This film is totally different from most as it actually tries to celebrate movies writers who rarely get more than a credit in films. There is a lot to be said for doing this and the comedy of doing it is very stung in cheek. There are a lot of things in this one that work better than some recent attempts to redo it with other titles. I challenge younger viewers to name the recent film comedy which redid this script theme?
Audrey Hepburn and William Holden are not a match made in heaven. The script pokes fun at that in more than one scene including a Hepburn line about him being "Well Preserved." There are a lot of little things here about the writer that just are put in this film deliberately to see if the viewers notice them. In fact, so far IMDb has failed to note the fact that in the films credits a song in the film is actually sung by Fred Astaire. This is one of the few films that only Fred Astaire's voice appears in. Fred hated his own voice but when it came to a script about writers, they cast him in the films rare musical moments (along with unaccredited Frank Sinatra).
The true writer celebrates their script off camera when it is a great movie, and slinks away into the night when the film is a dud. Sometimes, when a film becomes a "Cult Classic", they get to do both. This story does celebrate some imagination of the story. "Lets put in a stranger who, no lets go back and take the stranger out."
The cameos here are not as many as one would like, but a rare one of Marlene Dietrich, and 2 of Tony Curtis are rare in films. The color and locations used are well filmed. The fictional script - "The Girl Who Stole The Eiffel Tower" is not exactly a gem. This is a film in the uncut gem stage. This shows in the scenes in the studio lot on empty stages.
Is this film perfect? Heavens no, as no writers script is ever perfect. Is the humor great? No, it is subtle, and that is the way it should be. When something Sizzles it is burning, but it can be saved by pulling it off the fire. That is what we have here, a film celebrating writers being grilled fast and then removed from the pan. Holden is over done, Hepburn is under done, and the theme is too trivial. For what it is, it works.
Audrey Hepburn and William Holden are not a match made in heaven. The script pokes fun at that in more than one scene including a Hepburn line about him being "Well Preserved." There are a lot of little things here about the writer that just are put in this film deliberately to see if the viewers notice them. In fact, so far IMDb has failed to note the fact that in the films credits a song in the film is actually sung by Fred Astaire. This is one of the few films that only Fred Astaire's voice appears in. Fred hated his own voice but when it came to a script about writers, they cast him in the films rare musical moments (along with unaccredited Frank Sinatra).
The true writer celebrates their script off camera when it is a great movie, and slinks away into the night when the film is a dud. Sometimes, when a film becomes a "Cult Classic", they get to do both. This story does celebrate some imagination of the story. "Lets put in a stranger who, no lets go back and take the stranger out."
The cameos here are not as many as one would like, but a rare one of Marlene Dietrich, and 2 of Tony Curtis are rare in films. The color and locations used are well filmed. The fictional script - "The Girl Who Stole The Eiffel Tower" is not exactly a gem. This is a film in the uncut gem stage. This shows in the scenes in the studio lot on empty stages.
Is this film perfect? Heavens no, as no writers script is ever perfect. Is the humor great? No, it is subtle, and that is the way it should be. When something Sizzles it is burning, but it can be saved by pulling it off the fire. That is what we have here, a film celebrating writers being grilled fast and then removed from the pan. Holden is over done, Hepburn is under done, and the theme is too trivial. For what it is, it works.