Café Metropole (1937)

Memorable, crazy movie

best movie i've ever seen.

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The plot of this light romantic comedy is quite absurd. Yet, if you are willing to suspend disbelief at times, it can be rather fun, especially with pretty boy Tyrone Power and gorgeous Loretta Young as the developing lovers. Victor(Adolphe Menjou), the manager of the Parisian Café Metropole, has a big problem, despite Adolphe being perfect for this role. His friend Maxi had loaned him 900,000 francs, but Adolphe hasn't a franc left, and Maxi is demanding full repayment soon. Adolphe hatches a crafty plan. He will convert the handsome American playboy, Alexander Brown, into an imposter rich Russian nobleman: Alexis Paneiev. The combination of his looks and personality, along with pseudowealth and title will hopefully be too much for single future heiress Loretta(Laura Ridgeway) to resist(Yet another single heiress, so popular in 1930s films). She immediately falls for Ty and he for her. But she doesn't fall for his imposter act. When they first met, he had no foreign accent to his American English. But, later he did, when he met her father(Charles Winninger)and mother (Helen Westley). Loretta comments on this inconsistency, and Ty admits that his accent waxes and wanes, like love. Although she pretends otherwise, from this moment, she assumes he is an American trying to impress her as a European nobleman. She doesn't disclose her suspicion until near the end of the film. Nonetheless, her father relates his experience with noblemen. "If they're charming, they're fake. If genuine, they're stupid". In either case, they're probably wrong for Loretta.Adolphe has a hold over Ty, who gave him a worthless check to pay his gambling debt. Adolphe threatens to go to the police if Ty doesn't cooperate in his scheme to weasel 1 million francs from Loretta's father. Complications arise when the real Alexis Paneiev surfaces as one of Adolphe's waiters, using a pseudonym. Adolphe offers him 50,000 francs to keep quite about the situation. Also, artist Kinskey relates that all Russians he has known smell bad, but not Ty.Loretta wants Ty to ask her to marry him. But, he says he loves her too much to marry her, presumably because then his sham would be exposed. Later, she calls him up and asks him to marry her. At first reluctant, eventually he agrees....Now, Adolphe's lawyer, Monnet, draws up a contract, in which Loretta's father pays 500,000 francs before the wedding and another 500,000 francs after the wedding, plus so much for each subsequent child(Why should he do this?). Ty walks out in disgust. But, soon after, Adolphe maneuvers Loretta's father into handing him a check for 1,000,000.francs(I don't understand why he should agree?). Father then demands that Ty be put in jail for fraud, so that he can't marry Loretta. Father then demands that Loretta leave with her parents for the US. She refuses and has a tantrum, screaming and throwing things, then crying. Rather reminds me of Carol Lombard, in "My Man Godfrey"Under father's insistence, the real Alexis is mistakenly jailed instead of Ty(How could this happen? He has a genuine passport.) But Ty isn't off the hook yet. He is also charged with being an imposter, but wiggles out of it. Strangely, Loretta's father is then charged as an imposter, despite his passport(Is this Loretta's trick?).Back at the café, Ty and Loretta enter the Café to fanfare, followed by her parents. They sit at a table with the real Alexis, who is now out of jail, and friendly with them. It's suggested that Adolphe owes Ty something for his act. Adolphe goes and gets the worthless check Ty handed him for his gambling debt. Ty happily tears it up.Loretta and Ty part from the others to talk, dance and romance. Loretta says, with a sexy French accent, "I was thinking maybe you give me beeg kiss now". Then, "My accent, it comes and goes, comes and goes", parroting Ty's statement in the flower shop.I've noted some incongruous or mysterious things in my summary. Maybe you have better insight. See it at You Tube, where there's a good print.

A broke American is forced to pose as a Russian prince in order to pay a gambling debt in "Cafe Metropole," a film written by the multi-talented Gregory Ratoff, who also plays a role in the movie. This is a funny, light, romantic comedy where the best scenes are saved for the character actors Charles Winninger and Helen Westley, who have great banter. Menjou is a duplicitous restaurateur who blackmails Tyrone Power into going along with his scheme; Loretta Young, romanced by Power, is the beautiful daughter of Charles Winninger.If you're a shallow person, this is the movie for you because it's Eye Candy City. Power and Young, two people very, very high on any "most beautiful" list, are so ethereally, incalculably gorgeous that it's hard to listen to a word they're saying while they're on screen. And Young's fashions are divine '30s couturier. This is one of Power's very early films; he was only 22 when it was made, and though only a year older than he was, Young had been around since silent film days. For me, Power's looks reached their full dazzle about two to three years later but if you only saw him in Cafe Metropole, you'd have a hard time believing there could be any improvement in that face. And in a tuxedo for so much of the movie. Almost too much of a good thing.Anyway, if you can concentrate, Cafe Metropole is a delightful film.As a bit of trivia, Power and Young made several films together in Power's early days at Fox. They remained friends, and in 1958, Young showed up for Power's funeral straight from filming her TV show, decked out and unrecognizable in Oriental garb and makeup to match. In the late '70s, she was photographed with Power's son, Ty, Jr., and you would swear you'd gone back in time. His resemblance to his father was so striking, and she was still so very beautiful.

The character players are the best here. Adolph Menjou was generally reliable and here he is plausible as a shady restaurateur. Charles Winninger and Helen Westley are somewhat amusing as Americans. (This takes place in Paris.) Gregory Ratoff is less interesting. He was Russian but if his Russian dialogue is legitimate, I must have misheard my Russian grandparents and wasted four years in Russian class at an Ivy league school. (And both are possible. The point is, he is not well directed.) Tyrone Power seems uncomfortable as the male lead. Loretta Young's character is written well. It is probably the most complex in the movie. And she was almost always good.Somehow she doesn't seem to have filmed well, albeit often in soft focus. She was one of the greatest beauties in Hollywood history and had a long, illustrious career. Here, though, her overbite is very noticeable and she seems unnecessarily thin.Nothing about the movie is offensive but it never really convinces.

Tyrone Power shows his considerable comic flare in his role as a young American in Paris who is blackmailed into posing as a Russian prince to court a wealthy heiress (Loretta Young). The script is extremely witty with fast-paced, sharp dialogue that keeps the viewer in stitches from start to finish. Highly recommended! Unfortunately, this movie is not available on video, but it is played on the Fox Movie Channel from time to time.