Paramount imported two of MGM's second line leading men to appear opposite Claudette Colbert in I Met Him In Paris. This film finds Claudette as a buyer for a New York department store on a holiday in France trying to decide whether she wants to marry staid and established Lee Bowman.But of course the last place you want to go to make decisions like that is Paris because too many temptations will find you. In this case two too many temptations in the form of cynical Melvyn Douglas and romantic Robert Young. Young decides to invite Colbert on a skiing holiday in Switzerland and Douglas decides to invite himself along. The best scenes in the film involve all three of our protagonists learning winter sports. In fact the scene involving Claudette Colbert falling off a toboggan and being in harm's way of another racing toboggan is a great example of a really dangerous situation being played for laughs and quite successfully.I Met Him In Paris which has the bulk of its scenes in Hollywood recreated Switzerland is a great example of a nice comedy which really could have been better if an Ernest Lubitsch or a Leo McCarey had done it. Mona Barrie has a small, but very important part that occurs toward the end of the film which I cannot say more about lest I spoil things.Definitely fans of Claudette Colbert will appreciate this film which holds up very well after over 70 years.

I Met Him in Paris (Wesley Ruggles, 1937) is a pleasant little romantic comedy that keeps threatening to turn into a more interesting, adult film, but never really explains its central tenet: why sourpuss Melvyn Douglas must chaperone young lovers Claudette Colbert and Robert Young on their sojourn from Gay Paree to snowy Switzerland. In addition, the Paris setting isn't effectively utilised - presumably it was just a suitably exotic spot for Colbert to be romanced as well as a nice hook for the title - while the Swiss one brings largely slapstick peril. But the leads were consummate performers capable of lifting the most unpromising material and they make a good fist of it here. Lee Bowman is fun in support as Colbert's "trusting" suitor, in a David Niven-like turn. The snowbound scenes were shot at Sun Valley, Idaho, the setting for Fox's hit musical Sun Valley Serenade. The ending, with three men squabbling over the lead, was later borrowed for the Jean Arthur film The Lady Takes a Chance.

This is a well-acted and enjoyable film in most ways, but one element in this plot really left me flat. It's a shame, as the film, with a few plot changes, could have been much, much better.The movie begins with Claudette Colbert on board a ship which is about to be headed to Paris. Her boyfriend is with her--trying to convince her to marry him and give up this trip. However, she is determined to see something of the world, as her life is rather dull.Once in Paris, however, things don't seem that interesting as Claudette doesn't know anyone or the language (in real life, I am pretty sure that the French-born actress was fluent). When she meets up with two fellow Americans, Robert Young and Melvyn Douglas, they spend the rest of the trip together. Young and Douglas are friends traveling together, but Young has a secret--as he's ardently wooing Miss Colbert, he already has a wife. This really makes him out to be a creep and inexplicably, Douglas (who doesn't approve) says nothing to warn Colbert!! Now considering that Douglas is supposed to be a nice guy, his allowing his friend to chase Colbert is pretty despicable and makes no sense at all--especially since Douglas, too, wants Colbert for himself. So why didn't he just tell her that his buddy was already married and end all the suspense?! I hate it when a film hinges on a plot element that makes no sense and Douglas' complicity makes no sense at all--plus it makes the viewer dislike both male leads.It's a shame, really, as apart from this huge problem, the dialog is witty and the actors try their best. In fact, one of the most delightful aspects of I MET HIM IN France was watching Colbert and Douglas ice skate. They were both remarkably good and doubles were not used in the scenes--it really is the actors doing figure eights and skating backwards.So is it worth seeing? Well, if you are a total nut for classic Hollywood films, sure. But don't rush out to see it. Otherwise, if you aren't already a huge fan, this film will do nothing to convert you and each of the leads has done much better films that you should see first.

Two clunkers in a row - first Bluebeard, then I met him in Paris. The clothes are great, the settings lovely, and the script - a mind-boggling inane conglomeration of improbable and contrived situations that must have contributed to the demise of the screwball comedy. A series of wealthy people with too much time on their hands, acting juvenile (or madcap, as they used to call it). Everyone here has been better elsewhere. Douglas and Young are both in love with Colbert, and three high-tail it off to Switzerland, as the question surfaces: who will Claudette end up with? Of course, Melvyn Douglas is billed above Robert Young, so we know what the outcome must be. As much as I love old films, and Colbert, and Douglas, and Young, I stuck this one out, but it never really gelled for me.