Indiscreet (1958)

Romantic comedy that mostly relies on the physical presence, charm, and chemistry between its two main players.

The plot?

Oh, it’s something to do with Cary Grant lying about being married when he really isn’t, because he enjoys bachelorhood too much and does not want women to know he’s ‘available’… Until he’s busted for the lie.

Yes, it’s that simple.

Of course, he’s a rich diplomat so reluctantly taking a Paris job he doesn’t really want, (he’s from San Francisco,) which is just a mere hop, skip and a jump away from London where Ingrid Bergman lives and works is not a problem.

He doesn’t accept the job for the money, which he doesn't need, but out of a sense of duty. He is also able to afford buying her anything she desires, including a boat.

She’s a stage actor of renown so the fact that they aren’t the subject of any sort of gossip, which would result in him being revealed, is probably the single most unswallowable premise because of its datedness:

He is seemingly cheating on his (unknown, unnamed, unseen) wife with a famous actress, and the paparazzi seems utterly uninterested and oblivious of the fact.

At times there is potential for trouble (and heightened comedy,) but it's always tamely ignored by the script.

An ink stained glove might lead to something but doesn't.

A moment when he agrees to a dinner she reserved at a private club seems to be leading to some type of conflict, but no such danger ever materializes.

In another scene they hide behind a sculpture and instead of being discovered in a compromising position or being exposed they are instead simply asked for an autograph.

There’s only a minor complication when the comeuppance plan backfires, but even that’s quickly resolved.

Today, of course, such a premise would be impossible.

This seems a script for a simpler, less socio-culturally complex time.

The fact that she thinks they are committing adultery is a potentially daring aspect, but quickly revealed to be merely the illusion resulting from a ruse.

The same script would have worked better Pre-Code than this late in the fifties.

There's a scene where a split screen simulates Grant patting Bergman's backside (in bed, even!) but this late in the game feels much too tame. The film need to be sexier and there certainly was potential for it.

Not as funny as it could have been, but the simplicity of the story might be refreshing to some.

Grant in his prime was a deft dancer and physical comedian in many a classic Screwball Comedy, and one single sequence here is as close as is gets to that.

It needed more of this, but a script in much need of an update failed to provide it.

If you are in the mood for something light and fluffy, check it out.