Love in the Afternoon

My wife and I found an incredible classic movie on TCM called Love in the Afternoon starring an aging Gary Cooper and a twenty-something Audrey Hepburn.

As a writer, I loved the witty dialogue, far better dialogue than anything I have seen or read recently.

As a man, I fell in love with Audrey all over again, and in this movie, it is especially easy to do. Also, Audrey is especially vulnerable here as she puts her inexperienced heart on the line for a playboy.

Me as one of the editors of my manuscripts, how could I not watch a Billy Wilder film? The story exudes charm, wit, fantastic dialogue, location (Paris), romance, intrigue, suspense, comedic moments.

The first time you hear Audrey speak, it is simple, “PaPa,” said with her famous lilt. She’s responding to her father’s call, Maurice Chevalier. He’s a private investigator who has Gary Cooper, a dissolute aging American industrialist, sighted in his binoculars.

Maurice reports to the jealous husband who decides he’ll shoot Gary.

Audrey is against violence and stops the attempted murder in a most hilarious way. Gary later said about her non-violence, “What are you, some sort of religious nut?” I possibly paraphrased.

The film is in black and white but that does not diminish the extreme beauty of our heroine. Funny thing about a film full of funny things. She won’t give her name to Gary, so he describes her as not his type by calling her, “thin girl.”

I won’t give away the plot. This you could do easily online. It is much better to just find it and watch it.

Disclaimer: This is not a review. I believe beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I’d love to hear how you felt about this movie.

Speaking of movies; For the fourth of July I recommend Yankee Doodle Dandy, which is being shown on TCM this afternoon.