Love Is a Ball (1963)

46% User Rating

1h 51min

"The hilariously mad story of all the best things in life that are not free... and the one thing that definitely is!"

Etienne makes a good living out of marrying off poor but titled young men to rich but untitled young ladies. Millicent is now in his sights on the Riviera, and Grand Duke Gaspar is the bait. But what if Millicent starts to fancy planted chauffeur John instead, and Gaspar takes a shine to Etienne's secretary Janine?

David SwiftDirector

Reviews (1)

All Reviews

CinemaSerf

Rating 60%

February 7, 2024

Charles Boyer steals this rather lengthy romantic comedy as "Etienne Pimm" - a gent who patrols the French Riviera trying to match the wealthy nouveau riche (usually Americans) with poverty stricken blue bloods. It's all done with the greatest of subterfuge - the wealthy folks have no idea that they are being manipulated - and true love is aways his goal! His perfectly honed system hits a snag, though, when the latest mark "Millie" (Hope Lange) decides that she prefers Glenn Ford's "Davis" to the proposed Grand Ducal target "Gaspard" (Ricardo Montalban). How can "Pimm" gets things back on track? Despite quite a good cast, this story is quite weak and it does take quite a while to build up a decent head of steam. Once it does though, the comedy is gentle and engaging with a few fun scenes between Ford and Lange as they paint a boat. One for the romantics, this - it's a pleasing enough watch.