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

Color:

Color (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:

According to Vincente Minnelli, when shooting in the French restaurant Maxim's the film crew the restaurant's famous mirrored walls to be covered up because they would reflect the equipment, but Minnelli contended that they had to be seen (and uncovered) as they were the hallmark of Maxim's. Eventually cinematographer Joseph Ruttenberg resolved the matter satisfactorily, by putting suction cups on photo flood lights.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the ice rink, the only couple that includes a skating instructor are dressed slightly differently than Liane and the instructor. He appears to have a black hat on and she a large black bow on her hat. These items have disappeared when we see a close up of them skating.

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:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Ralph Nader/George Benson (#2.11)" (1977)

Soundtrack:

Gigi

One of the best film musicals ever made.

"Gigi" is undoubtedly as good as it is because it was a musical written expressly for the screen (it had been an enormously popular Broadway play starring Audrey Hepburn). Lerner and Loewe were coming off their huge success with "My Fair Lady" on Broadway, and were at the height of their powers when they created the classic songs and screenplay for this film. And although Leslie Caron's vocals were dubbed (thankfully not by Marni Nixon), the rest of the cast acquits themselves with aplomb and a good deal of style, particularly the heartstoppingly suave and beautiful Louis Jourdan (who was much older than he looked at the time, as was Caron -- he was 38, she was 27). The breathtaking Art Nouveau sets and fin de siecle costumes were all designed by Cecil Beaton and are even more gorgeous than those he did for the film version of "My Fair Lady" a few years later.

This film is very faithful to Colette's original short story in both humor and spirit, and while I have no illusions that it is a completely truthful portrait of life in early 20th century Paris, it is a delightful, romantic story, one that is as lovely now as it was in the 1950s, or indeed, at the turn of the century. It really did deserve the Best Picture Oscar.