So Long at the Fair

Don't watch this period piece if you're feeling at all frustrated. Because it's about 90-minutes of on-screen frustration as poor Vicki (Simmons) tries to convince everyone that her version of reality is truer than everyone else's. The trouble is she had a brother in the hotel the night before, but in the morning everyone else says she didn't. So, where is her brother and why are the hotel people lying and will the French authorities ever take the word of one small English woman who can't speak their language. It's just one maddening frustration after another. Meanwhile, we're wondering what the heck is going on.

It's a really good suspenser as we accompany Vicki while she tries, with George's (Bogarde) help, to unravel the baffling mystery. The studio does a great job re- creating the appearance of 19th century Paris and its elaborate Exhibition, especially the ballooning episode. Also, I really like the boisterous nightclub scene that overflows with energetic gaiety. David Tomlinson too is perfect as the rather uptight English brother who can't seem to get into the swing of things Parisian. And where did they get that hotel majordomo (Catherine Nesbitt) who's officious enough to intimidate King Kong.

Anyway, the movie's enough to make you appreciate everyday things like a common reality we can all agree on. The riveting premise may have been done more than once, but never better than here.