THE BIRDS AND THE BEES

New Zealand Listener, Volume 36, Issue 924, 26 April 1957, Page 15

THE BIRDS AND THE BEES

(Paramount) G Cert. "HE new face we meet on the VistaVision screen this week would not in the ordinary way set fire to the heart of.a_ girl romantically inclined, for George Gobel-who comes to films from television-is one of those chubby, shy, apparently helpless. comedians. This, it seems to me, is quite a good thing in a romantic comedy, where the love story musn’t be taken too seriously. His attraction for Jean Harris (Mitzi Gaynor) is his money, for she and papa (David Niven) are card sharps on a liner which is taking them all from Africa back home to America. She trips him (literally), takes him to her cabin, drugs him (almost) with her exotic scent. Soon, though, his simplicity and trust-yes, you’ve already guessed. Still, with this and that the story’s kept going, afloat and ashore and afloat again, a long time after she finds she’s in love and he finds she’s her father’s daughter. If it’s light entertainment you're looking for, here’s a film you should like. Mr Gobel is a very amusing fel-low-though it wouldn’t surprise me if too much of him turned out to be enough-and in a couple of song and dance interludes, both of them captivating, he is quite a match for the talented Miss Gaynor. Mr Niven, in that old sophisticated role we know so well and enjoy so much, is supported in smaller parts by Reginald Gardiner and Fred Clark, two players you'll be glad to’see again. Apart from some slapstick (several spoiled suits in about 10 minutes is surely overdoing it even if you like this sort of thing), the comedy is generally diverting-not over-sophisti-cated, but sophisticated enough to give those who like it that way a relaxed night out. Norman Taurog directed.