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

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

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 comedy film, screwball comedies centered on a case of mistaken identity. Krasna directed three films ...

and starring

Olivia de Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British and 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 tim ...

John Forsythe John Lincoln Forsythe ( Freund; 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 t ...

and

Myrna Loy Myrna Loy (born Myrna Adele Williams; August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress. As a performer, she was known for her ability to adapt to her screen partner's acting style. Born in Helena, Monta ...

. It was also produced and written by Krasna, and was distributed by

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

. It was shot at the

Joinville Studios The Joinville Studios were a film studio in Paris which operated between 1910 and 1987. They were one of the leading French studios, with major companies such as Pathé and Gaumont Film Company, Gaumont making films there. A second studio was a ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Léon Barsacq Léon Barsacq (18 October 1906 – 23 December 1969) was a Russian-born and naturalized French production designer, art director and set decorator. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film '' The ...

Plot

When a visiting American senator decides to make

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 w ...

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, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

s, and on a comical trip up the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) 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 from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...

, all the time believing her to be a

Dior Christian Dior SE (), commonly known as Dior, is a French Multinational corporation, multinational luxury goods company that is controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH. , Dior controlled around 42% of ...

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=Lebedínoje ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, links=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failu ...

'', 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 *

as Mrs. Cartwright *

Adolphe Menjou Adolphe Jean Menjou (February 18, 1890 – October 29, 1963) was an American actor whose career spanned both silent films and talkies. He became a leading man during the 1920s, known for his debonair and sophisticated screen presence. He was no ...

as Senator Jonathan Cartwright *

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

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

Francis Lederer Francis Lederer (November 6, 1899 – 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 František (Franz) Lederer. Early ...

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), '' Guad ...

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 Jerome Irving Wald (September 16, 1911 – July 13, 1962) was an American screenwriter and a producer of films and radio programs. Life and career Early life Born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, he had a brother and sons who were act ...

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

, ''Speak to Me of Love''.

Gene Tierney Gene Eliza Tierney (November 19, 1920November 6, 1991) was an American stage and film actress. Acclaimed for her great beauty, Tierney was a prominent Leading actor, leading lady during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. Sh ...

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 Charles Van Dell Johnson (August 25, 1916 – December 12, 2008) was an American actor and dancer. He had a prolific career in film, television, theatre and radio, which spanned over 50 years, from 1940 to 1992. He was a major star at Metr ...

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 Films shot in Paris United Artists films Military comedy films American romantic comedy films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films Films shot at Joinville Studios English-language romantic comedy films

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links