Gigi (1958)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Vincente Minnelli

Writers:

Alan Jay Lerner (screenplay)
Colette (novel)

Release Date:

4 August 1958 (Brazil)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

The First Lerner-Loewe Musical Since "My Fair Lady"

Plot:

Weary of the conventions of Parisian society, a rich playboy and a youthful courtesan-in-training enjoy a platonic friendship, but it may not stay platonic for long.

Plot Keywords:

Playboy | 1900s | Cheating At Cards | Jewelry | Memory

Awards:

Won 9 Oscars. Another 15 wins & 5 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Nov. 13

12:00 PM

TCM

Cast

Leslie Caron	...	Gigi
Maurice Chevalier	...	Honoré Lachaille
Louis Jourdan	...	Gaston Lachaille
Hermione Gingold	...	Madame Alvarez
Eva Gabor	...	Liane d'Exelmans
Jacques Bergerac	...	Sandomir
Isabel Jeans	...	Aunt Alicia
John Abbott	...	Manuel

Also Known As:

The Parisians (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System) | Perspecta Stereo | Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-3 (new rating: 2001) | Finland:K-7/5 (new rating: 1982) | New Zealand:PG | USA:Approved (certificate #18763) (original rating) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Peru:PT | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:G (re-rating) (1975)

Filming Locations:

Auberge de la Moutière - 14 Rue Moutière, Montfort-l'Amaury, Yvelines, France

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The film was going to be produced by Gilbert Miller, and would be based on Anita Loos's 1954 stage musical. However, producer Arthur Freed had developed an interest in Colette's story in 1953. It took Freed $125,000 to get the rights from Colette's widower, and $87,000 to get the rights from Anita Loos (both had held on to the rights and the film could not be made without them).

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: As Gigi enters Maxim's, the patrons are all mouthing the lyrics to a song that is not heard (due to editing changes).

Quotes:

[first lines]
[Honore walks through Paris and greets the viewer]
Honore Lachaille: Good afternoon! As you see, this lovely city all around us is Paris, and this lovely park is of course the Bois de Boulogne. Who am I? Well, allow me to introduce myself: I am Honore Lachaille. Born: Paris. When...
[laughs]
Honore Lachaille: ...not lately. This is 1900, so let's just say not in this century. Circumstances: comfortable. Profession: lover, and collector of beautiful things. Not antiques mind you, younger things.
[an elderly woman passes by]
Honore Lachaille: Yes, definitely younger. Married: what for? Now please don't misunderstand. Like everywhere else, most people in Paris get married, but not all. There are some who will not marry, and some who do not marry. But in Paris, those who will not marry are usually men, and those who do not marry are usually women.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Peter Cook & Dudley Moore/Neil Sedaka (#1.11)" (1976)

Soundtrack:

Thank Heaven for Little Girls

Lerner & Lowe competing with Lerner & Lowe...but still a charming musical...

It's almost as if Lerner & Lowe were competing with themselves when they decided to write the music for "Gigi" -- once again, a story about a girl being transformed into a young woman of charm (a Parisian courtesan) just as Eliza was being molded into another creature by Professor Higgins. And that's not the only similarity. The songs all have a "My Fair Lady" similarity -- from 'The Night They Invented Champagne' to 'Gigi' to 'The Parisiennes' -- all bear the flavor of their previous work in sound and content. And yet they work beautifully for this story set in the city of love and starring Leslie Caron, Louis Jourdan, Herminone Gingold and Maurice Chevalier.

Production-wise, it's almost too lavish for its own good. Vincente Minnelli wrings every bit of artistic decor in the trappings, giving the viewer an almost claustrophobic feeling for the interior scenes. The outdoor shots are just as lavish--Louis Jourdan singing the title song among the fountains and architecture of French landmarks.

The cast is perfect. Leslie Caron makes an enchanting Gigi, Louis Jourdan is impossibly handsome as Gaston, and all of the other players were cast with a discerning eye.

But there is no denying that no matter how distasteful some will find the story of training a girl to become a courtesan to be (or how politically incorrect by today's standards), the score is as sparkling as the champagne they sing about. While, in my opinion, the score does not surpass "My Fair Lady" in range and cleverness, it certainly did well enough in winning nine Oscars, including the one for Best Picture of 1958. By all means, it has to be considered one of the last great musicals from the MGM period.

Only drawback: it's a bit overlong and could have used some editing for the slow moments.