Love in the Afternoon (1957)
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
In Paris, detective Claude Chavasse (Maurice Chevalier) is hired to follow a wife suspected of infidelity with the notorious American libertine Frank Flannagan (Gary Cooper). When the husband learns that his suspicions are accurate, he tells Claude of his plan to kill Flannagan. Claude's daughter Ariane (Audrey Hepburn) overhears the threat and warns Frank of the coming trouble. She then plays the part of a worldly socialite with a list of conquests as long as Flannagan's. The bemused ladies' man returns to America the next day and Ariane, completely in love, follows his romantic escapades in the news. She sees him again in Paris the following year, and resumes her worldly guise, telling tales of former lovers when they meet at his hotel in the afternoon. Frank, amazed by the mystery girl and surprised to find himself jealous of her past, hires Claude to uncover more information about her. When the detective realizes what has happened, he asks Frank not to break his daughter's heart. - Actors:
- Gary Cooper, Audrey Hepburn, Maurice Chevalier, John McGiver, Van Doude, Lise Bourdin, Olga Valéry, The Gypsies, Elga Andersen, Claude Ariel, Jack Ary, Marc Aurian, Vera Boccadoro, Paul Bonifas, Charles Bouillaud, Françoise Brion, Marcelle Broc, Jeanne Charblay, Odette Charblay, Olivia Chevalier
- Directors:
- Billy Wilder
- Producers:
- Billy Wilder
- Narrated By:
- Louis Jourdan
- Writers:
- Billy Wilder, I.A.L. Diamond, Claude Anet
- Aka:
- Fascination
- Genres:
- Classics, Comedy, Romance
More like Love in the Afternoon
Reviews (1) of Love in the Afternoon
Post Screwball. - Love in the Afternoon review by Steve
Billy Wilder's most obvious homage to Ernst Lubitsch is- of course- set in Paris, though on location rather than in the Paramount studios. And there are a couple of Lubitsch associates in lead parts. Gary Cooper plays a rich American tycoon/lothario and Maurice Chevalier is a private detective specialising in divorce cases. So dedicated is Cooper to philandering, that Chevalier has a thick file of investigations involving him.
When the Frenchman's inexperienced but precocious daughter (Audrey Hepburn) falls in love with Cooper, she uses cases from her father's archives to make her lover jealous. It is a very cynical film, and even at the end we are never sure if this much older man really sees the girl as much more than a diversion.
Few characters are sympathetic, and we rely on the charm of the cast to make them palatable. There is a problem with Cooper as a romantic lead with Hepburn. The disparity in their ages unbalances the film; it makes him more exploitative than he should and so Wilder can't find an ending we can root for. But the director does a fine job, filling each scene with interesting subtext and character insights.
It is so lovely merely to see Audrey walking through Paris at night in a Givenchy dress, or even just smiling. And Maurice still vibrates with charisma at 69 years old; a living, breathing, winking Gallic shrug. It's a witty, charming very adult comedy and it's fun listening out for the echoes of Lubitsch.