I'm very disappointed to see so many attacks on Gary Cooper's age. It is absolutely ridiculous to blame him for the failure of the movie. Apparently, even Billy Wilder said, 'the day after he cast him, Cooper got old.' That is complete nonsense.
The failure of the movie is directly attributable to Wilder himself. The movie was already about a middle-aged playboy and the young, naive girl who falls for him; first through the stories in her father's files, then his picture, then with the man himself. All they had to do was make a few tweaks to the script to make it work.
For instance, make the age difference one of the issues keeping them from being together; acknowledge the big elephant in the room instead of trying pretend it wasn't there. How hard would that have been? In work, in life, sometimes we have to pivot. It can mean the difference between success and failure.
It wouldn't have changed the movie that much but it would have been enough to make it more plausible and save it. For the man to be that rich and have all that leisure time, he would likely be an older, established man. Women would still be drawn to him for those reasons alone. He also gave the women gifts, treated them well, and did not put a lot of demands on them or their time.
Whatever the audience may have thought, Ariane wasn't blind; she could see he was an older man who was past his prime. She was drawn to the lover in him and marveled at all his experiences and conquests; she knew them all. She also was raised by her father; an older man who was at the center of her life. It would not be a stretch to imagine she felt more comfortable with an older man.
The other change that should have been made was recasting the Michel character. He was interested in Ariane but he the guy was as boring as gelatin. One might think that would help but I don't think it did. Michel should have been a young, sexy guy who factored more into the story. If he pursued Ariane more then she chose Frank audiences might have understood despite their ages, they fell in love.
Whether or not we buy what we see on screen is, in large part, the responsibility of the director not the actors or the crew; not even the writer(s). The director brings all the pieces together into one cohesive story. It's their vision; their baby. If something doesn't work, it's on them to fix it. When all is said and done it's their name and reputation at stake; blaming anyone else is pathetic.
Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate]
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