Innocents in Paris [1953 / 2022] [Vintage Classics] [Blu-ray] [UK Release] Wicked-Wonderful Paris . . . It’s Laughter All The Way! Join In The Fun In This Grand Spree In Gay Paree!
A brand new restoration of the classic romantic comedy directed by Gordon Parry, starring the crème de la crème of British cinema including Alastair Sim and Margaret Rutherford and featuring cameos from Christopher Lee, Claire Bloom, Jimmy Edwards, Kenneth Williams, Laurence Harvey and Ronald Shiner.
An assortment of British tourists flies away for a wild and wonderful weekend in Paris, where each character finds that the city welcomes them and changes their lives in different ways, often with hilarious results.
An English diplomat Sir Norman Barker [Alastair Sim] is on a working trip to obtain an agreement with his Russian counterpart Panitov [Peter Illing]; a Royal Marine bandsman Dicky Bird [Ronald Shiner] has a night out on the tiles after winning a pool of the French currency held by all the Marines in his band; a young woman Susan Robbins [Claire Bloom] is wined and dined by an older Parisian man Max de Lorne [Claude Dauphin] who gives her a tour of Paris; an amateur artist Gwladys Inglott [Margaret Rutherford] searches out fellow painters on the Left Bank and in the Louvre; a hearty Englishman Captain George Stilton [Jimmy Edwards] spends the entire weekend in an English-style pub; an archetypal Scotsman and Battle of Normandy veteran Andy McGregor [James Copeland] finds love with a young French woman.
FILM FACT: The film ‘Innocents in Paris’ displays the mores and manners of the British, and, to a lesser extent, the French, in the early nineteen-fifties. At this time, Britons were allowed to take only £25 out of the country, as £5 British cash and traveller's cheques, and there are several scenes showing how the travellers dealt with this. The film also features a Russian nightclub, of which there were several in Paris at the time, with Ludmila Lopato, a Russian Musique Tzigane chanteuse, singing the original Russian version of the song that became “Those were the Days” which became a massive hit record for Mary Hopkin.
Cast: Alastair Sim, Ronald Shiner, Claire Bloom, Margaret Rutherford, Claude Dauphin, Laurence Harvey, Jimmy Edwards, James Copeland, Gaby Bruyère, Monique Gérard, Peter Illing, Colin Gordon, Kenneth Kove, Frank Muir, Philip Stainton, Peter Jones, Stringer Davis, Richard Wattis, The Band of Plymouth Group Royal Marines, Louis de Funès, Albert Dinan, Jean Richard, Maurice Baquet, Ludmila Lopato, Georgette Anys, Polycarpe Pavloff, Irene De Strozzi, Grégoire Aslan, Le French Cancan du Moulin Rouge [The Can-Can Dancers from The Moulin Rouge Paris], Jean-Marie Amato (uncredited), Solange Bary (uncredited), Reginald Beckwith (uncredited), Joan Benham Joseph Bimstone (uncredited), Alain Bouvette (uncredited), Eddie Boyce (uncredited), John Brooking (uncredited), Daniel Brown (uncredited), Cyril Chamberlain (uncredited), Jacques Ciron (uncredited), Lynn Craig (uncredited), Max Dalban (uncredited), Dan Darnelli Guy De Monceau (uncredited), Charles Dechamps (uncredited), Lesley Dudley (uncredited), Evanghelou (uncredited), Marcelle Féry (uncredited), Alf Goddard (uncredited), Vera Grech (uncredited), Dita Hands (uncredited), Walter Horsbrugh (uncredited), Douglas Ives (uncredited), Miles Joyce (uncredited), Hamilton Keene (uncredited), Georges Kobakhidze (uncredited), Mara Lane (uncredited), Christopher Lee (uncredited), Andreas Malandrinos (uncredited), Sophie Mallet (uncredited), Yannick Malloire (uncredited), Joyce Marlow (uncredited), Jack May (uncredited), Albert Michel (uncredited), Moreau (uncredited), André Numès Fils (uncredited), André Philip (uncredited), Vladimir Polyakov (uncredited), Roger Rafal (uncredited), Charles Rayford (uncredited), Peter Rendalen (uncredited), Ivan Samson (uncredited), Arthur Sandifer (uncredited), Frederick Schrecker (uncredited), Delene Scott (uncredited), John Serret (uncredited), Bill Shine (uncredited), Vladimir Slastcheff (uncredited), Sylvain (uncredited), Toke Townley (uncredited), (uncredited) and Joan Winmill Brown (uncredited)
Director: Gordon Parry
Producers: Anatole de Grunwald and John Woolf (uncredited)
Screenplay: Anatole de Grunwald
Composer: Joseph Kosma
Costume and Wardrobe: Ann Wemyss (dress supervisor)
Cinematography: Gordon Lang (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Black-and-White)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Digital Audio
Subtitles: English SDH
Running Time: 90 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Romulus Films / STUDIOCANAL
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘Innocents in Paris’ [1953] is a difficult film to categorise since it’s not really a full-on romantic comedy, but shares many of the same traits. The plot basically follows the “adventures” – and I use that word advisedly – of a group of British individuals who got to visit Paris for the weekend. In one way or another they all find love or at least some kind of appreciation in the eyes of another, and learn some life lessons too.
There’s a warning at the beginning of STUDIOCANAL’s release of ‘Innocents In Paris’ along the lines of this film was made in a different era and todays viewers might find the films content and views offensive or disturbing. It’s the same caption that proceeded the STUDIOCANAL’s other recent Blu-ray releases, which were made in the same period, could be classed now as nothing but harmless entertainment, the same couldn’t be said for Innocents In Paris. Watching it now, nearly 60 years after it was made, ‘Innocents In Paris’ was made in 1953, there’s just something very stereo typical, in t, particularly in the way females are portrayed.
Sir Norman Barker [Alastair Sim], a politician of sorts who is attending an economic conference and later becomes friends (kind of) with a difficult Russian diplomat Panitov [Peter Illing]; Andy McGregor [James Copeland] the Scot who gets friendly with a French girl, loses his wallet, accuses her of stealing it, and then apologies, making everything okay in the end; Captain George Stilton [Jimmy Edwards] a bombastic ex-military type who spends all his time in Paris in an English pub listening to the racing and trying to teach the French cricket; Susan Robbins [Claire Bloom], who is the typical English Rose, being wooed and seduced by an older Frenchman, Max de Lorne [Claude Dauphin]; Dicky Bird [Ronald Shiner], a drummer in a military band, who ends up helping a hooker and her young child. Margaret Rutherford is just wonderful as Gwladys Inglott an eccentric painter who goes for a weekend in Paris by going around painting different locations and encountering other artists doing the same thing and some of the artists Gwladys Inglott rejects for their modern style of painting. But Gwladys Inglott thinks she is a wannabe artist who gets up her hopes and her dream of owning the Mona Lisa painting, well sort of, and finally acquires a painting of the Mona Lisa and watch the fun and games when Gwladys Inglott arrives in England and has to declare the painting of the Mona Lisa and see the reaction of the custom officials and the hilarious outcome for Gwladys Inglott. But look out especially for the scene where Margaret Rutherford visits the Louvre Museum where the famous painting of the Mona Lisa is being displayed and comes upon an artist painting a copy of the Mona Lisa and when Margaret Rutherford admires the artist’s version of the Mona Lisa, well this person is in fact Margaret Rutherford’s husband Stringer Davis.
Romance in this film is handled by young English rose Claire Bloom as Susan Robbins who gets some very heavy wooing by Max de Lorne as Claude Dauphin which doesn’t quite go the course, still it's a once in a lifetime experience. That and a few others make ‘Innocents In Paris’ a delightful experience and a look at post World War 2 Paris. It still holds up well because the experiences are eternal.
Although the film introduces us to quite a few characters initially the film only focuses on a handful of them, these being. Clearly, director Gordon Perry is having fun with stereotypes here, poking fun at clichéd behaviour, whether it’s the Englishman who goes abroad and then ends up drinking and eating only English food; the Scotsman who puts his money above hurting a lady’s feelings; the naïve English rose, who is oblivious to how others (mostly men) perceive her, especially sexually; the eccentric older lady, who bumbles around getting by on her kooky charm; the stern Russian who only smiles when plied with Vodka; and the sly, snail-eating silver-haired French fox, who hangs out near airports and the like hoping to pick up out-of-their-depth foreigners.
Labelled as a classic romantic comedy, ‘Innocents in Paris’ should really be called what it is trying to directly ape. That is the Saturday night fun and games of popular theatre or vaudeville to you and me. The reason why we now simply call it as a jolly good rollicking British rom com film and we also get to experience an ensemble of laughs in certain situations. Post war, just before the teenage boom it was all about fun on the screen. All about getting bums on seat. Cinema was a family event. More bums, and more seats.
The distributors censor and the industry were very keen on promoting these family aspects of the industry. People laugh, people smile and the tickling of family’s ribs, and make them spend their hard earned money at the box office. The film is delightful and an easy ride that is spearheaded by a great ensemble cast, who get to entertain us, playing a situation comedy set up, all in the beautiful, exotic city of love, i.e. Gay Paree!
‘Innocents in Paris’ is an enjoyable light British comedy, and very much a curate’s egg. It has some wonderful scenes, but others are less engaging. Many of the stories are quite similar too, featuring the search for love or romance. Location filming in and around Paris helps to lift the production and make it very easy on the eye.
Don't look for something deep, because this is a quiet, very charming little film, with a number of humorous, lovely scenes. It contains several slices of life from the weekends of six characters visiting Paris, each with their own goals, problems and hopes. The visiting characters are played by outstanding British actors and actresses. There is an absolutely priceless performance by Alistair Sim as a stuffy British diplomat. Margaret Rutherford plays to perfection of the ever-lovable eccentric character we know from her other stellar performances. Fifty plus years on, it doesn't really matter what the political motivations of the film were, it's an entertaining little story with a beginning, middle and an end. Ignore the agenda-driven propaganda from other film reviewers.
‘Innocents In Paris’ is a film full of racial stereotypes, there’s the foreign salesman with a bad French accent selling trinkets in the street, there’s the Russian diplomat who drinks nothing but vodka, there’s the kilted Scotsman, the list goes on and on. As long as you’re not easily offended by old fashion attitudes, then the film ‘Innocents In Paris’ is a very enjoyable and nostalgic look back to an era that’s now long gone.
Innocents in Paris Music Track List
Dorogoi Dlinnoyu (Music by Boris Fomin) (Lyrics by Konstantin Podrevsky) [Performed by Ludmila Lopato]
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Romulus Films and STUDIOCANAL presents us the film ‘Innocents in Paris’ with an upgraded 1080p black-and-white image compared to the DVD release and of course it is shown in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio. The upgraded restoration of the black-and-white print is totally sharp, so all in all this new Blu-ray release is the best way to view the film in its full glory! Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Romulus Films and STUDIOCANAL brings us the film ‘Innocents in Paris’ with just one standard 2.0 LPCM Digital Audio. But with the improvement in technology the dialogue is so much crisper, clearer, and better all rounded than it sounded when the film was seen by the general public in the cinema. It is totally free of any strong background hiss, especially when hearing the wonderful and haunting Joseph Kosma's composed music film score, that gives it that added bonus for this film and give the film a much more enjoyable experience.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: A Weekend To Remember – Agnès Poirier Discusses ‘Innocents In Paris’ [2022] [1080p] [1.78:1 / 1.37:1] [23.54] Here we meet Agnès Poirier [Journalist, Writer and Journalist] and discusses the film ‘Innocents in Paris,’ and thinks the film is a delightful curiosity and a charming postcard about Paris, it is also a historical document and loves seeing films of this type of genre and gest to show you an era that no longer exists, and an age and many quirks and it is that type of film you must see. The film is a British comedy of all types of stereo types. Here Agnès Poirier first look at the Englsih Upper Class character, like Sir Norma Baker [Alistair Sim] who is an International Official, who probably works for the HM Treasury and Agnès Poirier feels the actor Alistair Sim does a wonderful job, especially getting one over on the Russian Diplomate, and although Alistair Sim is portrayed as English, was actually born in Scotland, and Agnès Poirier feels Alistair Sim was at the peak of his acting career in the 1950’s. Next Agnès Poirier mentions the Scotsman in his kilt, that is James Copeland who plays Andy McGregor, and at the time of the film’s release was not very well known as an actor, but went onto a huge career, and feels he portrayed a very endearing character on the streets of Paris, who at the time played a very naïve character on the streets of Paris, but feels he gave a very good performance. Next up Agnès Poirier talks about the elderly painter who of course was played by the wonderful eccentric and wonderful actress Margaret Rutherford who plays Gwladys Inglott and even thought the actress only plays a few scenes in the film, but despite this, Margaret Rutherford really stands out and is larger than life. Next up Agnès Poirier talks about the actor Jimmy Edwards who plays Captain George Stilton with his usual massive handlebar moustache which of course is his trademark and in the film spends all of his time in English Pub. And as to Jimmy Edwads himself, was a very well-known British comedian in the 1950’s. Next up Agnès Poirier talks about the actor Romal Shiner who played Dickie Bird and is the drummer in the military band, who actually spent time in the British Army, and certainly played his true character, but was also a well-known British stand-up comedian in the 1950’s. But of course, last but not least, Agnès Poirier talks about the young English rose character Claire Bloom who plays Susan Robbins and was only 21 years of age when she appeared in ‘Innocents in Paris’ and a year earlier appeared in the Charlie Chaplin film ‘Limelight’ and went onto a great acting career. Agnès Poirier says that there were numerous British actors, but there were of course numerous French actors, and Agnès Poirier also mention the cameo appearance of Christopher Lee, who plays a military man, and we also get a quick cameo appearance of the great camp comedian of Kenneth Williams. Agnès Poirier thinks this a really wonderful film, but with lots of comedy stereo types of the 1950’s, and we should not judge this film too harshly of the characters we see in the film, nor the script, which of course the particular characters would not be allowed in modern films today, well mores the pity I say, but in the 1950’s people expected to see these types of characters in British comedy films, and again we should not be judgmental about the characters we see in this film, because that was the type of humour you would see in the 1950’s cinema, because the British cinema going public loved to these types of films of this nostalgic humour, also there were of course also lots of French stereo type characters of the 1950’s, and of course every character was catered for in this film. Agnès Poirier thinks the British character Captain George Stilton feels he is the most interesting character, because he encapsulates 100% the typical upper class Englishman’s traits of that period in time, because he loves hunting, and thinks he knows everything about Paris, but instead would rather spend all of his time in the English pub, and the drinks available are the only ones you would have in an actual English pub, and the character would never dream of exploring Paris, as the English pub is his sanctuary, because he is very anti-French, especially feels the French drivers are maniacs as they drive on the wrong side of the road. On top of all that, we see Captain George Stilton teach a Frenchman in the pub how to play cricket, and thinks because the French do not play cricket, they will never have a civilised Government. Agnès Poirier brings up the subject of BREXIT and why the British voted to come out of the European Union, which is why Captain George Stilton is the typical type of person who would have voted yes to leave the European Union. Now Agnès Poirier brings up the subject of Anatole de Grunwald who she feels is a very interesting figure, who was a very prolific screenwriter as well as a Russian-British film producer who was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, the son of a diplomat Constantin de Grunwald in the service of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. Anatole de Grunwald was seven years old when his father was forced to flee with his family to France during the 1917 Bolshevik Revolutionand Anatole de Grunwald grew up in France and England, and studied at the Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he edited a student magazine, “The Europa,” and also attended the Université Paris-Sorbonne [Paris-Sorbonne University]. Anatole de Grunwald started his career in films by reading scripts for Gaumont-British. Anatole de Grunwald then turned to screenwriting in 1939 for the British film industry and eventually became a producer. Anatole de Grunwald was appointed managing director of Two Cities Films, and later formed his own production company with his brother, Dimitri de Grunwald in 1946. Anatole de Grunwald contributed to the scripts of many of his productions, including ‘The Winslow Boy’ [1948] and ‘The Holly and the Ivy’ [1952] because he was an avid observer of the English character. Most of Anatole de Grunwald films were British productions, although in the 1960’s, Anatole de Grunwald was invited by M-G-M, and went to the United States where he produced several films, but Anatole de Grunwald then returned to England for the remainder of his career. Anatole de Grunwald's final films included ‘The V.I.P.s’ [1963] and ‘The Yellow Rolls-Royce’ [1965]. Anatole de Grunwald worked in close collaboration with the director Anthony Asquith and the dramatist Terence Rattigan, with whom he made many films. Sadly, Anatole de Grunwald passed away in London on the 13th January 1967. Agnès Poirier feels the 1950’s for British films had a certain style, but then at the same time American films started to appear in British cinemas that also had a lot of influences relating to France and in particular films like ‘An American in Paris,’ Funny Face,’ ‘Gigi,’ Daddy Long Legs’ and ‘Love In The Afternoon’ and became the golden age of films in the 1950’s. Agnès Poirier feels the night scenes in the film ‘Innocents in Paris,’ really captured the atmosphere of the Paris nightlife and especially with the credits at the start of the film it informs us that it was actually Filmed In Paris and so gave the film a real production value of Paris. At that point Agnès Poirier’s special featurette ends and it was really nice hearing Agnès Poirier’s personal views on the film ‘Innocents in Paris,’ and also her comment on all the characters in the film and all in all, watching Agnès Poirier is well worth viewing and gets a five star rating form me. Of course throughout the featurette we get lots of clips from the film ‘Innocents in Paris.’
Special Feature: Stills Gallery – Images Preserved and Supplied by the BFI Archive [1953] [1080p] [1.37:1] [1:11] Here we get to view 13 black-and-white stills from the BFI archive related to the film ‘Innocents in Paris.’
Finally, ‘Innocents in Paris’ is a delightful and light-hearted film carries on in the tradition of gentle satire established by Mark Twain in his two popular novels “The Innocents Abroad” and “The Innocents at Home.” But instead of American 'innocents', this British film portrays British 'innocents', all except for a seasoned diplomat Alastair Sim making a first trip to Paris. The film follows the adventures of each character over the course of a weekend. They all fly out on the same plane and return on the same plane. We catch some wonderful glimpses of early performances by people who were later well known. Kenneth Williams is uncredited as someone arranging things beneath a counter in the London, and in one fleeting cameo exchange, with just a few words. Claire Bloom plays an innocent your girl who has been “saving up for ages” to afford her first weekend trip to Paris. There are some wonderful lines in the script. When Margaret Rutherford, who has never taken a plane before, is asked to fasten her seatbelt before take-off, she answers innocently: “But I haven't brought one with me.” From this film it is clear that it is not only the British visitors who are the 'innocents', it is the French as well, as very few of them have their own cars, and traffic is essentially non-existent. Ronald Shiner is very amusing as a soldier who plays the drum in a military band which has travelled from Britain to play “It's a Long Way to Tipperary” and “Colonel Bogey.” There are some very fine moments in this multi-threaded film, and some genuine pathos along with all the good-natured comedy. This is a very entertaining and light-hearted film which shows a great deal of Paris as it was in 1952, and is also well worth seeing for those who are interested in the British stars of that era. ‘Innocents in Paris’ is a piece of cinematic history, and it is also a very interesting British comedy film, replete with its now dated historical footage of real locations, people and vehicles, and please don’t look for something deep, shocking or dramatic. This is a quiet, very charming little movie, with a number of humorous, lovely scenes. It contains several slices of life from the weekends of six characters visiting Paris, each with their own goals, problems and hopes. Fifty plus years on, it doesn't really matter what the political motivations of the film were, it's an entertaining little story with a beginning, middle and an end. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
