not as good as all the hype

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

I adore Audrey Hepburn and Maurice Chevalier and even Gary Cooper in the right role. Cooper was such a dud in this. I kept imagining how good it could have been with William Holden as the love interest. And I felt sick every time (again and again) Billy Wilder thought it would be funny to have a scene where a dumb twit hits a little dog.The father/daughter relationship was adorable. Hepburn was wonderful, as always. I was quite disappointed by the love story.

For once, Billy Wilder strikes home concerning the music. Usually the music was the weak point in his films, his best films are those without any music, and sometimes his lack of musicality and terrible use of music, sometimes even degrading music itself, ruined the entire picture, like in "The Seven Year Itch" where he vulgarized Rachmaninov almost to prostitution. But here Franz Waxman saves the show and fills the whole picture with not only "Fascination" but with a number of other endearing evergreens as well. It has been pointed out in any number of reviews how Gary Cooper spoils the picture by being miscast, but it's worse than that. His whole character is a failure, and he isn't even convincing as such. Billy Wilder had a penchant for cheap vulgarizations, and here Gary Cooper is the means. They excuse him for being old and sick, he was 56 and Audrey 28, and he had only about 5 years left to live. Here he is an old pathetic playboy, spoiled beyond hope as a millionaire, and Maurice Chevalier is more right about his character than he is aware of. Also Maurice saves the show by turning serious for a change - and saving the situation. Audrey Hepburn, the script and the music save the picture most of all and turn it into perhaps Billy Wilder's most delightful comedy in spite of Gary Cooper's insufficiency. I saw it fifty years ago, but it was a greater pleasure to see it again - especially for the very outstanding music. After all, Audrey Hepburn is here a cellist.And not only Audrey and the music save the picture, but there is John McGiver as well. He would make another decisive appearance in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" as the jeweller, a minor supporting character but the most important spice for the whole film.

This film by Billy Wilder features beautiful B&W photography. Gary Cooper stars as a supposedly smooth womanizer (Frank Flannagan) who cares little for the women he beds. Audrey Hepburn plays a younger woman (Ariane Chavasse) who is intrigued by his intrigues and becomes personally involved.Shot in France, the film conveys a cosmopolitan air that almost sells the idea that these two might connect emotionally. But Cooper is not smooth enough to pull if off (no surprise) and the relationship between the two does not convince. It's not an issue of age; it's about chemistry and personality. Bogart in "Sabrina" offered the same problem, though less so. As an example of another pairing that worked well despite a sizable age difference, consider Stewart and Kelly in "Rear Window".Frankly, I'm surprised that such obviously poor pairings plague numerous films, but apparently some believe that box office draws can overcome such issues.

Parisian private detective Claude Chavasse (Maurice Chevalier) finds evidence of a woman cheating with the infamous American womanizer millionaire Frank Flannagan (Gary Cooper). The husband Mr. X (John McGiver) threatens to kill Flannagan. Claude's daughter Ariane (Audrey Hepburn) overhears the threat and calls the cops. When they won't help, she goes to warn Frank herself. She saves the day by pretending to be his date and falls for the older man. The next day, she returns pretending to be a nameless socialite with many lovers. He leaves Paris continuing his womanizing ways. After some time, he runs into the mysterious girl at a concert and she lies to him with a long list of former lovers. He hires Claude to investigate her.It's a charming rom-com by the great Billy Wilder. Audrey Hepburn is adorable. Perhaps Cary Cooper is a little bit too old and not up to the standard at the time. It's more than the age difference. He's a little bit stiff and not that debonair. His character is quite cold and unromantic. The problem is that the older Cooper fits and it's harder for him to grow out of that cold character. It doesn't help that he's getting ill which would eventually kill him a few years later. However the list is hilarious and Hepburn is so very adorable with her fake french accent. She is so funny. It's a nice rom-com with a couple of really good laughs.