The Lyons in Paris ** (1955, Bebe Daniels, Ben Lyon, Barbara Lyon, Richard Lyon) – Classic Movie Review 13,028

Val Guest’s 1955 British comedy film The Lyons in Paris is Hammer Films’ second and last cinema version of the popular radio series, following their previous year’s hit Life with the Lyons. It again stars married couple Bebe Daniels and Ben Lyon.

Co-writer / director Val Guest’s 1955 British comedy film The Lyons in Paris is Hammer Films’ second and last cinema version of the incredibly popular radio series, following their previous year’s hit Life with the Lyons. It again stars married couple Bebe Daniels and Ben Lyon, along with their children Barbara Lyon and Richard Lyon, as well as Molly Weir as the family’s Scottish maid, Aggie MacDonald.

Bebe thinks Ben has forgotten their wedding anniversary, but he surprises the family with a holiday to Paris, where there are misadventures with a glamorous blonde French revue singing star called Fifi le Fleur (Martine Alexis), trouble with an antique car, and of course visits to a seedy nightclub and the Folies Bergère.

The humour has dated and the film faded, with dud lines and stereotype characters and lame situations, but Bebe and Ben are skilled performers, noticeably so, and Horace Percival and Gwen Lewis have a good time as the Lyons’ friends, the Wimples. Val Guest is skilled too. keeping it slick and professional, despite limitations of budget and filming circumstances. Actually, they get quite a lot for rather a little.

It was shot at Southall Studios, London, and on location in Paris. And thereby hangs a tale from Val Guest: ‘We all went to Paris but we were not allowed to take any lamps. We had to shoot the whole thing without lamps, night as well. We’d get every car we had in the unit and turn the headlights on, and that was our lighting.’

The cast are Bebe Daniels as Bebe, Ben Lyon as Ben, Barbara Lyon as Barbara, Richard Lyon as Richard, Reginald Beckwith as Captain le Grand, Horace Percival as Mr Wimple, Molly Weir as Aggie, Hugh Morton as Colonel Price, Martine Alexis as Fifi le Fleur, Gwen Lewis as Mrs Wimple, Pierre Dudan, Dino Galvani, and Doris Rogers.

The Lyons in Paris is directed by Val Guest, runs 81 minutes, is made Hammer Film Productions, is distributed by Exclusive Films (UK) , is written by Val Guest and Robert Dunbar, based on the radio series by Bebe Daniels, Bob Block and Bill Harding, is produced by Robert Dunbar, is shot by Walter J Harvey, is scored by Bruce Campbell.

Release date: 11 February 1955 (UK).

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 13,028

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