Love in the Afternoon

Synopsis: In Paris, detective Claude Chavasse is hired to follow a wife suspected of infidelity with the notorious American libertine Frank Flannagan. When the husband learns that his suspicions are accurate, he tells Claude of his plan to kill Flannagan. Claude's daughter Ariane overhears the threat and warns Frank of the coming trouble. She then plays the part of a worldly socialite with a list of conquests as long as Flannagan's. The bemused ladies' man returns to America the next day and Ariane, completely in love, follows his romantic escapades in the news. She sees him again in Paris the following year, and resumes her worldly guise, telling tales of former lovers when they meet at his hotel in the afternoon. Frank, amazed by the mystery girl and surprised to find himself jealous of her past, hires Claude to uncover more information about her. When the detective realizes what has happened, he asks Frank not to break his daughter's heart.

Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama

Director(s): Billy Wilder

Actors: Gary Cooper, Audrey Hepburn, Maurice Chevalier, John McGiver

Production: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination.


IMDB:: 7.3
Rotten Tomatoes:: 88%

Collection Edit Watch PDF Buy

: NOT RATED
Year:: 1957
: 130 min
: 38 Views

This is the city. Paris, France.
It is just like any other big city,
London, New York, Tokyo...
...except for two little things.
In Paris, people eat better...
...and in Paris people make love,
well, perhaps not better...
...but certainly more often.
They do it any time, any place.
On the Left Bank...
...on the Right Bank...
...and in between.
They do it by day...
...and they do it by night.
The butcher...
...the baker...
...and the friendly undertaker.
They do it in motion.
They do it sitting absolutely still.
Poodles do it.
Tourists do it.
Generals do it.
Once in a while,
even existentialists do it.
There is young love...
...and old love.
Married love...
...and illicit love.
That is where I come in.
My name is Claude Chavasse.
I am what you would call
"a private eye."
It was Monday, June 11, 6:15 a.m.
I had been working
the nightwatch on the Place Vendme...
...outside the Ritz Hotel.
In order to protect the innocent,
I will call this the case of Madame X.
Of course, she was not
entirely innocent.
While Monsieur X was attending
a business conference in London...
...she was conferring nightly
in Suite 14 of the Ritz.
8:
45 a.m.
I arrived at No.17, rue Mallebranche.
This is where I live, and this
is also where I have my office.
It is a very quiet neighborhood.
My clients prefer it this way.
- Bonjour, Madame.
- Bonjour, Monsieur Chavasse.
It is a neat,
normal life we have here.
There's just myself,
my daughter, and her cello.
- Papa?
- Good morning, Ariane.
Good morning, Papa.
Did you have a hard night?
So-so.
Interesting case?
So-so.
- Tell me about it.
- Never mind.
Why not?
Never mind!
Papa, I'm worried about you.
You've been working every night.
It's my busiest season.
You need a rest.
In my profession,
it's like being a doctor.
I have to be on call
night and day.
A good doctor can never rest,
not until the patient is out of bed.
I'd never thought of it that way.
You shouldn't think of it at all.
How are things at the conservatory?
- So-so. We're rehearsing.
- Rehearsing what?
A symphony. Haydn's 88th.
I always tell you what I'm doing but
you never tell me what you're doing.
That's because I love you.
I want to protect you from these sordid
matters I have to deal with.
- Now go back to your cello.
- Yes, Papa.
Wouldn't you like some breakfast?
Later. I have some work to do
in the darkroom.
I'm expecting a client.
When Mama was alive, I'm sure
you discussed your work with her.
Your mama was a married woman.
I'm so glad.
- Papa, your coffee's getting cold.
- Just a few minutes.
- You can play detective later.
- All right.
- Who's this man?
- Ariane, please!
He's very attractive.
He's very objectionable,
and quite immoral.
- He is?
- And utterly no good.
- What did he do?
- That's enough.
I don't think I've ever seen
his face in the files.
Ariane! Have you been into my files?
No, Papa.
I mean, yes, Papa.
Just a few of them, when I was dusting.
Ariane, you've been told a thousand
times to stay away from those files.
I've been trying, Papa,
but they're so fascinating.
At the conservatory, all the girls envy
me because I have my private library.
Library? This is not a library.
This is a sewer.
How can you say that?
Some of these cases are so romantic.
- I've read them time and time again.
- What cases?
Well, I guess my favorite
one is in file "D."
The Duchess of Devontry
and her Alpine guide.
It's so sad, and so beautiful.
Your father almost had a heart attack
following them up the Matterhorn.
How she must have loved him,
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Billy Wilder

Billy Wilder was an Austrian-born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist and journalist, whose career spanned more than fifty years and sixty films. more…

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