This is one of my favorite films when I need a good laugh. I got lucky tonight and my local PBS station was running this one uncut and without any commercials.

It's Paris of the 20's/30's, a time of gangster, nightclubs and one down and out singer who is genteely starving to death. Lacking the necessary 'looseness' to make it in the nightclub circuit, Victoria Grant (Julie Andrews) is just about ready to compromise her virtue for a meatball when she hits upon a way to cadge a free meal.

Cockroach safely tucked into her handbag, she heads off to a local bistro, and begins to gleefully tuck into her entrees. Enter Toddy (Robert Preston), a nightclub singer who's just lost his own job, been ripped off by his lover, and they sit to enjoy a meal.

Of course they get found out, the cockroach escapes and what follows is one of the best sequences of the film. Fleeing for their lives, Victoria and Toddy end up back at his apartment, and when her clothing is ruined, she borrows some of the discards of Toddy's former roommate.

"Well, you look better than he did in them," Toddy remarks.

Oh yeah, I didn't mention that Toddy was gay, did I? Not to worry. Hence the scheme to make them both rich is born.

Victoria will play a man impersonating a woman. Exit Victoria, and Count Victor Grazintsky is born. Polish expatriate, and singer of torch songs, 'he' sweeps Paris off its feet and is a rolicking hit.

Of course there's going to be a fly in the ointment. King Marchand, (James Garner) a Chicago businessman who deals with the mob, is in Paris for a vacation with his bodyguard (Alex Karras) and girlfriend (Leslie Anne Warren). He catches Victor's act, and doesn't buy it for a moment that she's anything but a woman.

What follows is a great sequence of farce and romance, as Victoria and King fall for one another, some pretty sensible attitudes about being gay are brought out, and some terrific sight gags.

In the end all is resolved, but I'm not going to reveal any more of the plot -- watch it for yourself, and prepare to be entertained. Great humor, pacing, script and hardly a dull moment by one of the great directors of comedy, Blake Edwards.

Robert Preston, btw, picked up an Oscar nomination, but alas, did not win, for this one as Best Supporting Actor, and got all of the good lines. I was also watching it with some pogniancy as Ms. Andrews' recent troubles has probably robbed us of her great singing voice.

Despite the topic, it is suitable for teenagers, and there is no nudity, and just a few shots of Leslie Anne Warren in lingerie and the trampiest strip tease I've ever seen.

Recommended:
Yes

Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older