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:

In The Joy 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)

Gross USA:

$1,982,000, 31 December 1954

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,275,000, 31 December 1954

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

Cyd Charisse said that, of the several films she made with Gene Kelly, this was her favorite.

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Goofs

The lass who calls Jeff a "Winnin' lad" then kisses him, complains about the lack of single men in the village. The later wedding scene shows this claim to be ridiculous. Men far outnumber women in the wedding scene, and most are strapping young lads. The only possible counter-argument is that they are mostly married, but this would require them to have left their wives at home. This, also, would be ridiculous, as no woman would willingly stay at home for a wedding in a small village.

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Quotes

Mr. Lundie: Two hundred years ago, the highlands of Scotland were plagued with witches, wicked sorcerers that were taking the Scottish people away from the teachings of God and putting the Devil into their souls. They were indeed horrible destructive women. I dinna suppose you have such women in your country?
Tommy Albright: Witches?
Jeff Douglas: Oh we have 'em. We pronounce it differently.

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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 Modern Family: The Old Wagon (2010)

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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

Well I liked it...

Despite all of the critical bashing of Brigadoon, I thought it was very nicely presented. Before I go any further, be forwarned that I have never seen Brigadoon on stage - only on screen - so I can't make comparisons. IMHO, MGM couldn't have casted a better Tommy; Gene Kelly is perfect and (although I agree that he may not be the best singer ever) I didn't doubt his ability to play the part a bit. Van Johnson steals the show as well. As well, Cyd Charisse was wonderful as Fiona, she made the character seem so believeable and was perfect for the part.

Granted, Brigadoon would have been much better had it been filmed on location in Scotland, but due to budget cuts MGM was forced to film it in beautiful, sunny Culver City. The painted backgrounds are obvious (the same injustice was done to "7 Brides" which, like Brigadoon, was to be done on location but was ultimately filmed at the studio) but the backdrops are not meant to be the centerpiece of the show; why are we placing so much fault on these? I agree that the dance sequences got to be a bit long, but with Gene Kelly, who cares?

We can, however, be thankful that MGM didn't cast Howard Keel or Kathryn Grayson in Brigadoon. As much as I love Keel's work in his other MGM endeavours (such as Show Boat and 7 Brides), he would have been totally wrong in Brigadoon and Grayson's operatic singing would have done Fiona a terrible injustice.

Overall I thought Brigadoon to be a wonderful screen interpretation of one of Broadway's crown jewels. It will definately be getting a second viewing here!. Rate 8/10