Moulin Rouge (1952)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

John Huston (screenplay)
Pierre La Mure (novel)

Release Date:

23 December 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Music | Romance

Tagline:

The most startling and daring love story ever told!

Plot:

Fictional account of French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

Plot Keywords:

Toulouse Lautrec | Moulin Rouge | Singer | Dancer | Artist

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

José Ferrer	...	Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec / The Comte de Toulouse-Lautrec
Zsa Zsa Gabor	...	Jane Avril
Suzanne Flon	...	Myriamme Hayam
Claude Nollier	...	Countess de Toulouse-Lautrec
Katherine Kath	...	La Goulue
Muriel Smith	...	Aicha
Mary Clare	...	Madame Louet
Walter Crisham	...	Valentin Dessosse
Lee Montague	...	Maurice Joyant
Jim Gérald	...	Pere Cotelle (as Jim Gerald)
Georges Lannes	...	Police Sgt. Patou
Harold Kasket	...	Zidler
Maureen Swanson	...	Denise de Frontiac
Tutte Lemkow	...	Aicha's partner
Jill Bennett	...	Sarah

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG | UK:PG (video rating) | Hungary:14 | West Germany:16 (nf) | USA:Approved (PCA #16156) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | France:U (re-release) | Sweden:15 | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Romulus Films

Trivia:

The first film of Lee Montague.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Henri takes the fateful fall down the steps, the legs of the person falling are normal length.

Quotes:

Jane Avril: Henri, we heard you were dying. We simply had to come say good-bye.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? (1969)

Soundtrack:

It's April Again

Flawed classic

Set around the fictionalised experiences of Toulouse-Lautrec this is a quite moving account of one man's search for love and artistic acceptance whilst struggling with his own sense of remoteness brought on by his disability.

The film is a touch longer than I felt it needed to be (some of the musical numbers could have quite easily been cut) and occasionally seems to lose it's momentum but is saved by gloriously gaudy direction and a great performance by Jose Ferrer as the diminutive Toulouse-Lautrec.

The scenes in the Moulin Rouge don't really convey how outrageous this club must have been back then - but I suppose that says more about our society than the film. Having said that, most of the dances come across as saucy fun and give you a bit of an idea of the atmosphere in the club.

This stands alone as a well crafted film that needs no comparisons with any other versions of Moulin Rouge due to it's focus on the difficult love and remoteness of it's main character. That said it does have patches that drag and sometimes it is easy to lose your concentration.