When Panitov is first bought a vodka by Sir Norman, he downs it in one.
The shot changes and the Russian's arm does not move - but on the soundtrack we hear the glass bang down on the bar.
If the film had concentrated just on the Sim, Rutherford, and Bloom characters then it would have been much more enjoyable. Instead it bounces around between five/six characters allowing just enough time for a punchline and then we're on to the next.
A fun, compendium style effort that sees a group of passengers take a flight from London to Paris. Alastair Sim is great as the debonair, pompous British Government negotiator who discovers vodka - and a new way of doing business with his Soviet counterpart (Peter Illing) and Margaret Rutherford as the dotty painter stand out but there is plenty of decent support from Ronald Shiner, Claire Bloom who has a budding romance with sophisticate Claude Dauphin ("Max") and James Copeland as the canny Scot looking for romance.
An eclectic group of Brits is going to Paree. Susan, a beautiful young lady, is played by Claire Bloom.
Half a dozen British subjects board a plane for a weekend flight to France and find themselves innocents in Paris. It's one of those movies in which several individual stories take place at a common venue, here with a mostly humorous theme.
A week-end in Paris. Too many characters are crowded into 100 minutes, making implausible romantic and other connections.
I am obliged to review this very minor effort due to Christopher Lee's uncredited involvement in it, which lasts for all of 30 seconds(!), appearing merely to inspect an English military band before and after their flight to the titular location.
This comedy is remarkable mainly for its superb cast, its charming performances and its kindly, good-natured tone. It's a friendly work that tends to take a benevolent attitude to humanity.
This delightful and light-hearted film carries on in the tradition of gentle satire established by Mark Twain in his two popular novels 'The Innocents Abroad' and 'The Innocents at Home'. But instead of American 'innocents', this British film portrays British 'innocents', all except for a seasoned diplomat (Alastair Sim) making a first trip to Paris.
