''Paris Model'' is a 1953 American

comedy drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

directed by

Alfred E. Green Alfred Edward Green (July 11, 1889 – September 4, 1960) was an American film director. Green entered film in 1912 as an actor for the Selig Polyscope Company. He became an assistant to director Colin Campbell. He then started to direct two-reel ...

and starring Marilyn Maxwell,

Paulette Goddard Paulette Goddard (born Marion Levy; June 3, 1910 – April 23, 1990) was an American actress notable for her film career in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Born in Manhattan and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Goddard initially began her career ...

Eva Gabor Eva Gabor ( ; February 11, 1919 – July 4, 1995) was a Hungarian-American actress, businesswoman, singer, and socialite. She voiced Duchess and Miss Bianca in the animated Disney Classics, ''The Aristocats'' (1970), '' The Rescuers'' (1977), ...

and Barbara Lawrence.Wojcik p.235 It is an anthology featuring four separate parts, each focused on one of the four actresses. It was distributed by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the multi ...

. The film's sets were designed by the art director William Glasgow.

Plot

A new dress plays a key role in the lives of four women who are not acquainted with each other. A daring strapless design, "Nude at Midnight," is unveiled in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

to the delight of socialite Gogo Montaine, who wants to dazzle the Maharajah of Kim-Kepore, her escort that night. She charges its $900 cost to a former lover, Louis-Jean, who turns up later and refuses to pay. The Raj begins paying more attention to the gambling tables, so Gogo uses her dress and charms to get back into Louis-Jean's good graces. A buyer from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

has an underling copy the Paris dress's design and quickly manufactures a cheaper version of it. Betty Barnes, a secretary, spends $90 on one to impress her boss, attorney Edgar Blevins, hoping to woo him away from Cora, his wife. Cora eavesdrops on her at the dress shop. While her husband is admiring Betty in it, Cora turns up in exactly the same dress, diverting her husband's wandering eyes. Marion Parmalee wants a promotion for her husband, whose boss P.J. Sullivan is retiring to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

with his wife. At the retirement party, wearing a "Nude at Midnight" dress she bought for $59, Marion flirts with P.J., a bed manufacturer. When they get caught atop a bed together, P. J.'s wife instantly names another man at the party as her husband's successor. In far-off

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

, a 21st-birthday party and a desire for boyfriend Charlie to propose marriage to her motivate Marta Jensen into buying an eye-catching dress, "Nude at Midnight," a copy of which she finds on sale for $19. They have difficult getting a table at

Michael Romanoff Harry F. Gerguson (born Hershel Geguzin, February 20, 1890 – September 1, 1971), known as Michael Romanoff, was a Hollywood restaurateur, con man and actor born in Lithuania. He is perhaps best remembered as the owner of the now-defunct Romanof ...

's popular restaurant, frustrating Charlie until he gets an eyeful of Marta in her gown. At a nearby table, also appreciating her beauty in this dress, sits the Maharajah of Kim-Kepore.

Cast

* Marilyn Maxwell as Marion Parmalee *

as Betty Barnes *

as Gogo Montaine * Barbara Lawrence as Marta Jensen *

Cecil Kellaway Cecil Lauriston Kellaway (22 August 1890 – 28 February 1973) was a South African character actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor twice, for '' The Luck of the Irish'' (1948) and '' Guess Who's Coming to Dinne ...

as Patrick J. 'P.J.' Sullivan * Robert Hutton as Charlie Johnson *

Leif Erickson Leif Erikson, Leiv Eiriksson, or Leif Ericson, ; Modern Icelandic: ; Norwegian language, Norwegian: ''Leiv Eiriksson'' also known as Leif the Lucky (), was a Norsemen, Norse explorer who is thought to have been the first European to have s ...

as Edgar Blevins * Tom Conway as Maharajah of Kim-Kepore *

as Prince Romanoff * Florence Bates as Mrs. Nora Sullivan * El Brendel as Papa Jensen * Laurette Luez as Lisa Jones * Robert Bice as Jack Parmalee * Aram Katcher as Louis-Jean Vacheron * Gloria Christian as Cora Blevins *

Byron Foulger Byron Kay Foulger (August 27, 1898 – April 4, 1970) was an American character actor who over a 50-year career performed in hundreds of stage, film, and television productions. Early years Born in Ogden, Utah, Byron was the second of fo ...

as Ernest Boggs * Bibs Borman as Berta Courtallez * Renny McEvoy as Johnny Granville * Eugene Borden as Armand - Headwaiter * Gloria Pall as Credits Girl * Diana Darrin as Gambling Patron

References

Bibliography

* Pamela Robertson Wojcik. ''New Constellations: Movie Stars of the 1960s''. Rutgers University Press, 2012.

External links

* 1953 films 1953 comedy-drama films American comedy-drama films Films directed by Alfred E. Green Films scored by Albert Glasser Columbia Pictures films American black-and-white films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films {{comedy-drama-film-stub