Rage of Paris
Directed by Henry Koster
Written by Bruce Manning and Felix Jackson
1938/USA
Universal Pictures
First viewing/Streaming on Internet Archive
[box] The trouble with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. is that he likes everything he sees – and he sees everything. — Clemence Dane[/box]
This is a pleasant enough romantic comedy.
Nicole (Danielle Darrieux) is down on her luck and can’t find work. Her friend Gloria (Helen Broderick) tells her the thing for her to do is marry a rich man. Gloria gets her pal head waiter Mike (Mischa Auer) to finance a swanky hotel room and clothes and Nicole pretends to be from high Parisian society. Nicole sets her cap for wealthy Bill Duncan (Louis Hayward), but his friend Jim Trevor (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) sees through her and tries to stop the match.
This is not bad and has the distinction of being one of Danielle Darrieux’s very few performances in a Hollywood movie. The 21-year-old actress is absolutely charming and handles the dialogue well.
Photo montage with stills of Danielle Darrieux set to Darrieux singing “Premier rendez-vous” (“First Date”)
