A shy Greenwich Village book clerk is discovered by a fashion photographer and whisked off to Paris where she becomes a reluctant model.
| Tagline | S'Wonderful! S'Marvelous! ...She's The Fairest Lady of All! |
| Release Date: | Feb 13, 1957 |
| Genres: | Music, Comedy, Romance |
| Production Company: | Paramount Pictures |
| Production Countries: | United States of America |
| Casts: | Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Kay Thompson, Michel Auclair, Robert Flemyng, Dovima, Suzy Parker, Sunny Hartnett, Jean Del Val, Virginia Gibson, Sue England |
| Status: | Released |
| Budget: | $0 |
| Revenue: | 0 |
Despite the presence of Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire, I think this film actually belongs to Kay Thompson. She plays really well as the 1950s version of Dame Anna Wintour in this amiable, if a little thinly spread, musical comedy. Infuriated by the rather drab quality of her latest "Quality" magazine, she determines to revamp the whole thing. In pink! A bookshop being used for a photo shoot by "Avery" (Astaire) provides the unlikely source for her new model - "Jo" (Hepburn) who is to the fashion industry what Herod was to babies. "Avery" is clever, though, and he offers a trade off that sees her do a shoot in Paris in return for a meeting with "Prof. Flostre" (Michel Auclair). What now ensues is all fairly predictable, a love triangle with "Jo" in the middle vacillating. George & Ira Gerschwin provided the musical numbers, and though they are very well staged, the film lacks a killer song. That said, Thompson is on super form as the no-nonsense boss, the dance numbers are colourful and energetic and finally, Hepburn has a lovely vivacity and enthusiasm to her performance - she takes to the musical numbers very much like a duck to water. Astaire isn't at his best, and Robert Flemyng's accent isn't the best either - but at the end, the whole thing falls into place with an enjoyable certainty.
