Love in the Afternoon

As a longtime fan of Billy Wilder I expect his films to be enjoyable, but I've never been a fan of Gary Cooper. With Cooper as the lead here I wondered if I would enjoy Love in the Afternoon. Thankfully, Wilder is able to keep Cooper from souring the whole thing with the help of Audrey Hepburn's charisma. John McGiver shines as the humorous and sad jilted husband "Monsieur X". This film maintains Wilder's ability to tell a story with his usual humor and insights on love and marriage.

I believe that Cooper is just miscast and too old for the part, apparently they had also considered casting Yul Brynner. What an upgrade that would have been, he at least would have had the charisma and handsome good-looks that Cooper lacked in his later years. I'm not just trying to rip on Cooper for getting old but he really looks it and Hepburn is her young, vivacious self that I just can't see falling for an old playboy with the personality as wooden as a baseball bat.

The transfer looks solid, Warner Archive does a great job with these old films and make the picture look as good as possible. Sound is also fine, but since it's mostly speaking in hotel rooms and apartments there is nothing special to note.