''The Ambassador's Daughter'' is a 1956 American

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film directed by

Norman Krasna Norman Krasna (November 7, 1909 – November 1, 1984) was an American screenwriter, playwright, producer, and film director who penned screwball comedies centered on a case of mistaken identity. Krasna directed three films during a forty-year car ...

and starring

Olivia de Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British-American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her time. ...

and

John Forsythe John Forsythe (January 29, 1918 – April 1, 2010) was an American stage, film/television actor, producer, narrator, drama teacher and philanthropist whose career spanned six decades. He also appeared as a guest on several talk and variety s ...

Plot

When a visiting American senator decides to make

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

off-limits to enlisted military personnel, the daughter of the

United States Ambassador to France The United States ambassador to France is the official representative of the president of the United States to the president of France. The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with France since the American Revolution. Relations we ...

decides to show him that American servicemen can be gentlemen by dating one of them without revealing her lofty social status. Sergeant Sullivan takes Joan to colorful nightclub

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

s, and on a comical trip up the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "'' ...

, all the time believing her to be a

Dior Christian Dior SE (), commonly known as Dior (stylized DIOR), is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH, the world's largest luxury group. Dior itself holds ...

fashion model. Thinking she has an emergency back in America, Sullivan offers to buy her an airline ticket, for which she is grateful, until she hears that counterfeit plane tickets are a common scam used by American servicemen to impress girls. Sullivan's friend, the homespun Corporal O'Connor, all the while is a guest of the Ambassador's family and other top brass, and tries to alert Sullivan as to Joan's true identity, but is unable to contact Sullivan (and is sworn to secrecy). When Sullivan drops into the Dior fashion show one day to look for Joan, he discovers that the staff have never heard of her. However he sees Joan observing the show with her father's friend, the Senator, whom he mistakenly assumes must be her sugar daddy. On their last dinner date, Joan walks out on Sullivan, when he accidentally spills wine on her and offers to take her to his hotel room, thinking he is dishonorable. Finally, one evening Sullivan and the Ambassador's family, by coincidence, separately attend the same ballet performance of ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

'', where during the intermission Sullivan learns her true identity and their misunderstanding is resolved.

Cast

Myrna LOY Mature Adolphe MENJOU Vintage PHOTO

as Joan Fisk *

as Sergeant Danny Sullivan *

Myrna Loy Myrna Loy (born Myrna Adele Williams; August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress. Trained as a dancer, Loy devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. ...

as Mrs. Cartwright *

Adolphe Menjou Adolphe Jean Menjou (February 18, 1890 – October 29, 1963) was an American actor. His career spanned both silent films and talkies. He appeared in such films as Charlie Chaplin's ''A Woman of Paris'', where he played the lead role; Stanley Ku ...

as Senator Jonathan Cartwright *

Tommy Noonan Tommy Noonan (born Thomas Noone; April 29, 1921 – April 24, 1968) was a comedy genre film performer, screenwriter and producer. He acted in a number of high-profile films as well as B movies from the 1940s through the 1960s, and he is best ...

as Corporal Al O'Connor, Danny's friend *

Francis Lederer Francis Lederer (November 6, 1899 Prague – May 25, 2000) was an Austro-Hungarian Empire-born American film and stage actor with a successful career, first in Europe, then in the United States. His original name was Franz (Czech František) Le ...

as Prince Nicholas Obelski * Edward Arnold as Ambassador William Fisk *

Minor Watson Minor Watson (December 22, 1889 – July 28, 1965) was a prominent character actor. He appeared in 111 movies made between 1913 and 1956. His credits included '' Boys Town'' (1938), ''Yankee Doodle Dandy'' (1942), ''Kings Row'' (1942), '' Guada ...

as General Andrew Harvey. This was Watson's last film.

Production

In February 1954 Krasna announced he would write and direct an original film for Jerry Wald at Columbia, ''Speak to Me of Love''.

Gene Tierney Gene Eliza Tierney (November 19, 1920 – November 6, 1991) was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed for her great beauty, she became established as a leading lady. Tierney was best known for her portrayal of the title character in the ...

was to star. In March the title changed to ''The Ambassador's Daughter''. In April 1954 the deal with Columbia was called off. In January 1955 Van Johnson was announced for the male lead. The film ended up not being made at Columbia - in February 1955 Krasna signed a two picture deal to write and direct at United Artists; the first was to be ''The Ambassador's Daughter'' and the second was ''Red Roses''. The latter ended up not being made. Olivia de Havilland signed in June. Johnson ended up not appearing in the movie; John Forsythe was cast the following month. Adolphe Menjou joined the film in September.STUDIOS WILL HUM AFTER LABOR DAY. New York Times 03 Sep 1955: 9.

References

External links

* * *
Review of film
at Variety {{DEFAULTSORT:Ambassador's Daughter, The 1956 films 1956 romantic comedy films CinemaScope films Films directed by Norman Krasna Films set in Paris United Artists films Military humor in film American romantic comedy films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links