Love Is A Ball (1963)

A matchmaker (Charles Boyer) matches destitute aristocrats with unwary wealthy heiresses ... and gets a little fee from the groom. His latest protege is an impoverished Spanish Duke (Ricardo Montalban) that he hopes to marry off to a pretty young American (Hope Lange, all glammed up). To this end, he hires an English instructor (John Wood), a chef (Andre Luguet) and a carefree ex-race car driver (Glenn Ford) to help his plan. But his scheme doesn't go quite as planned. Based on the novel THE GRAND DUKE AND MR. PIMM by Lindsay Hardy and directed by David Swift (THE PARENT TRAP). This elegant lightweight romance is typical of the Hollywood romantic comedies shot in Europe in the 1960s. This one benefits from being shot in Monaco and Nice, France. There's nothing distinctive about it but it's amiable if all too predictable. The film's title is a misnomer though, judging by the film's narrative, love is anything but a ball. The film's one surprise is Telly Savalas (who still had some hair at this point in his career) who plays against type as Lange's pretentious snob of an uncle and he's quite amusing. The jazz score is by Michel Legrand. With Ulla Jacobsson (SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT) and Ruth McDevitt.