Les Girls (1957)

After writing a tell-all book about her days in the dance troupe "Barry Nichols and Les Girls", Sybil Wren (Kay Kendall) is sued for libeling her fellow dancer Angele (Taina Elg). A Rashomon... See full summary »

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

John Patrick (screenplay), Vera Caspary (story)

Stars:

Gene Kelly, Mitzi Gaynor, Kay Kendall

Won 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Gene Kelly	...	Barry Nichols
Mitzi Gaynor	...	Joanne 'Joy' Henderson
Kay Kendall	...	Lady Sybil Wren
Taina Elg	...	Angèle Ducros
Jacques Bergerac	...	Pierre Ducros
Leslie Phillips	...	Sir Gerald Wren
Henry Daniell	...	Judge
Patrick Macnee	...	Sir Percy
Stephen Vercoe	...	Mr. Outward
Philip Tonge	...	Associate Judge

Storyline

After writing a tell-all book about her days in the dance troupe "Barry Nichols and Les Girls", Sybil Wren (Kay Kendall) is sued for libeling her fellow dancer Angele (Taina Elg). A Rashomon-style narrative presents the story from three points of view. Sybil accuses Angele of having an affair with Barry (Gene Kelly), while Angele insists that it was actually Sybil who was having the affair. Finally, Barry gives his side of the story.

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Plot Keywords:

dance | dancer | audition | told in flashback | obsession | 

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Taglines:

They're the most vivacious...vexacious...flirtatious personalities in gay Paree!

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 December 1957 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Cole Porter's Les Girls

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sol C. Siegel Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) (Westrex Recording System) Mono (35 mm optical prints)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

On the DVD, Taina Elg says the original cast was supposed to include Cyd Charisse as the American girl, Leslie Caron as the French girl and Kay Kendall as the English girl. Cyd Charisse decided to do Silk Stockings instead, so Mitzi Gaynor took her part. At one point, Kay Kendall didn't want to do the film and Taina Elg was tested for her part. Ms. Kendall took the part after all, but then Leslie Caron withdrew. Tania Elg was tested for THAT part and received her first major film role.

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Goofs

When Barry walks away from Joy after he first fakes heart problems at the outside market, Joy's voice can be heard telling the salesperson in French that she wants celery. But as she is turning her head to watch Barry leave, you can clearly see that her mouth is not moving.

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Quotes

Lady Sybil Wren: If I was a man I'd have nothing to do with me.

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Connections

Referenced in Have Gun - Will Travel: Les Girls (1959)

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Soundtracks

"Be a Clown"
(uncredited)
Music by Cole Porter
Heard as background music

User Reviews

Great film always underrated

Okay, perhaps this isn't on a par with Gene Kelly's greatest films, and perhaps the Cole Porter score is not one of his absolute best. But this film is so well written (its take on "Rashomon" is extremely clever), such a brilliant combination of comedy, drama, song and dance, with an exceptional performance by the great Kay Kendall, and equally fine turns by Mitzi Gaynor (who is always maligned, when she had developed into a terrific singing/dancing comedienne by this point in her career), Taina Elg and Kelly. John Patrick's screenplay is extremely witty, Porter's songs (while too few) are fun, George Cukor's direction is swift and elegant, and Jack Cole's choreography is great fun ("Why Am I So Gone" show Kelly and Gaynor off terrifically, and is a funny parody on the Brando craze of the 50s). All in all, a great show that deserves a far better reputation than it has; I've seen it many times since childhood, and always enjoy it immensely.