To Paris with Love (1955)

Scottish widower Colonel Sir Edgar Fraser (Alec Guinness) feels that his 20-year-old son, Jon (Vernon Gray) – an undergraduate at Oxford – lives a rather cloistered life.  Meanwhile, Jon thinks his father – living alone in a huge Highland castle – has a too-sheltered existence.

So each decides to show the other Paris in the spring.

Soon after their arrival, Edgar becomes involved with Lizette (Odile Versois), a cute dress shop assistant who first caught Jon’s eye. Jon turns to Sylvia (Elina Labourdette), Lizette’s mature employer.

Jon feels that his father is cradle-snatching by encouraging Lizette, and at the same time, Edgar considers Sylvia much too worldly for Jon.

Father and son hope to settle their problems, complicated by Lizette’s humble boyfriend and suspicious taxi-driver father, by switching partners, but before things get out of hand, Lizette discards Edgar and returns to her former flame.

Jon then finds true love with Suzanne (Maureen Davis), a childhood acquaintance, and Edgar wisely decides to wait until his next visit to Paris to pop the question to Sylvia.

This glossy, romantic comedy film is as refreshing as a draught of champagne and features Guinness playing the widowed colonel with much finesse and performing some comedy business of which Charlie Chaplin would have been proud.

Vernon Gray proves a natural foil as the dutiful though susceptible Jon, Odile Versois is an enchanting Lizette, and Elina Labourdette and Maureen Davis also make their presence felt in the slightly less conspicuous roles of Sylvia and Suzanne.

Col. Sir Edgar Fraser
Alec Guinness
Jon Fraser
Vernon Gray
Lizette Marconnet
Odile Versois
Victor de Colville
Jacques François
Sylvia Gilbert
Elina Labourdette
Leon de Colville
Austin Trevor
Aristide Marconnet
Jacques Brunius
Mme. Marconnet
Pamela Stirling
Georges Duprez
Claude Romain
Suzanne de Colville
Maureen Davis
Mme. Alvarez
Mollie Hartley Milburn
Pierre
Michael Anthony

Director
Robert Hamer