Brigadoon (1954)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Vincente Minnelli

Writers:

Alan Jay Lerner (screenplay)
Alan Jay Lerner (musical)

Release Date:

8 September 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

The Big Broadway Musical Hit!

Plot:

Two Americans on a hunting trip in Scotland become lost. They encounter a small village, not on the map, called Brigadoon, in which people harbor a mysterious secret, and behave as if they were still living two hundred years in the past. |

Plot Keywords:

Village | American | Hunting | Scotland | Dance

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 win

Cast

Gene Kelly	...	Tommy Albright
Van Johnson	...	Jeff Douglas
Cyd Charisse	...	Fiona Campbell
Elaine Stewart	...	Jane Ashton
Barry Jones	...	Mr. Lundie
Hugh Laing	...	Harry Beaton
Albert Sharpe	...	Andrew Campbell
Virginia Bosler	...	Jean Campbell
Jimmy Thompson	...	Charlie Chisholm Dalrymple
Tudor Owen	...	Archie Beaton
Owen McGiveney	...	Angus
Dee Turnell	...	Ann
Dodie Heath	...	Meg Brockie (as Dody Heath)
Eddie Quillan	...	Sandy

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Anscocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo | Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:G (re-rating) (1971) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Australia:G | Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #16971) | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

To get the effect of Brigadoon emerging from the mist, Vincente Minnelli filmed the sets with the fog being pumped in, then reversed the shot to show the mist moving away.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: During the wedding procession the drummers' actions do not match the cadence.

Quotes:

Tommy Albright: [miserable] Why do you have to *lose* something, to find out what it *really* means?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Veronica Mars: You Think You Know Somebody (#1.5)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

Once in the Highlands/Brigadoon/Down on MacConnachy Square

Charming Musical

It is said that both Gene Kelly and Vincent Minnelli were disappointed that MGM finances prevented then from filming "Brigadoon" abroad in more "natural settings." However, the beautiful studio sets to my mind work just fine for the whimsical fantasy being told. It is true that the basic idea of the story is a bit far-fetched, but then that's what fairy tales are all about. If one goes with the plot's broad premise, one can sit back and enjoy a charming Lerner-Loewe score, lovely studio settings and backdrops, pleasant choreography, and fine dancing, highlighted by Kelly's and Cyd Charisse's memorable "Heather on the Hill."