The Worst Woman in Paris?

"The Worst Woman in Paris? is a particularly useful signpost to Monta Bell's talents, since it represents a real triumph of style over matter. The plot-pleasant romantic comedy frou frou-is frankly old-fashioned, fairly predictable, and inclined to sag a little in the middle portions when Adolphe Menjou's urbanity and the Parisian background are missing from the screen. Thus one really has a chance to see what Bell does to standardized material, and what elegance and charm he brings to it. Space and time transitions for example are handled beautifully...; one key scene of the heroine's sleepless frustration and indecision is conveyed by a shot of her pacing across the shadow-face of an enormous clock, the kind of stylized shot that had almost disappeared from the more realistic films of the thirties... Though the charm springs mainly from Bell's visual sense, the timing of minor comedy scenes is unobtrusively expert too." -William K. Everson

This page may by only partially complete. For additional information about this film, view the original entry on our archived site.