Love in the Afternoon

This is totally improbable. Today I suspect this movie would not even be made in the US. Cooper looks like he is approaching seventy and Hepburn appears as a teenager. Their relationship today would be considered totally inappropriate. The scene with the husband ready to shoot Cooper is an obvious weak attempt at comedy but comes across as bad farce and is so unbelievable you wonder how the director accepted that part of the script. From there it drags on and on waiting for the final match up with Cooper and Hepburn and the totally unrealistic outcome of marriage. Maurice and Audrey give rather good performances, Gary as usual acts like a wooden door.

Critics originally said this film was no good based largely on Gary Cooper's age. I concur with that assessment. I kept wondering why Audrey Hepburn's character would be attracted to an old man. But more so, why is she attracted to a man who makes his life nothing but a series of conquests? I have seen almost all of Billy Wilder's films and enjoyed them (some immensely), but this one just never felt right with me. The attraction seemed too awkward, the film ran a bit too long... I just could not see it. And for the father to support such a thing was even more astounding. If I have to say one nice thing about the movie, it is how it brings out the classic double standard of men and women with dating. The playboy travels from country to country, glorified in the newspaper for being a man of loose morals. But when he confronts a woman who has seemingly done the same, he panics.

The first thing I noticed about this lilting romance (on the widescreen DVD) was the beautiful, shimmering, black and white photography. Set in Paris, with some scenes filmed there, Director Billy Wilder weaves a captivating, simple tale of a 20ish woman (Hepburn), who lives with her father (Maurice Chevalier), who schemes to snag a 50ish cad (Cooper). At first the age difference is very apparent, with Cooper seemingly mis-cast as a womanizer, but he grows on you, with a sweet, gentle, quiet, attractive performance. Hepburn is stunning and spunky in one of her best performances. The song "Fascination" is used to great effect. Filmed in 1957, the only way to show the title occurrence is to have a camera shot following Hepburn's dis-robed fur coat falling to the hotel room's floor, as she embraces Cooper. The ending is suspenseful, with cute narration epilogue by Chevalier. A wonderful film.

In Paris, teenage cellist Audrey Hepburn (as Ariane Chavasse) goes for grandfatherly playboy Gary Cooper (as Frank Flannagan). Detective father Maurice Chevalier (as Claude Chavasse) does not approve. This is supposed to be one of those "May/December" romances, but it looks more like "January/December". Appearing even older than his actual age, Mr. Cooper should have declared himself done with these roles. For several reasons, he has no on-screen rapport with Ms. Hepburn. Writer/director Billy Wilder had previously paired youthful Hepburn with Humphrey Bogart and William Holden. The dog is poorly dubbed. *** Love in the Afternoon (5/29/57) Billy Wilder ~ Audrey Hepburn, Gary Cooper, Maurice Chevalier, John McGiver

This film by Billy Wilder features beautiful B&W photography. Gary Cooper stars as a supposedly smooth womanizer (Frank Flannagan) who cares little for the women he beds. Audrey Hepburn plays a younger woman (Ariane Chavasse) who is intrigued by his intrigues and becomes personally involved. Shot in France, the film conveys a cosmopolitan air that almost sells the idea that these two might connect emotionally. But Cooper is not smooth enough to pull if off (no surprise) and the relationship between the two does not convince. It's not an issue of age; it's about chemistry and personality. Bogart in "Sabrina" offered the same problem, though less so. As an example of another pairing that worked well despite a sizable age difference, consider Stewart and Kelly in "Rear Window". Frankly, I'm surprised that such obviously poor pairings plague numerous films, but apparently some believe that box office draws can overcome such issues.