April 3 would have been the 101st birthday of beloved musical movie star Doris Day. Once dubbed “America’s Sweetheart,” the perky blonde made her start as a Big Band singer in the early 1940s before making her film debut in Warner Brothers’s “Romance on the High Seas” in 1948. The movie was a big hit, and so was Doris, so she went on to make 16 more films for the studio until her contract expired in 1954.
A lesser-known musical from Doris Day’s early years is “April in Paris” (1952). Her leading man was Ray Bolger, best remembered as the Scarecrow from “The Wizard of Oz.” The title song is the only recognizable melody from the score, but it’s not the only memorable number in this fun musical comedy.
A Springtime Romance
Winthrop Putnam (Bolger) is the very efficient assistant secretary to the Assistant to the Undersecretary of State Robert Sherman (Paul Harvey). Putnam’s political ambitions are endangered when he makes a huge blunder in the preparations for a goodwill festival in Paris. By mixing up two letters, he accidentally invites chorus girl Ethel Jackson (Day) to represent the American theater, instead of Ethel Barrymore.After Putnam informs a devastated Jackson that she won’t be going to Paris, Sherman congratulates him on the brilliance of sending an average girl to represent the American theater. Putnam is barely able to convince Ethel to forgive him in time to get her to the boat.
On the cruise’s final night, she rebels by going to the ship’s ball with Philippe Fouquet (Claude Dauphin), a French entertainer who is working his way back to Paris as a shipboard waiter. After being thrown out of the ship’s ball, Ethel and Philippe instigate a dance in the kitchen. Putnam invades this impromptu dance to relieve Ethel of her representative duties. But a few glasses of champagne and Ethel’s charm quickly breaks down his hardboiled exterior, allowing the duo to fall in love.
Song and Dance
The title song wasn’t written for this movie. It was written 20 years earlier by Vernon Duke and Yip Harburg for the Broadway musical “Walk a Little Faster,” at which time it was a hit. In this movie, Ethel first sings the title song as a beautiful melancholy ballad after Putnam tells her she won’t be going to Paris.Later, Philippe comically reprises the song as he and Ethel sit at a sidewalk café. Unlike the song’s romantic lyrics about a beautiful spring day, the afternoon is so cold and windy that Philippe coughs and sneezes his way through the song, while Ethel wipes dust out of her eyes.
The score includes nine original songs, all with music by Vernon Duke and lyrics by Sammy Cahn. They’re all great numbers, but the most memorable song is “I’m Gonna Ring the Bell Tonight.” Ethel sings it during the party in the shipboard kitchen, and Putnam drunkenly reprises it later in the scene. In this catchy tune, Doris shows off the peppy singing style which made her famous, accompanied by impressive high kicking which make her believable as a chorus girl.
A Charming Romance
“April in Paris” is a charming movie. It offers lots of musical entertainment, a sweet and funny love story, and the wholesomeness you can expect from an early 1950s Hollywood production. If you like Doris Day, you’ll love her in this movie. It’s not her most developed role, but she has plenty of opportunities to show her cute, girlish personality and winning voice.
Ray Bolger gets a rare chance to be the leading man in this film, and he proves to be a hilarious and lovable co-star as the wannabe stuffed shirt politician who becomes hopelessly smitten with the beautiful chorus girl. Claude Dauphin provides plenty of comedic support and “savoir faire” as the French Casanova Philippe.
This is a fun, lighthearted romantic comedy, but its story isn’t just silly nonsense. It’s laced with a subtle criticism of diplomatic hypocrisy and the lengths to which politicians go to reach their goals. No matter where you live, you can escape to Paris this April with this delightful movie.
