Love in the Afternoon (1957)

Viewers who had a problem with Sabrina (1954) will probably be even more upset with this cast. At least Bogart’s Linus Larrabee was a sort of virtuous (if elderly) ‘virgin’ who appreciated what he got.

Here it’s a bit more difficult to accept Gary Cooper as the over-aged Lothario paired up with a teenaged Audrey Hepburn.

Not that young girls don’t or can’t have crushes on undeserving older men; I’m sure it happens, but audiences like to see fair matches (one would think); and pairing a hopeful, inexperienced, young nineteen-year-old (even when she still outsmarts him) with this philandering Casanova seems weird; (second attempt by Billy Wilder, too.)

It’s almost as if Sabrina ended up with William Holden’s David Larrabee, except even longer in the tooth, and probably a lot worse.

In this case we have Ariane Chavasse (Hepburn), the daughter of a French private investigator (Maurice Chevalier, not a millionaire family’s chauffeur,) who specializes in unfaithful spouses.

She reads all her father’s files and becomes obsessed with one of his cases. When she overhears that the subject will be shot by an upset husband, she rescues the potential victim of murder by sneaking into his hotel room throwing herself into his arms (and lips) for misdirection.

Whether we accept that this relationship is headed into anything other than disaster might depend on our belief of the likelihood of a leopard changing his spots.

The tacked-on line about marriage was a late addition Wilder objected to, (weren’t these two already having premarital sex? If not, then what the heck were they supposed to be doing?) Apparently, the preferred conclusion simply indicated the love affair was to continue.

Does it work? By the end, and begrudgingly, yes, even though Gary Cooper’s weird wooden delivery is unlike any smooth-talking ladies’ man's you ever heard; (he is better cast as the nerd in Ball of Fire.)

Underused John McGiver (in his American feature film debut) does better work as second banana comic foil than Benny Hill ever did as a headliner.

Why didn’t we get more of him in other comedies?

The movie has a single, near-Surrealistic scene of gypsy musicians inside a Turkish steam bath which could easily fit in any modern Comedy you’d care to mention from a Mel Brooks to a Monty Python, to an Airplane everything-but-the-kitchen sink approach.

Wilder himself admitted: "It was a flop. Why? Because I got Coop the week he suddenly got old"

Also with Lise Bourdin and Van Doude.