''Innocents of Paris'' is a 1929 black and white American musical film. Directed by Richard Wallace and is based on the play ''Flea Market'', the film was the first musical production by Paramount Pictures. Although the screenplay was regarded as mediocre, the critics were impressed with the newly-arrived Chevalier, for whom they predicted much success. At the preview in Los Angeles, established film-actor

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 K ...

, son of French immigrant parents,congratulated Chevalier in person. The film utilized the somewhat new technology of sound. Dubbing was not a common practice, but the film makers attempted it here over stock footage of Paris. An orchestra played "Louise" under one microphone while several actors spoke street observations under another, like "What pretty flowers!", and a group of three men whistled bird calls into a third microphone. Several takes were required to get the mixing right, but what resulted was an early example of sound dubbing.

Cast

* Maurice Chevalier as Maurice Marney *Sylvia Beecher as Louise Leval * Russell Simpson as Emile Leval *

George Fawcett George Fawcett (August 25, 1860 – June 6, 1939) was an American stage and film actor of the silent era. Biography Born in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1860, Fawcett graduated from the University of Virginia. His initial inclination was to ...

as Monsieur Marny * Mrs. George Fawcett (

Percy Haswell Percy Haswell (April 30, 1871 – June 24, 1945), frequently billed as Miss Percy Haswell or Mrs. George Fawcett to clarify her gender, was an American stage and film actress. Percy Haswell was born in Austin, Texas, the daughter of George Ty ...

) as Madame Marny *

John Miljan John Miljan (November 9, 1892 – January 24, 1960) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1924 and 1958. Biography Born in 1892, Miljan was the tall, smooth-talking villain in Hollywood films for almost four deca ...

as Monsieur Renard *

Margaret Livingston Margaret Livingston (born Marguerite Livingston; November 25, 1895 – December 13, 1984), sometimes credited as Marguerite Livingstone or Margaret Livingstone, was an American film actress and businesswoman during the silent film era. She is ...

as Madame Renard *

Jack Luden Jacob Benson Luden (February 8, 1902 – February 15, 1951) was an American film actor. Early life The son of Jacob and Anna Luden, he grew up in Reading, Pennsylvania. His uncle was confectioner William H. Luden, who developed the menthol coug ...

as Jules * Johnnie Morris as Musician

Soundtrack

*"It's A Habit Of Mine" :Words by

Leo Robin Leo Robin (April 6, 1900 – December 29, 1984) was an American composer, lyricist and songwriter. He is probably best known for collaborating with Ralph Rainger on the 1938 Academy Award for Best Original Song, Oscar-winning song "Thanks for t ...

References

protest the hero's new song: The Duelling Cavalier

External links

*
Innocents of Paris at The New York TimesInnocents of Paris
*
Innocents of Paris at The Sydney Morning Herald
1929 films 1929 musical films Films directed by Richard Wallace American black-and-white films American musical films Paramount Pictures films Films set in Paris Films scored by John Leipold 1920s English-language films 1920s American films {{musical-film-stub