While on leave in Paris, a G.I. pursues an ambassador's daughter. Meanwhile she's out to prove to her father that soldiers can be gentlemen, too.
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Reviews
I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
Such a frustrating disappointment
While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
This so-called comedy seems an over-abundance of smugness that thrives on the mistaken belief that its all-star cast and intelligent screenplay will rise above pretentiousness. There's actually very little in the way of humor and story, a weak plot about two American women who pretend to be French in order to see how two American soldiers on leave will treat them. Olivia de Havilland is the titled character, daughter of ambassador Adolph Menjou who is engaged to the French Francis Lederer but sets her beret for the more appealing John Forsythe. Her sidekick? None other than Myrna Loy, still stunning and every inch the scene-stealer, managing to get laughs where there are none. De Havilland is too dry for modern comedy and seems miscast opposite the dashing Forsythe. Edward Arnold is still hanging on as Loy' s stuffy husband while Tommy Noonan fights for laughs as the other soldier. The snail paced screenplay with allegedly smart dialog is actually extremely highbrow, a dangerous quality for the mid 1950's. Many shots of Parisian tourist spots, while always lovely to look at, end up a detriment to the film as a whole. In spite of some matronly outfits, Loy ends up looking more appealing and younger than the leading lady who had lost much of her appeal at this point in her career. De Havilland doesn't succeed in the type of roles that Jane Wyman was raking in huge success at the box office at the same time.
Two elements noticeably kept "The Ambassador's Daughter" from becoming a classic: Norman Krasna's uninspired direction and Olivia de Havilland's age. I've always enjoyed Krasna's writing, finding it charming, witty, and slightly subversive. The script for this movie carries all of the "Krasna touch", but none of this is apparent from the lifeless direction. As a result, jokes were held too long, the actors stood around looking uncomfortable in long-shots, and it wavered between sharp social satire and frothy romantic comedy, touching neither elements successfully. As a result, Olivia de Havilland appears a bit out of place as a 40 year old woman, for the plot and direction kept trying to palm her off as someone 15 years younger. Granted, de Havilland was beautiful and elegant, but she brought too much maturity and groundedness to the type of character who launch such a harebrained scheme and lead John Forsyth on a merry chase across Paris. I would have believed her portrayal of Joan had she been written as a widow or longtime spinster devoted to her father, rather than a sparkling, youngish role in which Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, or Jean Simmons could have filled without a hitch. The rest of the cast gives a game performance, though as stated above, the direction really did them a disservice. Really wasted was Myrna Loy, who was only 10-12 years older than Olivia de Havilland, and was much too luminous and witty to be stuck in such a small part! However, the main issue I had with this film was its inability to make up its mind. By the second half of the film, de Havilland and Forsyth are obviously very smitten, but a series of contrivances keep them apart. I also found the outrageous matchmaking mind-boggling, considering that de Havilland's character clearly had a fiancé (underused Francis Lederer) who we know nothing about to make us believe he is wrong for de Havilland. Ultimately, the direction, flat jokes, and under-written script leaves this a classic-that-could-have-been, and is a dull point in Krasna's long and celebrated career.
This was a very entertaining film from 1956 with some great veteran actors who have had great roles in their careers and this is a rather silly film which seems to go on and on. However, this is a comedy concerning an American Ambassador's Daughter named Joan Fisk, (Olivia De Havilland) who live in France and meets up with a soldier named Danny, (John Forsythe) and Joan is modeling various dresses for an American Red Cross Benefit and Danny becomes very attracted to Joan. Joan does not tell Danny she is the daughter of an American Ambassador and pretends to be a French girl who is a professional model. There are wonderful actors in this film, namely, Myrna Loy, (Mrs. Cartwright); Adolphe Menou, (Sen. Jonathan Cartwright) and Tommy Noonan, (Cpl. Al O'Connor all gave outstanding supporting roles. If you like old time comedy films, this is the film for you.
What were they thinking? This movie's script is terrible (cliche after cliche), and it's doubtful that even appropriate actors could have rescued it. Olivia de Havilland looks about 50 here (Myrna Loy is supposed to be decades older, but they look like contemporaries), rather than the ingenue the role calls for. Compare this to Roman Holiday, made about the same time--a wonderful script, marvelously appropriate actors, and enchanting use of its location. This movie represents the worst of 50's film-making--a huge waste of talent.