The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954)

86% of critics liked it
(7 reviews)
45% of users liked it
(2,599 ratings)

Loosely based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's Paradise 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… More Loosely based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's Paradise 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. Since lapsing into public domain in 1982, The Last Time I Saw Paris has become a cable-TV and video-store fixture, though print quality varies sharply. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 56 min.
Directed By: Richard Brooks (VI), Richard Brooks I
Written By: Richard Brooks, Julius J. Epstein
Genres: Drama, Romance, Classics

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1954 Wide
On DVD: Jul 14, 1998
Studio: Scott Entertainment

Critic Reviews

, TIME Magazine
This picture tries to please everybody. It won't.
Variety Staff, Variety
An engrossing romantic drama that tells a good story with fine performances and an overall honesty of dramatic purpose.
Bosley Crowther, New York Times
What is to be said of such a picture? The story is trite. The motivations are thin. The writing is glossy and pedestrian. The acting is pretty much forced.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
F. Scott Fitzgerald's tragic love story was brought to the screen with surprising vitality under Brooks' expert hand.
Phil Hall, Film Threat
Technicolor Parisian travelogue, MGM-style, that barely skims the Fitzgerald source material.
, Time Out
An enjoyable (if heavy-handed) melodrama.

Read all 6 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Tim S

Way cheesy, but Widmark and Malden make it watchable.
Lanning :

A classic Hollywood tear-jerker. I may have to think again about Elizabeth Taylor's acting. Mostly, she leaves me flat. Being a beautiful child can only last so long. In this one, you can see that Donna Reed is the more subtle actress, the more smooth in her transition… More
A classic Hollywood tear-jerker. I may have to think again about Elizabeth Taylor's acting. Mostly, she leaves me flat. Being a beautiful child can only last so long. In this one, you can see that Donna Reed is the more subtle actress, the more smooth in her transition between moods -- displaying more ability to show range in real human transitions. But Taylor is impressive here, even if it's more a feeling of shoving in a clutch and jamming the stick, jumping from situation to situation. I'm glad I finally saw this gem. Taylor at her best.
Sarah P

This film wasn't very interesting and seemed really long and drawn out.

Cast

            Elizabeth Taylor as Helen Ellswirth

            Van Johnson as Charles Wills

            Walter Pidgeon as James Ellswirth

            Donna Reed as Marie Ellswirth

            Eva Gabor as Lorraine Quarl

            Kurt Kasznar as Maurice

            George Dolenz as Claude Matine

            Roger Moore as Paul

            Sandy Descher as Vicki

            Celia Lovsky as Mama

            Peter Leeds as Barney

            John Doucette as Campbell

            Odette as Singer

            Ann Codee as Another Nurse

            Richard Emory
            
            Gilda Fontana as Flamenco Dance Team

            Ed Hinton
            
            Matt Moore
            
            Yevgeny Urbansky as Flamenco Dance Team

            Steve Wayne as American Officer

            Bruno Ve Sota
            
            Paul Power
            
            Jean Heremans as Leon

            Harry Cody as Englishman

            Gene Coogan as Gendarme

            Loulette Sablon as Nurse

            Josette Deegan
            
            Christian Pasques as Boy

            Tim Cagney
            
            Jorge Luis Urbina
            
See full cast