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French Without Tears
French Without Tears
	Film poster
Directed by	Anthony Asquith
Written by	Ian Dalrymple; Anatole de Grunwald; Terence Rattigan
Produced by	Mario Zampi
Starring	Ray Milland
Cinematography	Bernard Knowles
Edited by	David Lean
Music by	Nicholas Brodszky; Clive Richardson (uncredited)
Production; company	Two Cities Films
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	1939;
Running time	86 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

French Without Tears is a 1939 British comedy film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Ray Milland. It was based on the 1936 play of the same name by Terence Rattigan, who also co-wrote the script. An on-off working relationship between Asquith and Rattigan began with this film and continued over the next 15 years.^[1]^[2]

Plot

The love affairs are depicted of three young Englishmen at a language "cramming" school in the south of France. Diana, the sister of one of the boys, arrives in town to flirt with all of her brothers' schoolmates.^[3]

Cast

Ray Milland as Alan Howard
Ellen Drew as Diana Lake
Janine Darcey as Jacqueline Maingot
David Tree as Chris Neilan
Roland Culver as Cmdr. Bill Rogers
Guy Middleton as Brian Curtis
Kenneth Morgan as Kenneth Lake
Margaret Yarde as Marianne
Toni Gable as Chi-Chi
Jim Gérald as Professor Maingot
Mantovani as Himself - Orchestra Leader

Critical reception

Sky Movies described a "sparkling version of Terence Rattigan's comedy play. The import of Ellen Drew and Ray Milland from Hollywood ensured the film's success world-wide."^[1] Writing for Allmovie, Hal Erickson wrote, "much of the wit and zest of the original stage production has been blunted for the screen, moving one critic to describe French Without Tears as 'Comedy Without Laughs'. In all fairness, however, the film does boast a hilarious drunk scene in a musty old French wine cellar."^[2]