I'm generally not a fan of old British movies, although occasionally one comes along that is not stuffy and slow. This is one of those exceptions, and one worth of a Hitchcock treatment (and in fact, Hitchcock redid the film as an episode of his television series). It's an intriguing whodunit...or in this case who and what dunit. I cheated and read the reviews and plot line in advance, and I'm kinda glad I did...gave me a hint at what to watch for, although not knowing that might have been just an interesting.
I also suddenly realized while watching the film that the lady hotel owner was also Cary Grant's grandmother in "An Affair To Remember". Of course, in this film she wasn't nice and sweet! The plot here is rather simple. A British brother and sister come to Paris for the 1889 World's Fair (and the introduction of the Eiffel Tower). They stay in a nice hotel, in separate rooms, and overnight her brother disappears...and so does his hotel room! Everyone acts as if she is a bit daft, but she realizes she must track down the truth. Just about when everything appears hopeless...about halfway through the film...along comes Dirk Bogarde to the rescue (we see Bogarde early in the film, but only briefly). He begins to pull the pieces of the puzzle together.
Jean Simmons is excellent here, and she was well along in her career at this point. On the other hand, Dirk Bogarde was on the rise in his, and he makes a very good showing of himself here.
One odd thing about this British movie is that because much of it takes place in Paris, many of the people in the film are speaking FRENCH...and there are no subtitles. Sometimes that heightens the suspense, other times it puts a damper on it.
Top notch entertainment; highly recommended.
I also suddenly realized while watching the film that the lady hotel owner was also Cary Grant's grandmother in "An Affair To Remember". Of course, in this film she wasn't nice and sweet! The plot here is rather simple. A British brother and sister come to Paris for the 1889 World's Fair (and the introduction of the Eiffel Tower). They stay in a nice hotel, in separate rooms, and overnight her brother disappears...and so does his hotel room! Everyone acts as if she is a bit daft, but she realizes she must track down the truth. Just about when everything appears hopeless...about halfway through the film...along comes Dirk Bogarde to the rescue (we see Bogarde early in the film, but only briefly). He begins to pull the pieces of the puzzle together.
Jean Simmons is excellent here, and she was well along in her career at this point. On the other hand, Dirk Bogarde was on the rise in his, and he makes a very good showing of himself here.
One odd thing about this British movie is that because much of it takes place in Paris, many of the people in the film are speaking FRENCH...and there are no subtitles. Sometimes that heightens the suspense, other times it puts a damper on it.
Top notch entertainment; highly recommended.