Austria as Kurt Servischer. His father left when Kurt was very young, his mother married a Hungarian restaurateur named Ferdinand Kasznar, and Kurt assumed his surname...
,
George DolenzGeorge Dolenz was an American film actor born in Trieste , in the city's Slovene community...
,
Sandy DescherSandra "Sandy" Descher is a American former child actress of the 1950s.-Biography:Although born in Burbank, California, she was discovered by accident while on vacation. When Descher was about five years old, her family had travelled across country to New York City where the girl fell in love with...
and
Roger MooreSir Roger George Moore KBE is a English actor and film producer. He is perhaps best known for portraying two British action heroes, Simon Templar in the television series The Saint from 1962 to 1969, and James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
.
The film's title song was composed by
Oscar Hammerstein IIOscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American writer, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song", and much of his work is part of the unofficial Great...
and
Jerome KernJerome David Kern was an American composer of popular music. He wrote around 700 songs, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A Fine Romance", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "All the Things You Are", "The Way You Look Tonight", and "Who?", a 6-week number 1 hit for...
and, although the song was not written explicitly for the movie (used in
Lady Be GoodLady Be Good is the title of an MGM musical film which was released in 1941.The film starred dancer Eleanor Powell along with Ann Sothern, Robert Young, Lionel Barrymore, and Red Skelton. It was directed by Norman Z. McLeod and produced by Arthur Freed...
), it was featured prominently throughout the film and can be heard in many scenes, either being sung or being played as an instrumental.
The film is currently in the
public domainThe public domain is a range of abstract materials—commonly referred to as intellectual property—which are not owned or controlled by anyone. The term indicates that these materials are therefore "public property", and available for anyone to use for any purpose...
.
Plot
As
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
ends in Europe, journalist Charles Wills (
Van JohnsonVan Johnson was an American film and television actor and dancer who was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios during and after World War II....
) is on the street of
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, covering the city-wide celebration. He is suddenly grabbed by a beautiful woman, who kisses him on the lips and disappears.
Charles follows the crowd to Café Dhingo and meets another pretty woman named Marion Elliswirth (
Donna ReedDonna Reed was an American film and television actress.-Early life:Reed was born Donna Belle Mullenger on a farm near Denison, Iowa, the daughter of Hazel Jane and William Richard Mullenger. The eldest of five children, she was raised as a Methodist...
). The mutual attraction is instant and she invites him to join her father's celebration of the end of the war. Charles, Marion and her persistent
FrenchFrench people can refer to:* The legal residents and citizens of France, regardless of ancestry. For a legal discussion, see French nationality law.* People whose ancestors lived in France or the area that later became France....
suitor Claude Matine (
George DolenzGeorge Dolenz was an American film actor born in Trieste , in the city's Slovene community...
) arrive at the Elliswirth household, only to find that the woman who had kissed Charles is Marion's younger sister Helen (
Elizabeth TaylorDame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor, DBE , also known as Liz Taylor, is an English-born British-American actress. Known for her acting skills and beauty, as well as her Hollywood lifestyle, including many marriages...
).
Their father, James Ellswirth (
Walter PidgeonWalter Davis Pidgeon was a Canadian actor who lived most of his adult life in the United States.-Early life:...
), had come out of
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
alive and promptly joined the
Lost GenerationThe "Lost Generation" is a term coined by author and poet Gertrude Stein to characterize a general motif of disillusionment of American literary notables who lived in Paris and Europe after the First World War. Figures identified with the "Lost Generation" included authors and artists such as...
. Unlike most drifters, he never grew out of it; even went as far as raising his two daughters to desire such a lifestyle. Helen takes after her father and uses her beauty to sustain a life of luxury even though James is flat broke. Marion goes the other way and looks for serious-minded and conventional young men such as Claude, an aspiring prosecutor, and Charles, the future novelist.
Charles and Helen fall in love and start dating. After Helen recovers from a near-death case of
pneumoniaPneumonia is an inflammatory illness of the lung. Frequently, it is described as lung parenchyma/alveolar inflammation and abnormal alveolar filling with fluid ....
, they get married and settle in Paris. James had hoped that Helen would marry rich but, having taken a liking to Charles, he good-naturedly joins the happy family of Charles, Helen and their daughter Vickie (
Sandy DescherSandra "Sandy" Descher is a American former child actress of the 1950s.-Biography:Although born in Burbank, California, she was discovered by accident while on vacation. When Descher was about five years old, her family had travelled across country to New York City where the girl fell in love with...
). Marion, having lost Charles to Helen, agrees to marry Claude around the same time. Charles struggles to make ends meet with his meager salary, works on his novels and looks after Vickie.
At about this time, the thus-far barren oil fields in
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
James had bought years before finally begin to profit. Charles, to whom James had given the oil fields as a
dowryA dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings to her husband in marriage. Compare bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both dowry...
, quits his job, and Helen and James begin to host parties instead of going to them. Sudden wealth changes Helen, who becomes more responsible, while Charles parties his wealth away. They also each take on other interests: Helen starts to flirt with handsome tennis player Paul Lane (
Roger MooreSir Roger George Moore KBE is a English actor and film producer. He is perhaps best known for portraying two British action heroes, Simon Templar in the television series The Saint from 1962 to 1969, and James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
), while Charles asks professional divorcee Lorraine Quarl (
Eva GaborEva Gabor was a Hungarian-born socialite and actress. Best known for her role as Lisa Douglas, the wife of Eddie Albert's character Oliver Wendell Douglas, on Green Acres. Unlike her sisters, Eva had great success as an actress in film, Broadway and television...
) to join him as he competes in a local Paris-to-Monte Carlo race.
After the race Charles returns to Paris to patch things up with Helen, only to find her sitting in Café Dhingo with Paul. A fight breaks out between Paul and Charles, and an angry Charles goes home first and puts the chain latch on the door from the inside, preventing it from being opened all the way. When Helen comes home and tried to enter she sees the latch. She calls out if he wants her to go away. But Charles is in a drunken stupor on the carpeted staircase and we all hear the bottle dropped from his hands as Helen calls. Helen ends up having to walk all way to Marion's place in the snow. She catches pneumonia again and dies.
Marion petitions for and gets full custody of Vickie, while Charles goes back home to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to deal with the loss of both his wife and daughter. A few years later, having straightened his life out, published a book, and stopped boozing, Charles returns to Paris, hoping his reform will persuade Marion to give Vickie back to him. Marion refuses, however, still feeling resentful towards Charles for having fallen for Helen instead of her. Seeing that Charles and Vickie belong together, Claude finally steps in and tells Marion that she is punishing Charles for his not realizing that Marion loved him. It is painful for him to tell her he realizes that he, Claude, could not have all of her love, but Charles should not be punished any more.
Marion goes into Café Dhingo (on whose main wall is a big picture of Helen memorializing her having jumped into a fountain and getting arrested for it) to look for Charles (who is sitting in front of the wall painting) and tells him that Helen would have wanted him not to be alone. Outside the cafe, Claude is with Vicki. The child runs to Charles and Charles and the child walk off together as the movie ends.