The DVD was in a 10-pack Drama special, so I watched to see the celebrated Elizabeth Taylor. But if I'd known that the film was based on a story by F Scott Fitzgerald, I probably wouldn't have bothered.Fitzgerald's writing reflects his own pointless, selfish, self-centred, shallow and decadent life-style, and the film follows that throughout. It's an autobiography about nothing.The film is saved from getting a 1 rating by the generally good acting, and especially that of Donna Reed and Walter Pidgeon.When Charles (Johnson) meets the two daughters of another useless wastrel, (Pidgeon) he obviously like Marion (Reed) but then falls for the flashy Helen (Taylor). Perhaps later, much later, he regrets that choice.The film is set over a time span of eight or more years, but Van Johnson looks exactly the same from the first to the last scenes. Not one hair out of place in spite of once spending the whole night on the town with a broad, and later getting soaking wet! That is poor directing/producing. At least Taylor gets a new hair-style later.

The Last Time I Saw Paris won't be everybody's cup of tea, but while it could have been much better I do not consider it a bad film. If anything it was an uneven but decent one. The ending did feel very forced and at odds with the mood of the rest of the film, there could have been more of a focus on the relationship between Helen and Charles, Van Johnson does start off a tad uncomfortable and his drunken argument with himself is pretty embarrassing and some of the film feels skimming the surface quality and lacking in depth with a dose of over-sentimentality. The film is also in serious need of a restoration, the faded, grainy print doesn't do it justice. But for all its flaws, The Last Time I Saw Paris has much to like and the good stuff is beautiful and charming indeed. The sets have a painterly charm and the Parisian location is irresistible(Paris has always been one of the most beautiful and romantic cities in the world, and couldn't have been a more perfect choice of location for this film) while the cinematography from Joseph Ruttenberg has a real intricacy, matching the mood and nostalgic atmosphere most fittingly, and Helen Rose's dresses are sumptuous in every sense of the word, especially Elizabeth Taylor's lavender dress which goes perfectly with her violet eyes. Conrad Salinger haunting and lush music score, a script despite the lack of depth that is intelligently, poignantly and wittily written- the car race is hilarious- and a story that has a fair amount of nostalgic charm and emotional resonance especially in the first half are also things to like. The direction is leisurely but not overly so, letting the film speak for itself, the characters are sympathetically drawn and likable although Charles is the only one who's really developed. And The Last Time I Saw Paris is also beautifully cast and beautifully played, especially by a luminous Elizabeth Taylor who brings sublime subtlety and nuances to her role an amusingly eccentric and endearingly roguish Walter Pidgeon. George Dolenz and Eva Gabor are also solid, Donna Reed is excellent in an atypical role and Sandy Descher proves herself to be an adorable child actress. Johnson may not start off well but the more interesting Charles gets the more comfortable and emotionally involved Johnson becomes, with his increasingly brooding, intense and affecting performance being one of the saving graces of the second half. Stylistically and tonally the film is true to F. Scott Fitzgerald's story Babylon Revisited despite the updating, but the story despite like the film having a weaker latter half had much more depth to the story and the characters more compelling in development and motivations. In conclusion, very flawed but also has a lot of charms, worth the watch. 6.5/10 Bethany Cox

The story is not so in depth to allow it to come to life as a novel or a feature length movie.It is interesting to read the reviews after seeing the movie. No 2 reviews are alike. This speaks volumes as to how the film actually affects those who see it. The viewers take away vastly different aspects of the film to discuss.The opinion this reviewer has is that the film is not as drudgingly long as some reviewers have noted. Also, while Van Johnson is always a bit wooden in his roles, he is not as awful as he is made out to be in some other reviews. The film boasts a fine cast and had some money behind it and there are some nice aspects to the story. This reviewer did not particularly mind watching the film.The problem is that the story is not fully fleshed to be a full length movie. There is no central point to the story to carry it to the length of a feature film. There is little purpose or philosophy that comes through as an overriding thematic. Van and Elizabeth play self destructive characters who suffer tragedy via doing some dumb things but...so what? Who really cares about dumb people doing dumb things? The emotional draw of the story never comes out. The emotion is stifled by the story; not by Van Johnson's acting. But...that is why this remained a short story that delved into the mind of the character pining for his lost daughter. There's just no emotional payoff with the characters that warrants nearly 2 hours of screen time.Still, compared to most of what passes for drama these days the film is far superior to what is released today. That's a sad commentary on film making and story writing today.One other note: For a story that is set in Paris there is little sense that any of the action occurs in Paris. This ties into the script. Rather than using known aspects of Paris to enhance the flavor of the story there is little to utilize the location. The title of the film could be The Last Time I Saw New York City and nothing would materially change in the film.If you are interested in film and story telling and the history of cinema I recommend giving the movie a viewing to familiarize yourself with it. Some parts work well (Elizabeth Taylor as the woman in the fountain immortalized in a full wall mural in a bar) but some parts...notably the father\daughter\aunt relationship at the end...just comes off flat. The film is a mix of good and not so good and the mix of good and not so good reviews is a good reflection of the movie.

How anyone could indicate that Van Johnson is "wooden" or miscast in this film is an incredible conumdrum. With his usual innocent charm, he builds the character with an authenticity which is totally suited to the screenplay. He is totally credible and authentic. If no other success can be perceived, surely the later scenes with his concern for both wife and daughter are amazingly touching; his tears are touching and beautifully demonstrated as no actor in my memory. The breadth of his performance stands out, with this character being fleshed out and fully developed. I hope that in his later years at the nursing home he did not read some of the uncharitable reviews of his performance. A highly underrated actor who deserved better. This is his very best role which he embraced fully, sensitively and beautifully. What a guy!