Brigadoon (1954)

Two Americans on a hunting trip in Scotland become lost. They encounter a small village, not on the map, called Brigadoon, in which people harbor a mysterious secret, and behave as if they were still living two hundred years in the past.

Director:

Vincente Minnelli

Writers:

Alan Jay Lerner (screenplay), Alan Jay Lerner (musical)

Stars:

Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, Cyd Charisse

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Gene Kelly	...	Tommy Albright
Van Johnson	...	Jeff Douglas
Cyd Charisse	...	Fiona Campbell
Elaine Stewart	...	Jane Ashton
Barry Jones	...	Mr. Lundie
Hugh Laing	...	Harry Beaton
Albert Sharpe	...	Andrew Campbell
Virginia Bosler	...	Jean Campbell
Jimmy Thompson	...	Charlie Chisholm Dalrymple
Tudor Owen	...	Archie Beaton
Owen McGiveney	...	Angus
Dee Turnell	...	Ann
Dodie Heath	...	Meg Brockie (as Dody Heath)
Eddie Quillan	...	Sandy

Storyline

Americans Tommy Albright and Jeff Douglas, on a hunting vacation in Scotland, discover a quaint and beautiful village, Brigadoon. Strangely, the village is not on any map, and soon Tommy and Jeff find out why: Brigadoon is an enchanted place. It appears once every hundred years for one day, then disappears back into the mists of time, to wake up to its next day a century hence. When Tommy falls in love with Fiona, a girl of the village, he realizes that she can never be part of his life back in America. Can he be part of hers in Brigadoon?

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Plot Keywords:

village suspended in time | stone foot bridge | grouse hunting | fog | thatched roof stone house | 

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Taglines:

NOW BIGGER THAN EVER IN THE BEAUTY OF COLOR!

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Genres:

Fantasy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 September 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

Бригадун

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,352,625 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Color (Anscocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The background set was so realistic that some birds from outside flew into it.

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Goofs

In the 18th century, the Scottish Highlands were by and large Catholic. It is therefore implied that the entire town is Protestant in the discussions of Mr. Forsythe as a minister, rather than a Father Forsythe as a priest. This would have been highly unlikely in 1754.

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Quotes

Harry Beaton: I'm leaving Brigadoon! 'Tis the end of all of us! The miracle is over!
[He rushes away]

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Alternate Versions

A 1.75:1 wide screen version was filmed simultaneously with the 2.55:1 CinemaScope version. It is comprised of alternate takes.

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Connections

Referenced in Gilmore Girls: I Can't Get Started (2002)

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Soundtracks

The Wedding Dance
(uncredited)
Music by Frederick Loewe
Danced by Jimmy Thompson and Virginia Bosler
Played by the M-G-M Studio Orchestra conducted by Johnny Green

User Reviews

A Scot's Theme Park

I'm sure that when Gene Kelly and Van Johnson wandered into that quaint Scottish village called Brigadoon they must have thought they were entering a Scottish theme park. Certainly no modern conveniences around and everyone dressed in costume. But there's a reason for it, a most enchanting reason, the heart and secret of Brigadoon.

Brigadoon ran in the 1947-1948 season on Broadway for 581 performances in the initial production. It was Alan Jay Lerner's and Frederick Loewe's first really big Broadway success though it was their second collaboration. MGM bought the property for the Arthur Freed unit and it lay dormant for a few years while a lot of creative and financial differences got worked out.

Gene Kelly curiously enough had the reverse problem with this that his Broadway hit Pal Joey had. The original production of Pal Joey was his first big musical hit and he never went back to Broadway after. But when the film for Pal Joey finally got made it was with Frank Sinatra in the lead and the part was changed to a singer's as opposed to dancer's role.

Similarly the original Broadway Tommy Albright was a singer named David Brooks and Fiona was played by Marion Bell both pretty good singers. Kelly who could carry a tune had a whole lot of trouble with some of the songs, in fact he himself asked that his version of There But For You Go I be cut from the final film.

Changing over to dancing leads, Kelly got Cyd Charisse as his partner and as was usual, Cyd's singing was dubbed with Carole Richards's voice. They did do some mighty nice dancing though, especially The Heather on the Hill ballet and Kelly's lighthearted romp to Almost Like Being in Love which was the big hit from Brigadoon.

Kelly wanted to shoot the film on location in Scotland, but MGM eying budgetary problems and director Vincente Minnelli's desire to do it on their sound stage the film was shot indoors with Brigadoon recreated at Culver City.

One of my favorite numbers from Brigadoon is My Mother's Wedding Day which the character Meg Brockie sings. It was eliminated by the Breen office censors would you believe. They thought it inappropriate for drunken Scotsmen to be cavorting about on a solemn occasion like a wedding. As a result the character of Meg Brockie was cut down to nothing. A pity because Pamela Britton won rave reviews for her Broadway performance and Dody Heath is left with next to nothing in the role.

Still there's enough of Brigadoon for audiences to still enjoy and dream about an enchanted Scottish village we might all like to escape the travails of the world to.