1h 53min | Comedy, Musical, Romance | 20 September 1951
Director: Frank Capra
Stars: Bing Crosby, Jane Wyman, Alexis Smith, Franchot Tone, James Barton.
Charles O'Curran ... dance director
5 songs in the Soundtrack. 1 was a specialty by Anna Maria Alberghetti in her second of 9 films. The rest involve BC as soloist, duet, or combined cast.
The plot is tedious: foreign correspondent BC gets involved with war orphans in Paris. Two of them attach to him, so he decides to settle down instead of roaming the world, even though his eyes lit up when an Asian assignment was offered. The problem: his fiancee (JW) gets tired of waiting for him, so she agrees to marry a millionaire (FT). BC arrives, has a 5 day deadline to get married or the children will be deported, and that deadline corresponds to JW's wedding day. AS plays 4th cousin and wannabe wife to FT. BC helps her attract his attention while he manipulates JW. I'll give you 1 guess about what happens, and he wins by deception. But she is such a hot-head, she deserves it. I pity the kids.
The duet with BC & JW is perhaps the only reason for the choreographer; it's cute, but not worth the price of admission.
I like BC's singing, but the story (and the kids) are annoying. Astonishing that Frank Capra directed.
Paramount, dir. Capra; 6-
