I doubt that many people these days have ever heard of this movie but IMO it's one of those absolute classic films which is practically flawless and holds your attention from beginning to end. The sense of period is marvellous and all the cast are fully professional in their roles. The one character that really stood out for me was Mde.Herve played by Cathleen Nesbitt. I was probably only around 17/18 when I saw this on t.v. but her portrayal was the one I remembered most vividly for years after. It was great to be reacquainted via YouTube and as a mark of a truly great production it was every bit as good as I remembered which, as we all know, is so often not the case after the passing of many years.

I'm generally not a fan of old British movies, although occasionally one comes along that is not stuffy and slow. This is one of those exceptions, and one worth of a Hitchcock treatment (and in fact, Hitchcock redid the film as an episode of his television series). It's an intriguing whodunit...or in this case who and what dunit. I cheated and read the reviews and plot line in advance, and I'm kinda glad I did...gave me a hint at what to watch for, although not knowing that might have been just an interesting.I also suddenly realized while watching the film that the lady hotel owner was also Cary Grant's grandmother in "An Affair To Remember". Of course, in this film she wasn't nice and sweet! The plot here is rather simple. A British brother and sister come to Paris for the 1889 World's Fair (and the introduction of the Eiffel Tower). They stay in a nice hotel, in separate rooms, and overnight her brother disappears...and so does his hotel room! Everyone acts as if she is a bit daft, but she realizes she must track down the truth. Just about when everything appears hopeless...about halfway through the film...along comes Dirk Bogarde to the rescue (we see Bogarde early in the film, but only briefly). He begins to pull the pieces of the puzzle together.Jean Simmons is excellent here, and she was well along in her career at this point. On the other hand, Dirk Bogarde was on the rise in his, and he makes a very good showing of himself here.One odd thing about this British movie is that because much of it takes place in Paris, many of the people in the film are speaking FRENCH...and there are no subtitles. Sometimes that heightens the suspense, other times it puts a damper on it.Top notch entertainment; highly recommended.

JEAN SIMMONS is given a striking close-up at the start of SO LONG AT THE FAIR in which she closely resembles Vivien Leigh. She's perfectly suited to playing a Victorian heroine who visits Paris with her brother (DAVID TOMLINSON) during the Paris Exposition of 1896. The opening scenes are lively and amusing before the story takes a mysterious turn when the brother is missing the morning after the pair checks into the hotel.No one claims to have seen him. Of course, when this happens we know there has to be a reason for everyone's refusal to acknowledge the brother's existence. Simmons has attracted the attention of at least one young man (DIRK BOGARDE) who does learn that she is traveling with her brother. In fact, he learns this bit of information from the brother himself. That is the key to the scene wherein Simmons is relieved to find that someone besides herself knows that her brother is not a figment of her imagination.Bogarde is glad to come to her rescue, since he's attracted to her at first glance. Their relationship becomes the only predictable aspect of this little mystery. What happens when he decides to do some detective work is best left unexplained, lest too much of the plot is given away.It's the kind of ending that deserves to be kept secret.There are a few weaknesses in motivations but overall the revelation at the end is reasonable enough to be credible. One can always wonder if the authorities at the hotel could have handled the situation a bit differently so as not to antagonize Simmons.It's a satisfying piece of entertainment, well acted by a British cast and deserves to be better known than it is.

This is an entertaining, engaging little thriller that is very satisfying, thanks to the convincing performance of the lovely leading lady Jean Simmons, the good direction from Darnborough and Fisher, and the impeccably tight screenplay.Simmons plays a young woman, Vicky Barton, who, while visiting Paris at the time of the World Fair in 1896, loses her brother, Johnny. The film revolves around Simmon's attempts to find him, her fear and uncertainty over whether or not he really is missing at all, and her falling in love with a nice young artist George (Dirk Bogarde), who is the only one who believes her story. The film culminates in a satisfying, logical conclusion befitting the circumstances.I liked this late-period Gainsbourough film a lot (how different it is from the earlier productions). Simmons is gorgeous and a very young Bogarde matches up well with her. Perhaps the film is lacking in character development (from the moment Simmons meets Bogarde we just know they will fall in love), giving way to the riveting plot, but that's just part of the fun.Hitchcock apparently was a great admirer of this film. I find that interesting as this film actually resembles Hitchock's 1938 film "The Lady Vanishes"! I can see why Hitchcock admired this one though, with its careful crafting of suspense and elegantly directed scenes. Darnborough and Fisher also pull of a feat that Hitchcock himself had trouble with- a costume picture.A great little picture. Highly recommend.