Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

writers_reign Not for the first time and very probably not for the last it would appear that the majority of viewers who have posted reports on this film watched a different movie to the one I watched. For one thing I was unable to detect any chemistry between Bogarde and Simmons whilst several posters praised the superabundance. This brings us to the plot; Simmons arrives in Paris with brother David Tomlinson. Having registered at their hotel albeit Tomlinson conveniently omits to sign the register, they spend a day at the Exposition, which is the main reason they have come to Paris. This means that we, the audience, have been watching Tomlinson for a little over one reel, so when the next morning not only Tomlinson but also his very hotel room have completely vanished and the hotel staff swear to a man that Simmons arrived alone, we know very well this is a lie. The plot thus falls at the first hurdle. How much more effective if we ourselves never actually see Tomlinson but see Simmons talking to an offscreen brother so that we find it much easier to doubt Simmons sanity. The denoument is equally risible as rather than denying his existence to the authorities the hotel owner wuld be conspiring with the authorities in order to avoid panic.

paulsp2 I doubt that many people these days have ever heard of this movie but IMO it's one of those absolute classic films which is practically flawless and holds your attention from beginning to end. The sense of period is marvellous and all the cast are fully professional in their roles. The one character that really stood out for me was Mde.Herve played by Cathleen Nesbitt. I was probably only around 17/18 when I saw this on t.v. but her portrayal was the one I remembered most vividly for years after. It was great to be reacquainted via YouTube and as a mark of a truly great production it was every bit as good as I remembered which, as we all know, is so often not the case after the passing of many years.

bkoganbing I've never been able to get into this particular drama which many, including folks here, compare to Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes. I've never quite figured out why it was necessary to gaslight Jean Simmons the way she was. Maybe if I lived on the continent and had some insight into English and French antagonisms, that might give me a clue.So Long At The Fair takes place in the Paris Exhibition of 1896 and in that peaceful century between Vienna and Versailles when Europe was generally at peace, though the antagonisms were beneath the surface. Brother and sister Jean Simmons and David Tomlinson arrive in Paris and stay at a small hotel run by Cathleen Nesbitt. The two of them check into separate rooms. He complains of feeling fatigued and Jean goes out on the town for a little celebration. The next day not only has he vanished, but so has his room which Nesbitt now claims was just a public bathroom and that she arrived alone. Nesbitt's never even heard of David Tomlinson.Simmons is stonewalled at every turn and she gives a wonderful portrayal of a lovely young girl who is slowly being driven out of her mind. But I seriously can't get into this film. Remember in The Lady Vanishes, Margaret Lockwood makes an acquaintance of Dame May Witty as a couple of perfect strangers who fall into each other's company on a train. She's not a family member so when Witty disappears it's plausible when authorities doubt Lockwood. Here Cathleen Nesbitt has the effrontery to tell her that her own brother doesn't exist and the authorities back her up. Like Margaret Lockwood, Simmons finds one friend in itinerant artist Dirk Bogarde an English expatriate living in the Paris of Toulouse-Lautrec. Bogarde vaguely does remember meeting her with Tomlinson and of course he decides to help this very frightened young woman.I will say though that the nature of the disappearance would have required the authorities to tell Simmons as Tomlinson's closest blood relation. Why they went through this charade I can only attribute to the French way of doing things which is not terribly flattering to the French.The film belongs to Jean Simmons who when you look at her list of credits you'll find she was in the cast of some of the best films of the Fifties and criminally never received an Oscar for anything. She gets good support from the rest of the cast, but for me it's just a film that makes no rational sense to this American.

kidboots This film is based on a true event and it was a remake of another film but definitely not one that many people would have seen. Mayfair Pictures released a film called "Midnight Warning" (1932). Instead of the French Exposition, it was set in a luxury New York Hotel and starred Claudia Dell and William "Stage" Boyd. I was just amazed when I saw it - I thought "this was the original!!!". It was an okay film, but not a patch on this beautifully produced 1950 version that starred Jean Simmons and Dirk Bogarde.A bubbling, enthusiastic Victoria Barton (Jean Simmons) is accompanying her brother Johnny (David Tomlinson) on a trip to the Paris Exposition of 1889. The first night Johnny takes her to a cafe and the Moulin Rouge but he is strangely tired. The next morning he has disappeared and the hotel staff deny any knowledge that he was ever there. Room 19 is now a bathroom!! Jean Simmons is marvellous in this early role and showed the acting ability that she would be noted for in her later career.There is a conspiracy against her - she goes to the British Consel and is urged to find the lady's maid that met her brother but Nina (Zena Marshall) is going up with her fiancée in a hot air balloon and is involved in a ghastly accident mid air. The hotel manager is following her and he and his wife are able to convince the chief of police that she is not well. Catherine Nesbitt is very convincing as the inscrutable concierge.But somebody has met Johnny Barton. George Hathaway (Dirk Bogarde) had borrowed cab fare off him the first night and the next day tries to return it. Victoria finds a letter from him just before she is due to go to the station - asking if Johnny and his sister would join him for a meal. Victoria goes to George's studio (he is an artist) to beg his help. George decides to do some detective work - he books into the hotel and snoops around. He thinks the room numbers have been swapped and although he finds the real Room 19, it has been completely boarded up. Victoria does find her brother's pipe on the mantle - now she is beginning to be believed."So Long at the Fair" is a superlative mystery - you will not guess the outcome but it is completely believable.Highly Recommended.