American entertainer Jack Martin (Danny Kaye), who’s working in Paris, looks remarkably much like a French military hero and is subsequently hired to impersonate him. The third screen adaptation of this story has the star in dual roles, as a nearsighted showman and a Charles Lindbergh-esque aviator and womanizer. The confusion between the two is an OK distraction, but the movie doesn’t really come alive except in the musical numbers, taking excellent advantage of Kaye’s talents. The female cast fall in the shadow, even if Gene Tierney’s Laura painting has a cameo.
1951-U.S. 90 min. Color. Directed by Walter Lang. Screenplay: Valentine Davies, Phoebe Ephron, Henry Ephron. Play: Rudolph Lothar, Hans Adler (”The Red Cat”). Music: Alfred Newman. Cast: Danny Kaye (Jack Martin/Henri Duran), Gene Tierney (Lili Duran), Corinne Calvet (Colette), Marcel Dalio, Jean Murat, Sig Ruman.
Trivia: The story was previously filmed as Folies Bergére de Paris (1935) and That Night in Rio (1941). Gwen Verdon can be seen among the chorus girls.
Golden Globe: Best Actor (Kaye).Â
