The Last Time I Saw Paris
Director: Richard Brooks
Year Released: 1954
Rating: 1.5
Below average romance - a flashback to the jubilant days near the end of WWII - with a second hour that simply will not quit. Van Johnson falls for Elizabeth Taylor (Donna Reed, who has a crush on him, sulks in the background), they wed, have a little girl - whose innocence is milked for all its worth - and experience the wide array of marital issues (paralleling the comedown from the postwar boom): drinking, adultery, a lack of communication, career failure (Johnson wants to be a novelist). Professionally made but hollow, not to mention the first time I've seen someone in the movies die from standing in the rain.
