''Paris'' is a 1929 American

Pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

musical comedy film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

, featuring

Irène Bordoni Irène Bordoni (16 January 1885 – 19 March 1953) was a Franco-American actress and singer. Early years Bordoni was born in Paris, France, to Sauveur Bordoni, a tailor, and Marie Lemonnier. The 19th-century painter Francis Millet was a great ...

. It was filmed with

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

sequences: four of the film's ten reels were originally photographed in Technicolor. ''Paris'' was the fourth color film released by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

; the first three were ''

The Desert Song ''The Desert Song'' is an operetta with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel. It was inspired by the 1925 uprising of the Riffs, a group of Moroccan fighters, against French colo ...

'' (although it was only a part-color film), '' On with the Show'', and ''

Gold Diggers of Broadway ''Gold Diggers of Broadway'' is a 1929 American pre-Code musical comedy film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Winnie Lightner and Nick Lucas. Distributed by Warner Bros., the film is the second all-talking, all-Technicolor feature-length ...

'', all released in 1929. (''

Song of the West ''Song of the West'' is a 1930 American Pre-Code musical western film produced by Warner Bros., and photographed entirely in Technicolor. It was based on the 1928 Broadway musical ''Rainbow'' by Vincent Youmans (music), Oscar Hammerstein II (l ...

'' was actually completed by June 1929 but had its release delayed until March 1930). The film was adapted from the Cole Porter

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical of the same name. The musical was Porter's first Broadway hit. Only fragment film elements of ''Paris'' are known to exist, although the complete soundtrack survives on

Vitaphone Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone was the last major analog sound-on-disc system and the only one ...

disks. The sound tape reels for this film survives at

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the ar ...

. ''Paris'' was the fourth film Warner Brothers had made with their Technicolor contract. The filmmakers used a color (Technicolor) process of red and green, at the time it was the third process of Technicolor.

Plot

Irène Bordoni is cast as Vivienne Rolland, a Parisian chorus girl in love with

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

boy Andrew Sabbot (Jason Robards Sr.) Andrew's snobbish mother Cora (Louise Closser Hale) tries to break up the romance. Jack Buchanan likewise makes his talking-picture debut as Guy Pennell, the leading man in Vivienne's revue.

Cast

as Vivienne Rolland *

Jack Buchanan Walter John Buchanan (2 April 1891 – 20 October 1957) was a Scottish theatre and film actor, singer, dancer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George G ...

as Guy Pennell *

Louise Closser Hale Louise Closser Hale (October 13, 1872 – July 26, 1933) was an American actress, playwright, and novelist. Early life Louise Closser was born in Chicago, Illinois, on October 13, 1872. Her father was Joseph Closser, a grain dealer, and her ...

as Cora Sabbot *

Jason Robards Jason Nelson Robards Jr. (July 26, 1922 – December 26, 2000) was an American actor. Known as an interpreter of the works of playwright Eugene O'Neill, Robards received two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the Cannes ...

as Andrew Sabbot *

ZaSu Pitts Zasu Pitts (; January 3, 1894 – June 7, 1963) was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas, including Erich von Stroheim's epic 1924 silent film ''Greed'', and comedies, transitioning successfully to mostly comedy films with the ...

as Harriet * Margaret Fielding as Brenda Kaley File:Paris lobby card 2.jpg File:Paris lobby card.jpg

Production

Warner Bros. paid the celebrated French music hall star and Broadway chanteuse Irene Bordoni $10,000 a week to star in this film, playing the role she had originated on Broadway, introducing the enduring Porter standard "

Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" (also known as "Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)" or simply "Let's Do It") is a popular song written in 1928 by Cole Porter. It was introduced in Porter's first Broadway success, the musical ''Paris'' (1928) by Fre ...

". While this film was being shot, the studio was in the process of completing their all-star revue ''

The Show of Shows ''The Show of Shows'' is a 1929 American pre-Code musical revue film directed by John G. Adolfi and distributed by Warner Bros. The all-talking Vitaphone production cost $850,000 and was shot almost entirely in Technicolor. ''The Show o ...

'' (1929), so they had Bordoni film a number for the revue. Their initial intention was to have Bordoni star in two musical features, but due to the poor box-office reception of ''Paris'', they decided not to make any more films with her.

Songs

''Paris'' used advertisements of a type which were common for its time, featuring the talking in the film and Irène Bordoni starring. One ad for ''Paris'' said "See the talking picture of the future".

Preservation

One of the color reels from Paris exists at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

(BFI) archive. The complete soundtrack also survives on

disks. The sound tape reels for this film survives at

. According to the George Eastman Museum 2015 book ''The Dawn of Technicolor, 1915-1935'', there are three fragments at the Seaver Center. In 2018 BFI discovered a one minute

fragment being used as a film leader, along with fragments of various other films, which are included in video posted to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

on April 27, 2018. (clip starts at 7:00) In the surviving fragments, actress May Robson is revealed at a dinner table, as Irene Bordoni finishes up a singing performance. Possibly she was replacing the credited Louise Closser Hale and was a last minute cast change. Last minute cast changes abound in silent films and early talkies. Sometimes promotional material for a film was already printed up before a release and studios did not want to expend the money to reprint promotional artwork for one cast member change.

Box office

According to Warner Bros records the film earned $632,000 domestically and $541,000 in other markets.

References

External links

* * * {{Clarence G. Badger 1929 films 1920s color films 1929 lost films 1920s English-language films Films directed by Clarence G. Badger Lost American films Warner Bros. films 1929 musical comedy films First National Pictures films Films produced by Robert North American musical comedy films Lost musical comedy films Films based on musicals Films scored by Cole Porter Films scored by Edward Ward (composer) 1920s American films