Victor Victoria (1982)

A struggling female soprano finds work playing a male female impersonator, but it complicates her personal life.

Director:

Blake Edwards

Writers:

Blake Edwards (screenplay), Hans Hoemburg (concept),

Stars:

Julie Andrews, James Garner, Robert Preston

Won 1 Oscar. Another 12 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julie Andrews	...	Victoria Grant
James Garner	...	King Marchand
Robert Preston	...	Carole "Toddy" Todd
Lesley Ann Warren	...	Norma Cassady
Alex Karras	...	'Squash' Bernstein
John Rhys-Davies	...	Andre Cassell
Graham Stark	...	Waiter
Peter Arne	...	Labisse
Herb Tanney	...	Charles Bovin (as Sherloque Tanney)
Michael Robbins	...	Manager of Victoria's hotel
Norman Chancer	...	Sal Andratti
David Gant	...	Restaurant Manager
Maria Charles	...	Madame President
Malcolm Jamieson	...	Richard DiNardo
John Cassady	...	Juke

Storyline

In 1934 Paris, trained coloratura soprano Victoria Grant, a native Brit, can't get a job as a singer and is having trouble making ends meet. She doesn't even have enough money for the basics of food and shelter. Gay cabaret singer Carole 'Toddy' Todd may befall the same fate as Victoria as he was just fired from his singing gig at a second rate club named Chez Lui. To solve both their problems, Toddy comes up with what he considers an inspired idea: with Toddy as her manager, Victoria, pretending to be a man, get a job singing as a female impersonator. If they pull this scheme off, Toddy vows Victoria, as her male alter ego, will be the toast of Paris and as such be extremely wealthy. That alter ego they decide is Polish Count Victor Grazinski, Toddy's ex-lover who was disowned by his family when they found out he was gay. The Count auditions for the city's leading agent, Andre Cassell, who, impressed, gets him a gig performing in the city's best nightclub. In the audience on the ...

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Plot Keywords:

singer | nightclub | cabaret | 1930s | opera | 

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Taglines:

The disguise surprise comedy of the year!

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Genres:

Comedy | Music | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

6 May 1982 (Brazil)

Also Known As:

Victor/Victoria

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Gross:

$21,933,614 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Peerford Ltd., Artista Management

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Second and final of two movies that actor Robert Preston made with director Blake Edwards. The first film was S.O.B. made and released the previous year in 1981.

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Goofs

When Victoria shatters a glass by hitting a high note after her audition at Chez Lui, Labisse asks, "What the hell was that?" Toddy replies, "D flat," but she only hit a B flat, an interval of one-third lower.

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Quotes

Norma: You're kidding? You really are... queer?
Toddy: Ah! We prefer "gay".
Norma: But... you're so... attractive.
[Toddy chuckles]
Norma: . Well, I just think it's a terrible waste.
[Toddy laughs heartily]
Toddy: Well, if it's any consolation, I assure you it is not wasted.
Norma: You know... I think that the right woman could reform you.
Toddy: You know, I think that the right woman could reform you, too.
Norma: Me? Give up men? Forget it!
[...]

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Connections

Featured in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs: America's Funniest Movies (2000)

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Soundtracks

"Le Jazz Hot"
Performed by Julie Andrews

User Reviews

The last great musical?

"Victor/Victoria" was the film where Blake Edwards finally managed to deliver his valentine to his wife, Julie Andrews, and convince the public to join in. Maybe because of that, it's one of his most heartfelt movies, and the enormous love between the director and his star do as much to warm up this movie as the careful colour composition of Dick Bush's fantastic - and underrated - photography.

This is a film where everything works perfectly. The acting ranges from the impeccable (the leads) through the touching (Alex Karras) right to the truly sublime (Robert Preston and Lesley Ann-Warren). The musical numbers are lovingly staged and shot and, possibly because this is a pre-MTV film, we actually get to see dancers dancing, as opposed to machine-gun assemblies of body parts performing details of not necessarily connected movements. The directorial touch is assured, proficient but never showy: the many complicated set-ups are executed with elegance, economy - not a frivolous camera movement to be seen - and discretion. (The circular pan around Julie as she sings "Crazy World" is a lovely example of how camera movement can create emotion without drawing attention to itself.) The sets and costumes are lavish but, again, do not distract. The screenplay is witty, full of deft touches, and Edwards treats his rather daring (for 1982) theme without blinking, and with great lucidity. (The other drag film of the year was "Tootsie", which stuck to the romance and stayed away from uncomfortable homosexual touches as much as it managed to.) The timing never falters. And the score is priceless.

All in all, a flawless entertainment, which, like the best movies from the studio system's heyday of which "Victor / Victoria" is a proud and worthy descendant, rewards the attentive (and interested) viewer with far more substance - and style - than might appear at first. I do not have the space to analyse this film at the length it deserves; but I can recommend it, which I do wholeheartedly.