Good concept, poorly executed.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Parisian Love (1925)** (out of 4) A lot of times "B" movies are put down for not having enough plot and not running long enough to matter. That saying is really put to the test here as this film runs a mere 62-minutes but there are enough plots here for ten movies. The film starts out as Apache lovers Marie (Clara Bow) and Armand (Donald Keith) break into the house of the rich Pierre Marcel (Lou Tellegen). Marie takes off when the police arrive but Armand becomes "friends" with Pierre who eventually saves him from blood poisoning. Still awake? Pierre then hooks Armand up with another woman, which Marie finds out about as she's gone undercover in the house as a maid. This upsets Marie so she plans on marrying Pierre to get even with him while other goons try robbing him for more money. There are several other subplots going on in this thing, which happens to be just one of fifteen movies Bow would make in 1925. The amazing thing here is how much stuff they try throwing at the viewer and for the life of me I really can't figure out what it was for. There's really no romance here even though, I guess, in the end that's what the story is suppose to be about. None of the goons are ever threatening and there's no tension from anything that happens with them. There's very little comedy and there's really no strong character development. There's pretty much nothing going on here but the thing is just so weird, so over-the-top that you can't help but keep watching just to see what's going to happen next. I would call this a really bizarre film but it's worth noting that director Gasnier would later make REEFER MADNESS so I guess this film could have gone even further (although there is a cocaine snorting scene here). I think the main reason people will be drawn to this film is just to see Bow. This isn't the greatest performance out there but she does a fair job with the role. Some of her acting towards the end of the picture is too far out there but she's nice to look at. Keith is a tad bit too bland in his role and Tellegen is so far gone that you can't help think he'd perfectly fit into REEFER MADNESS.

Thieving Parisian lovers Clara Bow (as Marie) and Donald Keith (as Armand) are separated when police interrupt their attempt to rob wealthy professor Lou Tellegen (as Pierre Marcel). Posing as a street doxie, Ms. Bow manages to escape, but Mr. Keith is wounded. Luckily for the handsome Keith, Mr. Tellegen turns out to have a yen for both men and women. Tellegen recognizes Keith as a former student, puts him to bed, and caresses him back to health.Bow wants her boyfriend back; she suspects Tellegen has ensconced him on his estate, and manages to get her self a job there, as a temporary maid. Bow discovers Tellegen's plan to mate Keith with pretty Alyce Mills (as Jeanne), and jealously leaves. Keith tries to find Bow, but fails. After regrouping, Bow begins her final plan; to win the whispered-to-be "aloof from love" Tellegen's boy and money, she will pose as a convent girl and seduce him into marriage! "Parisian Love" is a quite unlikely, but highly amusing comedy. Bow and Keith are a great match, with the former lively in a number of guises. Bow impresses as a commanding star comedienne. Fading idol Tellegen is a real surprise, plucking his gray hairs in a memorable scene, and mixing well with the young lovers. Also keep an eye on veteran hag Lillian Leighton; she is hilarious, hogging the liquor as Bow's "snuff-smelling, absinthe-gargling" companion.******* Parisian Love (8/1/25) Louis Gasnier ~ Clara Bow, Donald Keith, Lou Tellegen, Lillian Leighton

It's hard to believe, but on the evidence of this delight of a movie, undoubtedly true, that Louis J. "Reefer Madness" Gasnier was once a highly competent director. Even in the condensed 62-minute version currently available (with at least two obvious cuts, one of them right before the fade-out), directorial ability shines through every scene, particularly those with the three principals. As usual, Clara Bow rivets attention right from her very first entrance to her final clinch, skilfully managing the remarkable transition from energetic hoyden to graceful débutante with charisma, style and panache; while Lou Tellegen (whom I have been waiting to see for 52 years and have finally caught up with) subtly conveys the charm, presence and instant audience identification that illuminated his stage roles opposite the great Sarah Bernhardt; and, as expected, Lillian Leighton is a comic riot when her awesomely pugnacious La Frouchard transforms herself into a pillar of Parisian society.The other players, including personable hero, Donald Keith (who disappears for a long stretch), have little to do, although "Monsieur Frouchard" provides some splendid bits of comedy inaction in the domestic fight scene when La Leighton lets loose.Of course, you can't really take the convoluted plot (or even the characters) too seriously, but who cares? It's all great entertainment.Beautifully photographed and most attractively costumed and set, this big-budget movie is presented on an excellent (10 out of ten) Kino DVD with "Down to the Sea in Ships".

With a plot line that is as convoluted as a ball of yarn, PARISIAN LOVE barely manages to escape ignominy due to the presence of Clara Bow, who with her huge eyes, expressive face, and earthy beauty just dying to burst out of its confines manages to transcend well beyond the material she was handed (which tended to be unremarkable, as she wasn't considered glamorous enough to garner or carry that sort of film). Even so, PARISIAN LOVE is an odd movie, one that starts out as a dance-duel between partners, evolves into an adventure, and then turns into a revenge drama where Bow's character decides to go after Armand (Donald Keith) after believing he has betrayed her love for him in a rather implausible way. All in all, it's an okay movie, for completists of Bow's cinematography only, but for anyone looking for true acting and in a timeless style, the preferred movie to view would be IT.