Funny Face (1957)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Stanley Donen

Writer:

Leonard Gershe (written by)

Release Date:

13 February 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Comedy | Musical

Tagline:

Presenting a Real New Dimension in Motion Picture Entertainment.

Plot:

Fashion photographer Dick Avery, in search for an intellectual backdrop for an air-headed model, expropriates a Greenwich Village bookstore...

Plot Keywords:

Fashion | Photographer | Fashion Magazine | Fashion Photographer | Modeling

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Audrey Hepburn	...	Jo Stockton
Fred Astaire	...	Dick Avery
Kay Thompson	...	Maggie Prescott
Michel Auclair	...	Prof. Emile Flostre
Robert Flemyng	...	Paul Duval
Dovima	...	Marion
Suzy Parker	...	Specialty Dancer (Think Pink Number)
Sunny Hartnett	...	Specialty Dancer (Think Pink Number)
Jean Del Val	...	Hairdresser
Virginia Gibson	...	Babs
Sue England	...	Laura
Ruta Lee	...	Lettie
Alex Gerry	...	Dovitch
Iphigenie Castiglioni	...	Armande
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Geneviève Aumont	...	French actress (uncredited)
Fern Barry	...	Southern wife (uncredited)
Nesdon Booth	...	Southern man (uncredited)
Nina Borget	...	Assistant hairdresser (uncredited)
Jan Bradley	...	Crying girl (uncredited)
Peter Camlin	...	Male buyer (uncredited)
Jack Chefe	...	Frenchman at Flostre's Party (uncredited)
Jerry Chiat	...	Man on head (uncredited)
Gabriel Curtiz	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Albert D'Arno	...	Beautician (uncredited)
George Dee	...	Seedy man (uncredited)
Marcel De la Brosse	...	Seedy man (uncredited)
Diane DuBois	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Carole Eastman	...	Specialty dancer (uncredited)
Roger Edens	...	Sidewalk cafe patron (uncredited)
Franklyn Farnum	...	Guest at Duval's Fashion Show (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Woman at Duval's fashion show (uncredited)
Louise Glenn	...	Junior editor (uncredited)
Albert Godderis	...	Seedy man (uncredited)
Sam Harris	...	Guest at Aborted Fashion Show (uncredited)
Heather Hopper	...	Junior editor (uncredited)
Bruce Hoy	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Kenner G. Kemp	...	Guest at Aborted Fashion Show (uncredited)
Nancy Kilgas	...	Melissa (uncredited)
Donald Lawton	...	Airport clerk (uncredited)
Jerry Lucas	...	Bruiser (uncredited)
Harold Miller	...	Guest at Aborted Fashion Show (uncredited)
Forbes Murray	...	Man at Duval's fashion show (uncredited)
Karine Nordman	...	French girl (uncredited)
Elsa Peterson	...	Female buyer (uncredited)
Don Powell	...	Specialty dancer (uncredited)
Cecile Rogers	...	Junior editor (uncredited)
Karen Scott	...	Gigi (uncredited)
Elizabeth Slifer	...	Madame La Farge (uncredited)
Paul Smith	...	Steve (uncredited)
Emilie Stevens	...	Assistant beautician (uncredited)
Baroness Ella Van Heemstra	...	Sidewalk cafe patron (uncredited)
Marilyn White	...	Receptionist (uncredited)
Dorothea Wolbert	...	Minor Role (uncredited)

Directed by
Stanley Donen

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Leonard Gershe		written by

Produced by
Roger Edens	....	producer

Cinematography by
Ray June

Film Editing by
Frank Bracht

Casting by
Gary Fifield		(uncredited)
Bill Greenwald		(uncredited)
Edward R. Morse		(uncredited)
Tony Regan		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
George W. Davis
Hal Pereira

Set Decoration by
Sam Comer
Ray Moyer

Costume Design by
Edith Head

Makeup Department
Nellie Manley	....	hair styles supervisor
Wally Westmore	....	makeup artist
Dean Cole	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Robert Dawn	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Frank McCoy	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Frank Caffey	....	production manager (uncredited)
Harry Caplan	....	unit production manager (uncredited)
Curtis Mick	....	assistant production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William McGarry	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Gary Nelson	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Bob Adams	....	stand-by laborer (uncredited)
Joe Cowan	....	leadman (uncredited)
Dorothea Holt	....	illustrator (uncredited)

Sound Department
George Leverett	....	sound recordist
Winston H. Leverett	....	sound recordist (as Winston Leverett)
Bill Wistrom	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
John P. Fulton	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Farciot Edouart	....	process photographer
Bill Avery	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Hubert de Givenchy	....	wardrobe: Miss Hepburn, Paris

Editorial Department
Richard Mueller	....	color consultant: Technicolor

Music Department
Alexander Courage	....	orchestrator
Adolph Deutsch	....	conductor
Stanley Donen	....	song staging
Roger Edens	....	composer: additional music
Leonard Gershe	....	composer: additional music
Skip Martin	....	orchestrator
Conrad Salinger	....	orchestrator
Van Cleave	....	orchestrator
Kay Thompson	....	music arranger: vocals (uncredited)

Other crew
Fred Astaire	....	choreographer
Richard Avedon	....	title designer
Eugene Loring	....	choreographer
Françoise Bouchez	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1957) (USA) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1965) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Paramount Home Video (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2001) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD) (special edition)
• Paramount Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD) (50th anniversary edition)
• CIC Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• CIC-Taft Home Video (19??) (Australia) (VHS)
• Paramount Filmes do Brasil (Brazil) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) | Mono

Certification:

France:Unrated | Spain:13 | Netherlands:AL | Ireland:G | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Finland:K-16 | Finland:S (1966) | UK:U | USA:Unrated | West Germany:6 | Peru:PT

Filming Locations:

Chantilly, Oise, France

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The little white car that Dick and Maggie drive to the beatnik club is called a VELAM Isetta. They were made between 1955 and 1958. VELAM (Vehicular Leger a Moteur [light vehicle with motor]) was a French company. The French nicknamed the car the "yoghurt pot" because of its looks. It was also known as a "bubblecar."

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: After Dick kisses Jo and leaves the bookstore, Jo begins to sing "How Long has This Been Going On". As she sings to herself while looking at the mirror in the supposedly empty bookstore, you can clearly see someone moving around on the second floor of the bookstore reflected in the mirror.

Quotes:

Dick Avery: When I'm done, you'll look like...
Dick Avery: What do you call beautiful? A tree. You'll look like a tree.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Fred Astaire: Change Partners and Dance (1980) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Think Pink

Fun

This is just fun! Singing, dancing, Audrey, Fred. Fun!

I've seen all of Audrey Hepburn's stuff, and this is the one movie of hers that I enjoy the most. I can watch it endless times and not get sick of it. The songs get stuck in your head for weeks afterwards. Another good point about this movie is that it has a message about beauty being only skin-deep, and manages to convey that message without getting preachy. Sure, "Funny Face" isn't a super-important film that deals with huge issues, but it's good fun!