That Girl from Paris (1936)

French chanteuse “Nikki” (Lily Pons) is desperate for some adventure and so walks out on her fiancé then hitches a lift with passing American band-leader “Windy” (Gene Raymond). He had originally fancied chancing his arm with this gal, but fairly swiftly realised that she was more than a match for him, and so he quite literally offloads her (with a gendarme) before heading for the boat on which he and his band mates are to sail back to New York. (OK, so we all know that you cannot sail to NY from Paris, but I nit-pick). For some reason, she’s enamoured of her new beau and so unable to secure a passport in time, she smuggles herself onto the ship and is soon causing no end of trouble for “Windy” and his “Wildcats”. Finally home, the promise of a small-time gig starts to make them think again about her being a nuisance as they are reminded of her singing. This is no cruise liner crooner, but a full blown opera star and she could be going places. However, the boys already tour with a singer and “Clair” (Lucille Ball) just happens to be his girlfriend, so a bit of manoeuvring - and yet more fleeing from the authorities - is going to be needed before “Nikki” can get the two things she desires most. It’s too long, this, but there are some funny moments here as Pons and Raymond scratch around each other like alley cats. Boy can she sing, and she also has some quite natural comedy timing that comes out from time to time as the story evolves in a busy rather than laugh out loud fashion. There’s a potpourri of musical styles here to enjoy and Jack Oakie in particular also proves he can hold a tune or two, even when the boat is a-rocking. Ball doesn’t feature until later in the film, but she knows how to use her pins on a dance floor and is also not averse to causing some mischief either as the gals start to vie for their increasingly hapless “Windy”. It’s not great, no, but it’s an amiable enough outing for it’s star.