Gigi (1958)

Director:

Vincente Minnelli

Writers:

Alan Jay Lerner (screenplay)
Colette (novel)

Release Date:

4 August 1958 (Brazil)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

The First Lerner-Loewe Musical Since "My Fair Lady"

Plot:

Weary of the conventions of Parisian society, a rich playboy and a youthful courtesan-in-training enjoy a platonic friendship, but it may not stay platonic for long.

Plot Keywords:

Playboy | 1900s | Cheating At Cards | Jewelry | Memory

Awards:

Won 9 Oscars. Another 15 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Leslie Caron	...	Gigi
Maurice Chevalier	...	Honoré Lachaille
Louis Jourdan	...	Gaston Lachaille
Hermione Gingold	...	Madame Alvarez
Eva Gabor	...	Liane d'Exelmans
Jacques Bergerac	...	Sandomir
Isabel Jeans	...	Aunt Alicia
John Abbott	...	Manuel

Also Known As:

The Parisians (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System) | Perspecta Stereo | Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-3 (new rating: 2001) | Finland:K-7/5 (new rating: 1982) | New Zealand:PG | USA:Approved (certificate #18763) (original rating) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Peru:PT | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:G (re-rating) (1975)

Filming Locations:

Auberge de la Moutière - 14 Rue Moutière, Montfort-l'Amaury, Yvelines, France

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

By mid-July 1957, the songwriters had still not come up with the title song. One evening, Frederick Loewe was at a piano while Alan Jay Lerner was indisposed in the bathroom, and when the Loewe began playing a particular melody, he later recalled Lerner jumped up, "his trousers still clinging to his ankles, and made his way to the living room. 'Play that again,' he said." That melody ended up as the film's title song.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: As Gigi enters Maxim's, the patrons are all mouthing the lyrics to a song that is not heard (due to editing changes).

Quotes:

[first lines]
[Honore walks through Paris and greets the viewer]
Honore Lachaille: Good afternoon! As you see, this lovely city all around us is Paris, and this lovely park is of course the Bois de Boulogne. Who am I? Well, allow me to introduce myself: I am Honore Lachaille. Born: Paris. When...
[laughs]
Honore Lachaille: ...not lately. This is 1900, so let's just say not in this century. Circumstances: comfortable. Profession: lover, and collector of beautiful things. Not antiques mind you, younger things.
[an elderly woman passes by]
Honore Lachaille: Yes, definitely younger. Married: what for? Now please don't misunderstand. Like everywhere else, most people in Paris get married, but not all. There are some who will not marry, and some who do not marry. But in Paris, those who will not marry are usually men, and those who do not marry are usually women.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs: America's Greatest Music in the Movies (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

I'm Glad I'm Not Young Anymore

My Fair Lady it ain't...

...and thank goodness. Despite the good songs, the movie version of "My Fair Lady" hits a dull thud. In the words of Gaston Lachaille, "it's a bore!"

But this review isn't about "My Fair Lady". It's about one of the greatest musicals ever to be placed on cellulod - "Gigi", exquisite and as light as air!

Where do you start? The score and musical direction by Conrad Salinger and Andre Previn is one of the best. Vincente Minelli's direction frames Leslie Caron and Louis Jourdan wonderously and builds the chemistry between the two photogenic stars. Great support is provided by Hermione Gingold and the redoubtable Maurice Chevalier. Paris has never looked as glorious on film as this - amazing costume design, art direction, and set pieces.

And the songs - absolute classics! Lerner and Loewe really hit their stride with this - "Thank Heaven for Little Girls", "I Remember It Well", "The Night They Invented Champagne", and the beautiful title tune.

This movie has often served as an introduction to Maurice Chevalier for movie watchers, and he illuminates the screen. If you want to see him in another of the greatest musicals, watch "Love Me Tonight" with Jeanette MacDonald.

Thank heaven for this movie - it's a world that I would love to inhabit! I give it 10 out of 10.