Victor Victoria (1982)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Blake Edwards

Writers:

Blake Edwards (writer)
Hans Hoemburg (concept)

Release Date:

6 May 1982 (Brazil)

Genre:

Comedy | Music | Romance

Tagline:

The disguise surprise comedy of the year!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Singer | 1930s | Cabaret | Moll | Opera

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 10 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

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

Runtime:

132 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:14A (Ontario) | Iceland:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Peru:14 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Artista Management

Trivia:

Tom Selleck was approached by Blake Edwards to star with Julie Andrews in the film, but he was indecisive about accepting the part. By the time he agreed to appear, he was already locked into a tight shooting schedule for "Magnum, P.I." (1980) - the same reason he was unable to star in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).

Goofs:

Continuity: The reaction shots of Andre and Toddy watching Victoria during her first "Shady Dame of Seville" number have them wearing the same boutonnières they wore during her very first show, but when Toddy and Victoria arrive back at the hotel Toddy has a different colored one.

Quotes:

King Marchand: If you were a man, I'd knock your block off.
Victoria: And prove that *you're* a man?
King Marchand: That's a woman's argument.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service: Dead Man Talking (#1.19)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

Gay Paree

A fine way for the stars to break away from their earlier roles, and it's pretty funny, too.

Three of the stars of this movie all made their mark playing wholesome characters, (and all in musicals, ironically) but they certainly got rid of those personas in this film. Julie Andrews finally solved the problem of Maria by playing a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman, Robert Preston's gay entertainer is a long, long way from Harold Hill, and Lesley Ann Warren... well, her floozy moll ("Ya mean you really aw... quee-uh?") basically erases all memories of Cinderella. All give excellent performances in this entertaining, funny film from director/co-writer Blake Edwards. And they all get to sing some great songs from Henry Mancini and Leslie Brucusse, among them "Le Jazz Hot," (in which Andrews sings in her lower range, and actually sizzles) "The Shady Dame From Seville," (first sung by Andrews, then hilariously reprised at the end by Preston) and "Chicago, Illinois." (Warren is great in that) Though there is a long stretch in the middle that either included jokes and/or subtleties that went over my head or just wasn't funny, though not bad, otherwise it's a great comedy. In addition to the three performers mentioned, James Garner is also good as the gangster who falls for Andrews but is unsure of her gender.