Charles Boyer (Iscovescu) is a Romanian gigolo who applies to enter the US and is told that he will have to wait 8 years, so he rents a room in a Mexican border town and waits. In to the town comes Paulette Goddard (Anita) who is his ex-partner in both romance and pulling scams across Europe by preying on the wealthy. She has got herself American citizenship and points Boyer in the right direction. All he has to do is marry an American citizen and he can gain his entry in about a month. Thus begins the search for an American bride who Boyer can marry, gain access into the US, get a quick divorce and then team up with Anita once again to fleece the rich. Enter school-teacher Olivia de Havilland (Emmy). However, immigration officer Walter Abel (Hammock) is wise to the plan and does not intend to let Boyer get away with things.
The film is overlong with certain scenes that stretch proceedings a little tiresomely, eg, the schoolchildren, the visit to a Mexican village and the rather painful reciting of some nonsense on a plaque that supports the Statue of Liberty.....oh for goodness sake.....get on with the film....! However, set against this, Boyer and Goddard are good in their roles and their performances elevate this film to the score I have given as the story alone isn't fast-moving enough to maintain interest. I found de Havilland a bit too soppy and so not as interesting a character, although she has her moments towards the end. Walter Abel does a good job as the immigration officer but the rest of the supporting cast at the hotel are all quite irritating. We didn't need any of them for the story.
Boyer does everything with such smoothness that I'm sure he could have slept with the whole cast if he chose to. After all, it's what French people like to do. That and performing mime routines.
The film is overlong with certain scenes that stretch proceedings a little tiresomely, eg, the schoolchildren, the visit to a Mexican village and the rather painful reciting of some nonsense on a plaque that supports the Statue of Liberty.....oh for goodness sake.....get on with the film....! However, set against this, Boyer and Goddard are good in their roles and their performances elevate this film to the score I have given as the story alone isn't fast-moving enough to maintain interest. I found de Havilland a bit too soppy and so not as interesting a character, although she has her moments towards the end. Walter Abel does a good job as the immigration officer but the rest of the supporting cast at the hotel are all quite irritating. We didn't need any of them for the story.
Boyer does everything with such smoothness that I'm sure he could have slept with the whole cast if he chose to. After all, it's what French people like to do. That and performing mime routines.