Grab some French pastry and champagne and head into a delightful but silly romantic tale of romantic confusion amongst the European nobility, more troubled in romantic issues than the long suffering affairs of the poor. The film starts off with brooding Tullio Carminati taking that long ride up to the top of the Eiffel Tower to jump off and stopping extremely young Ida Lupino from doing the same thing. She's supposed to marry, at the orders if her aging grandmother, boring cousin James Blakely. To get Lupino out of this undesirable marriage, he escorts her home and pretends to be her husband, followed by Blakeley doing the same with Carmilati's ex, songbird Mary Ellis, proprietor of one of Paris's most lavish cabaret. With nearly deaf and practically blind Jessie Ralph perplexed over the whole situation, romantic intrigue ensues, causing more than just the bubbly to flow over Carmilati's temper.
A rather gauche production number featuring Ellis singing the title song has her doubling as others in brief solos. The art direction is overstuffed with extra long dining tables, endless swirling side by side staircases and castle nook and cranny's that seemingly go on forever. Carmilati is actually not French, but manages an easy going characterization that defies his huge age difference with Lupino. She's pretty but bland, and nearly unrecognizable from what she would look like only four years later when she signed onto Warners.
Ellis has one of those old fashioned shrill soprano voices that can be hard to take at times. The recording for Carmilati could make a dog bay at the moon. But compared to Blakely and Lupino, they feature much more of a magnetic personality. Of course, Jessie Ralph was a complete scene stealer, gaining laughs as she demands the dozens of guests remain seated and foodless until the wedding party comes in. There's plenty of surprises to keep this enjoyable, but I'd rather have this been a straight comedy than have to listen to the glass shattering operatic songs that screech this to a halt.
A rather gauche production number featuring Ellis singing the title song has her doubling as others in brief solos. The art direction is overstuffed with extra long dining tables, endless swirling side by side staircases and castle nook and cranny's that seemingly go on forever. Carmilati is actually not French, but manages an easy going characterization that defies his huge age difference with Lupino. She's pretty but bland, and nearly unrecognizable from what she would look like only four years later when she signed onto Warners.
Ellis has one of those old fashioned shrill soprano voices that can be hard to take at times. The recording for Carmilati could make a dog bay at the moon. But compared to Blakely and Lupino, they feature much more of a magnetic personality. Of course, Jessie Ralph was a complete scene stealer, gaining laughs as she demands the dozens of guests remain seated and foodless until the wedding party comes in. There's plenty of surprises to keep this enjoyable, but I'd rather have this been a straight comedy than have to listen to the glass shattering operatic songs that screech this to a halt.
