Innocents in Paris (1953)
Directed by Gordon Parry

Film Review

Innocents in Paris is a charming and enjoyable Ealing-style comedy that showcases some of the very best British comic acting talent of its era. The film was directed by Gordon Parry who was adept in several genres but had a particular penchant for knockabout comedy, evidenced by his subsequent films Sailor Beware (1956) and The Navy Lark (1959). He also directed several episodes of the popular '50s television series The Adventures of Robin Hood starring Richard Greene.

As well as established stars such as the inestimable Alastair Sim. Margaret Rutherford and Jimmy Edwards, there is a plethora of bright young things who would rise to prominence in the following decade - Laurence Harvey, Christopher Lee, Kenneth Williams, Frank Muir and Peter Jones to name just five future stars who flit momentarily into view. There are also some notable French actors in the cast - including Claude Dauphin, a popular French matinee idol of the 1940s, and Louis de Funès, who would, a decade or two later, become the best-loved, and best-paid, comic actor in France.  What Innocents in Paris lacks in sophistication and narrative coherence it more than makes up for in charm, and with so much talent in front of the camera it can hardly fail to entertain.

Film Synopsis

Sir Norman Barker sets out for an important economics summit in Paris, accompanied by a party of British tourists who are about to have their first taste of life in the French capital.  Gwladys is an artist who intends to savour the delights of the Louvre and paint in the quiet streets of Montmartre.  Ingénue Susan falls for a charming older Frenchman, Max, whose intention of luring her back to his apartment is thwarted when she insists of having a night out.  George Stilton is the archetypal British army captain, and proves the fact by spending his entiire weekend in Paris in a British pub.  The night before he is to join his comrades in a procession to commemorate the unveiling of a statue, Dicky Bird has the time of his life at the Moulin Rouge.  Scotsman Andy MacGregor discovers love but loses his most treasured possession, his wallet, along the way.  Meanwhile, Sir Norman's desperate attempts to secure a vital conference are thwarted by the stubborn Russian delegate, Panitov.  All appears lost until Panitov proposes an unusual solution to Sir Norman's migraine: an evening in a Russian nightclub...