The Last Time I Saw Paris

The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954)

Genres - Drama, Romance, Language & Literature  |   Sub-Genres - Melodrama, Romantic Drama  |   Release Date - Nov 18, 1954 (USA - Unknown), Nov 18, 1954 (USA)  |   Run Time - 116 min.  |   Countries - United States  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson

Loosely based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story Babylon Revisited, MGM's The Last Time I Saw Paris is a star-studded soap opera, luxuriously lensed by director Richard Brooks. In his last film as an MGM contractee, Van Johnson plays reporter Charles Wills, who while covering the VE Day celebrations in Paris, meets and falls in love with the gorgeous Helen Ellsworth (Elizabeth Taylor). Soon afterward, Charles and Helen are married. Charles supports his wife with a low-paying wire service job, devoting his evenings to writing a novel. After numerous rejections, Charles is more than willing to give up writing and live off the revenue of a Texas oil well in which he'd invested. As he squanders his newfound riches on creature comforts, he loses his literary ambitions and, slowly but surely, the love and devotion of his wife. His self-destructive behavior is halted only by a devastating tragedy. Donna Reed costars as Charles sister-in-law Marion, who carries a torch for him throughout the picture, and Eva Gabor contributes a supporting role.

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Keywords

husband-and-wife, marital-problems, reporter, writer, self-destruction