Parisian Rendezvous (197?): An obscure short film dubbed in Rome

 

When we speak of English dubbing in Rome during the 1960s and 70s, we typically think of Italian films, and while it is true that the majority of films dubbed in Rome were Italian productions, Rome was at that time a major dubbing capital, and films from pretty much all over the world were dubbed into English there.

One of the most obscure oddities to have been dubbed in Rome during that period is a very strange short film known as Parisian Rendezvous, about which practically nothing is known. In this post, I’m going to take a closer look at it.

 

The plot

The protagonist of the story is an unnamed globe-trotting top journalist based in Paris. Weary from covering wars and disasters all over the world, he decides he needs a vacation and heads to San Francisco to celebrate New Year there. On New Year’s Eve, he meets an attractive young woman named Martha at a nightclub. By the time midnight strikes, the two of them are kissing, and they spend the rest of the night walking through Chinatown, opening their hearts to one another, visiting a new disco and quickly falling in love.

 

The protagonist

Martha

The protagonist and Martha share a memorable New Year's Eve

Unfortunately, their hectic jobs (Martha is possibly a stewardess, though this is never made entirely clear) means they soon head off in different directions, with nothing but short phone calls to keep in touch as they pine away for each other. The two lovers make arrangements to finally meet up again in Paris, but fate has a surprise in store for them…

 

Background and possible origins

As previously mentioned, practically nothing is known about this strange short, which runs only nine and a half minutes. The few people that are at all aware of Parisian Rendezvous will know it through Something Weird Video’s 2003 DVD release of The Wild, Wild World of Jayne Mansfield (1968), on which it was included as a supplement feature. Unfortunately, it contains no on-screen credits, so there’s no way to identify the director or cast members etc. There’s not even a title shot, so it’s hard to say if Parisian Rendezvous really is the title, or if that’s simply what Something Weird Video decided to name it.

 

Parisian Rendezvous is included as a supplement feature on Something Weird Video's old DVD release of The Wild, Wild World of Jayne Mansfield from 2003.

Likewise, it’s hard to draw any firm conclusions about the country of origin as it contains plenty of location footage from both Paris and San Francisco. Something Weird label it on their DVD release as a ‘Euro-Short’, and that might very well be the case, as one of the very few things we can say for sure about this production is that it was dubbed in Rome. The unnamed journalist protagonist, who narrates most of the plot for us in voice-over, is dubbed by Christopher Cruise, whose strong British RP accent will be instantly familiar to fans of Italian giallo and horror cinema, while the female love interest, Martha, is dubbed by the sensual and breathy tones of the legendary Carolyn de Fonseca.

Further strengthening the Italian connection is the inclusion of the song “Moontide”, composed by Riz Ortolani and sung by Jo Garsò, which was originally used for the soundtrack of the little-known mondo film Magical Malaysia (1961).

 

The song "Moontide" was originally composed for the soundtrack of Magical Malaysia (1961)

As for year of production, the immediate look of the piece would suggest that this was made sometime during the late 1960s or early 1970s. There is, however, a small detail in the plot that makes this impossible: at the very start of the short, the protagonist travels on a Concorde flight to get to San Francisco. The Concorde did not start doing passenger flights until in 1976, so that means this short was most likely produced sometime during the mid to late 1970s.

 

The brief appearance of a Concorde helps in trying to date the time of production.

 

Assessment

Unfortunately, the mystery of the origins of Parisian Rendezvous is far more intriguing than the short itself, which manages to somehow be dreadfully dull and overlong at just nine and a half minutes. The second half, in particular, is ridiculously padded with seemingly endless shots of aerial sky views, cityscapes and cars driving around to musical accompaniment.

The footage from the strange San Francisco nightclub is of a certain interest, however, due to the brief inclusion of a bizarre mime act and a topless woman on a swing.

 

Scenes from the strange San Francisco nightclub

The English dubbing is also well done. There’s little actual dialogue, but the protagonist’s voice-over narration performed by Christopher Cruise anchors the plot nicely, and the appealing timber and clarity of his voice makes him compelling to listen to.

Altogether not a particularly good short, though, but worth a look for its complete obscurity alone. You can watch the whole thing here:

 

© 2023 Johan Melle