According to gossip and reports, Bill Holden made Paris – When it Sizzles completely stone drunk… They say he got drunk before reporting to work (to arm himself to work with his one-time paramour and great love Audrey Hepburn, who had dumped him) and stayed that way right through until completion.
And I must admit, it shows. His voice slurs, his walk slants a little. He looks as haggard as a sailor coming off a four day leave. In fact, if the character he was playing was also drunk, it could have ruined the picture entirely.
Lucky, however, he was a drunk playing a drunk, and this hides a number of sins.
Nevertheless, I will not say that Paris is a terrific film. It is sloppy. Incredibly so. Many of the jokes fall flat, and the story is often in shambles. Perhaps it would have been a mess even if Bill had not touched a drop. However, the drink certainly couldn’t have helped it.
Still, this picture has exactly what glossier and technically better-made films such as Love is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955) did not have. Hepburn and Holden (even wet as an open bar) had enough chemistry to light up a city block, and sex rolls off the screen like fog. I even felt my heart skip in a couple of the close embraces.
So, I am torn. A bad picture, with a good emotional impact… Why do I suspect that this still is better than LIAMST?
See my longer review.
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2 comments:
A drunk playing a drunk, that seems like a dedicated actor, doing all the research and really getting into character.
Yes, and he was pre-method, even.
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