French Without Tears

This Anglo-American coproduction was based on the popular West End stage comedy by Terrence Rattigan. It all begins when Diana (Ellen Drew), the sister of a British boy studying in France, arrives in town to flirt with all of her brothers' schoolmates. Alan (Ray Milland), one of the students, successfully resists Diana's charms-meaning of course that Alan and Diana will be in each other's arms by fadeout time. Much of the wit and zest of the original stage production has been blunted for the screen, moving one critic to describe French Without Tears as "Comedy Without Laughs". In all fairness, however, the film does boast a hilarious drunk scene in a musty old French wine cellar.