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IMDbPro

Lili

  • 19531953
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 21m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
3.7K
YOUR RATING
Leslie Caron in Lili (1953)
Official Trailer
Play trailer3:14
1 Video
23 Photos
DramaMusicalRomance
An orphaned young woman becomes part of a puppet act and forms a relationship with the anti-social puppeteer.An orphaned young woman becomes part of a puppet act and forms a relationship with the anti-social puppeteer.An orphaned young woman becomes part of a puppet act and forms a relationship with the anti-social puppeteer.
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
3.7K
YOUR RATING
    • Charles Walters
    • Helen Deutsch(screen play)
    • Paul Gallico(based on a story by)
  • Stars
    • Leslie Caron
    • Mel Ferrer
    • Jean-Pierre Aumont
    • Charles Walters
    • Helen Deutsch(screen play)
    • Paul Gallico(based on a story by)
  • Stars
    • Leslie Caron
    • Mel Ferrer
    • Jean-Pierre Aumont
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 64User reviews
    • 19Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Oscar

    Videos1

    Lili
    Trailer 3:14
    Watch Lili

    Photos23

    Leslie Caron in Lili (1953)
    Zsa Zsa Gabor and Jean-Pierre Aumont in Lili (1953)
    Zsa Zsa Gabor, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Leslie Caron, and Charles Walters in Lili (1953)
    Leslie Caron in Lili (1953)
    Leslie Caron in Lili (1953)
    Leslie Caron in Lili (1953)
    Zsa Zsa Gabor, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Leslie Caron, and Mel Ferrer in Lili (1953)
    Leslie Caron in Lili (1953)
    Zsa Zsa Gabor, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Leslie Caron, and Mel Ferrer in Lili (1953)
    Leslie Caron and Mel Ferrer in Lili (1953)
    Leslie Caron in Lili (1953)
    Zsa Zsa Gabor, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Leslie Caron, and Mel Ferrer in Lili (1953)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Leslie Caron
    Leslie Caron
    • Lili Daurier
    Mel Ferrer
    Mel Ferrer
    • Paul Berthalet
    Jean-Pierre Aumont
    Jean-Pierre Aumont
    • Marc
    • (as Jean Pierre Aumont)
    Zsa Zsa Gabor
    Zsa Zsa Gabor
    • Rosalie
    Kurt Kasznar
    Kurt Kasznar
    • Jacquot
    Amanda Blake
    Amanda Blake
    • Peach Lips
    Alex Gerry
    Alex Gerry
    • Proprietor
    Ralph Dumke
    Ralph Dumke
    • M. Corvier
    Wilton Graff
    Wilton Graff
    • M. Tonit
    George Baxter
    George Baxter
    • M. Enrique
    Nick Borgani
    • Carnival Patron
    • (uncredited)
    Gene Conklin
    • Whistler in Ballet Sequence
    • (uncredited)
    Paul Cristo
    • Carnival Patron
    • (uncredited)
    George Davis
    George Davis
    • Workman
    • (uncredited)
    Jeannine Ducasse
    • French Girl
    • (uncredited)
    Richard Grayson
    • Flirting Vendor
    • (uncredited)
    Claude Guy
    • French Boy
    • (uncredited)
    Chester Hayes
    Chester Hayes
    • Carnival Patron
    • (uncredited)
      • Charles Walters
      • Helen Deutsch(screen play)
      • Paul Gallico(based on a story by)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This film was based on The Saturday Evening Post's Paul Gallico's short story "The Man Who Hated People," published in the 28 October 1950 edition, which was inspired by the children's puppet show "Kukla, Fran and Ollie." Due to the success of the film, Gallico expanded the story into a novella.
    • Goofs
      When Marc plays a magic trick with his cigarette at the notions store, he actually burns Lili's hand, right before playing the trick. We can see Lili jerking her hand apart, but she keeps on watching Marc as if nothing has happened.
    • Quotes

      Lili Daurier: We don't learn. We just get older, and we know.

    • Connections
      Edited into Off to See the Wizard: Lili: Part 1 (1967)
    • Soundtracks
      Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo
      Music by Bronislau Kaper

      Lyrics by Helen Deutsch

      Played often in the score

      Performed by Leslie Caron (uncredited) and Mel Ferrer (uncredited)

    User reviews64

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    The most truthful coming of age movie
    Of all the popular overblown, oversexed "coming of age" movies (mostly about male coming of age - starting with "The Summer of '42"), none has the honesty and truth of "Lili". Why? Because coming of age has less to do with sex (as most men think) than it has to do with an awareness of evil. The most telling line in the film is spoken by Paul's partner, who chides Paul for slapping Lili and says, "She is realizing that there is cruelty in the world, and she is learning to protect herself from it." Like Eve in the Garden of Eden, Lili's loss of innocence comes with her knowledge of evil, not her loss of virginity.

    And unlike other coming of age movies that have the young actors tossing around "cute" sexual comments that don't ring true for a callow young person (because they were obviously scripted by a jaded 50-year-old male), "Lili" rings true with every note (as Paul says, "She's like a little bell that gives off a pure sound every time you strike it."). Her naivety is far more true to form -- when she is warned by one of the puppets that the lecherous puppet Renaldo "is a wolf", the innocent Lili replies, "I thought he was a fox." This is exactly the way a kid would really respond -- not "getting" the sexual reference and thinking that the comment was about the species of the animal.

    I understand Audrey Hepburn beat out Leslie Caron for the Oscar that year with her amateurish performance in "Roman Holiday" -- what a travesty that was, since Audrey's performance had none of the depth and exquisite vulnerability of Leslie's performance in "Lili".
    helpful•57
    6
    • eadoe
    • Apr 5, 2007

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 10, 1953 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 21 minutes

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