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Paris in Spring

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Paris in Spring
Directed byLewis Milestone
Screenplay bySamuel Hoffenstein
Franz Schulz
adaptation by
Keene Thompson
Based onParis in Spring (play)
by Dwight Taylor
Produced byBenjamin Glazer
StarringMary Ellis
Tullio Carminati
Ida Lupino
Lynne Overman
Jessie Ralph
Dorothea Wolbert
CinematographyTed Tetzlaff
Edited byEda Warren
Music byHarry Revel
Mack Gordon
Production
company
Release date
  • 28 May 1935 (1935-05-28) (United States Theatrical)
Running time
82 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Paris in Spring (also released as Paris Love Song) is a 1935 black and white musical comedy film directed by Lewis Milestone for Paramount Pictures.[1][2][3][4] It is based on a play by Dwight Taylor, with a screen play by Samuel Hoffenstein and Franz Schulz.[5]

Plot

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Afraid of marriage, Simone (Mary Ellis) ends 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) decides to separate from her young lover (James Blakely). Despairing, Mignon also climbs to the top of The Eiffel Tower 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.

Cast

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Soundtrack

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  • "Paris in Spring" by Harry Revel 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 and release

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The film was first released in US theaters on 28 May 1935. The New York Times reviewer wrote that while Mary Ellis offered a degree of entertainment with her singing, Tullio Carminati did not help the film by treating the film in a burlesque style. The newspaper was of the opinion Ida Lupino and James Blakeley were moderately good in their roles, but any merited praise for acting was to the credit of Lynne Overman, Jessie Ralph, and to the actor in the lesser role of the Chez Simone manager.[1]

Reviewer Graham Greene praised Milestone's emulation of Ernst Lubitsch in his ability to create a film that was a "silly, charming tale", and make something "light, enchanting, and genuinely fantastic" out of a nonsense plot device.[2] Lupino's role in Paris in Spring has been described as "dull", a view she shared.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b F.S. N. (13 July 1935). "Paris in Spring (1935)". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  2. ^ a b Greene, Graham (12 July 1935). "St Petersburg/Paris Love Song/The Phantom Light". The Spectator. (reprinted in: Taylor, John Russell, ed. (1980). The Pleasure Dome. p. 7. ISBN 0192812866.; reprinted in Graham Greene, David Parkinson (1994). The Graham Greene film reader: reviews, essays, interviews & film stories. Hal Leonard Corporation. pp. 7, 8, 9. ISBN 1-55783-188-2.)
  3. ^ Leslie Halliwell (1987). Halliwell's Film Guide. Scribner. p. 751. ISBN 0-684-18826-0.
  4. ^ "Paris in Spring". TV Guide. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  5. ^ Library of Congress. Copyright Office (1936). Catalog of Copyright Entries. Part 1. [C] Group 3. Dramatic Composition and Motion Pictures. New Series. p. 232.
  6. ^ Bubbeo, Daniel (2002). The women of Warner Brothers: the lives and careers of 15 leading ladies : with filmographies for each. McFarland. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-7864-1137-5.
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