Innocents in Paris

Innocents in Paris (1952)

Genres - Drama, Action, Adventure, Comedy  |   Run Time - 93 min.  |   Countries - United Kingdom  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Review by Craig Butler

Any film that boasts the likes of Alistair Sim, Margaret Rutherford and Claire Bloom --as does Innocents in Paris - is already halfway home. Therefore, it's unfortunate to report that Innocents stalls at halfway and never becomes the home run that its cast indicates it should be. All in all, it's a good film, often charming and sometimes quite amusing; but it never really takes flight and soars. And, being a "portmanteau" film in which several unrelated stories are told, it suffers from the fact that some stories simply work better than others. Usually, this happens because there is simply a large degree of difference in the quality of writing between the different stories. Truth to tell, however, the writing is pretty much the same throughout -- slightly diverting, but rather on the weak side. What makes some of the segments much more effective are the performers; thus Rutherford's and Sim's stories are clearly highlights, thanks to the delightful personalities and masterful manipulation of the stars. Claire Bloom's segment is almost as successful, brought down a bit by Claude Daughpin's annoying performance. The other episodes are cast capably, but without enough star wattage to make the script work. Thus, Innocents ends up a pleasant diversion, occasionally quite engaging, once or twice a bit boring -- but all in all, agreeable enough.