''Innocents in Paris'' is a 1953 British-French

international co-production A co-production is a joint venture between two or more different production companies for the purpose of film production, television production, video game development, and so on. In the case of an international co-production, production compa ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

produced by Romulus Films, directed by Gordon Parry and starring

Alastair Sim Alastair George Bell Sim, CBE (9 October 1900 – 19 August 1976) was a Scottish character actor who began his theatrical career at the age of thirty and quickly became established as a popular West End performer, remaining so until his d ...

, Ronald Shiner,

Claire Bloom Patricia Claire Bloom (born 15 February 1931) is an English actress. She is known for leading roles in plays such as ''A Streetcar Named Desire (play), A Streetcar Named Desire,'' ''A Doll's House'', and ''Long Day's Journey into Night'', and ...

, Margaret Rutherford, Claude Dauphin, and Jimmy Edwards, and also featuring James Copeland. Popular French comedy actor

Louis de Funès Louis Germain David de Funès de Galarza (; 31 July 1914 – 27 January 1983) was a French actor and comedian. He is France's favourite actor, according to a series of polls conducted since the late 1960s, having played over 150 roles in fil ...

appears as a taxi driver, and there are cameo appearances by

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...

Laurence Harvey Laurence Harvey (born Zvi Mosheh Skikne; 1 October 192825 November 1973) was a Lithuanian-born British actor and film director. He was born to Lithuanian Jewish parents and emigrated to South Africa at an early age, before later settling in th ...

and

Kenneth Williams Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988) was an English actor of Welsh heritage. He was best known for his comedy roles and in later life as a raconteur and diarist. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the 31 '' ...

. The writer and producer was Anatole de Grunwald, born in Russia in 1910, who fled to Britain with his parents in 1917. He had a long career there as a writer and producer, including the films '' The Way to the Stars'', '' The Winslow Boy'', ''Doctor's Dilemma'', ''Libel'', and ''The Yellow Rolls-Royce''.

Plot

The film is a romantic comedy about a group of Britons flying out from The London Airport for a weekend in Paris in 1953 in a

British European Airways British European Airways (BEA), formally British European Airways Corporation, was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974. BEA operated to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East from airports around the United Kingdom. The a ...

Airspeed Ambassador The Airspeed AS.57 Ambassador is a British twin piston-engined airliner that was designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Airspeed Ltd. It was one of the first postwar airliners to be produced. The Ambassador was developed i ...

. An English diplomat (Sim) is on a working trip to obtain an agreement with his Russian counterpart (Illing); a

Royal Marine The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marin ...

bandsman (Shiner) has a night out on the tiles after winning a pool of the French currency held by all the Marines in his band; a young woman (Bloom) finds romance with an older Frenchman (Dauphin) who gives her a tour of Paris; an amateur artist (Rutherford) searches out fellow painters on the

Left Bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography, as follows. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrai ...

and in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

; a hearty Englishman (Edwards) spends the entire weekend in an English-style pub; and a

Battle of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

veteran (Copeland) is an archetypal Scotsman in

kilt A kilt ( gd, fèileadh ; Irish: ''féileadh'') is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish H ...

and Tam o' Shanter who finds love with a young French woman (Gérard). The film displays the mores and manners of the British, and, to a lesser extent, the French, in the early nineteen-fifties. At this time, Britons were allowed to take only £25 out of the country, as £5 British cash and traveller's cheques, and there are several scenes showing how the travellers dealt with this. The film also features a Russian nightclub (of which there were several in Paris at the time), with Ludmila Lopato, a Russian tzigane chanteuse, singing the original Russian version of the song that became "

Those were the Days Those Were the Days may refer to: Music Albums * ''Those Were the Days'' (Johnny Mathis album) (1968) * ''Those Were the Days'' (Cream album) (1997) * ''Those Were the Days'' (Dolly Parton album) (2005) * '' Those Were the Days – The Best of L ...

", which became a hit record for Mary Hopkin.

Cast

: Sir Norman Baker * Ronald Shiner: Dicky Bird *

: Susan Robbins * Margaret Rutherford: Gwladys Inglott * Claude Dauphin: Max de Lorne * Jimmy Edwards: Captain George Stilton *

Mara Lane Mara Lane (born Dorothy Bolton; 1 August 1930) is a British-Austrian actress. She appeared in more than 30 films from 1951 to 1965. Early life Lane was born in Vienna, Austria. She is the eldest daughter of Russian-born pianist mother Olga Mirono ...

: Gloria Delaney * James Copeland: Andy MacGrégor "L'Écossais" *

Gaby Bruyère Gaby Bruyère (3 June 1924 - 30 August 1978) was a French actress, dancer, dramatist, and playwright. Career Films * 1946: ''Un beau contrat'', short film by * 1946: '' Symphonies'', short film by Jean-Devaivre * 1946: ', by Jean Boyer, ...

: Josette *

Monique Gérard Monique is a female given name. It is the French form of the name Monica. The name has enjoyed some popularity in the United States since about 1955, and is less common in other English-speaking countries except for Canada although mostly used ...

: Raymonde * Peter Illing: Panitov *

Colin Gordon Colin Gordon (27 April 1911 – 4 October 1972) was a British actor born in Ceylon. Biography He was educated at Marlborough College and Christ Church, Oxford. He made his first West End appearance in 1934 as the hind legs of a horse in a ...

: Customs officer *

Kenneth Kove Kenneth Kove (1892–1984) was a British actor. He was a regular member of the Aldwych farce team between 1923 and 1930, often in "silly-ass" roles; appearing in '' It Pays to Advertise'' (1923), '' Thark'' (1927), '' A Cup of Kindness'' (1929), ...

: Bickerstaff *

Frank Muir Frank Herbert Muir (5 February 1920 – 2 January 1998) was an English comedy writer, radio and television personality, and raconteur. His writing and performing partnership with Denis Norden endured for most of their careers. Together they wr ...

: Stilton's friend * Philip Stainton: Nobby Clarke * Peter Jones: Langton * Stringer Davis: Arbuthnot *

Richard Wattis Richard Wattis (25 February 1912 – 1 February 1975) was an English actor, co-starring in many popular British comedies of the 1950s and 1960s. Early life Richard Cameron Wattis was born on 25 February 1912 in Wednesbury, Staffordshire, th ...

: Wilkinson, Sir Norman Baker's secretary * The Band of Plymouth Group Royal Marines *

: Célestin * Albert Dinan: Louvre doorman * Jean Richard *

Maurice Baquet Maurice Louis Baquet (26 May 1911 – 8 July 2005) was a French actor and cellist. He was born in Villefranche-sur-Saône and died in Noisy-le-Grand.

* Ludmilla Lopato: Chanteuse * Georgette Anys: Madame Célestin * Polycarpe Pavloff * Irène de Strozzi *

Grégoire Aslan Grégoire Aslan (born Krikor Kaloust Aslanian; 28 March 1908 – 8 January 1982) was a Swiss-Armenian actor and musician. Early life Krikor Kaloust Aslanian ( hy, Գրիգոր Գալուստի Ասլանյան) was born in Switzerland or in Co ...

: Carpet seller * The Can-Can Dancers from The Moulin Rouge, Paris ;Uncredited (in alphabetical order) * Reginald Beckwith: Photographer *

Joan Benham Joan may refer to: People and fictional characters *Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters *:Joan of Arc, a French military heroine *Joan (surname) Weather events * Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multipl ...

: Receptionist * Max Dalban: Butcher *

: François * Hamilton Keene: Reporter *

: Lieutenant Whitlock *

Andreas Malandrinos Andreas Malandrinos ( el, Ανδρέας Μαλανδρίνος; 14 November 1888, in Greece – 11 July 1970, in Surrey) was a Greek-born actor who started appearing in British films from 1930, until his death 40 years later in Surrey, England ...

: French customs officer * Bill Shine: Customs officer * Toke Townley: Airport porter *

: Window dresser at London Airport

References

{{Gordon Parry 1953 films 1953 comedy films Films directed by Gordon Parry Films set in Paris Films shot in Paris British comedy films Films with screenplays by Anatole de Grunwald Films produced by Anatole de Grunwald British black-and-white films Films scored by Joseph Kosma Films shot at Station Road Studios, Elstree 1950s English-language films 1950s British films