Gigi (1958 film)

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Not to be confused with Gigli.

Gigi

French film poster
Directed by Vincente Minnelli
Produced by Arthur Freed
Written by Colette (novel)
Alan Jay Lerner (screenplay)
Starring Leslie Caron
Maurice Chevalier
Louis Jourdan
Music by Frederick Loewe (music)
Alan Jay Lerner (lyrics
Cinematography Joseph Ruttenberg & Ray June
Editing by Adrienne Fazan
Distributed by MGM
Release date(s) May 15, 1958
Running time 119 min.
Language English
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Gigi is a 1958 motion picture musical set in Paris, France. The screenplay was written by Alan Jay Lerner and the music was composed by Alan Jay Lerner (lyrics) and Frederick Loewe (music). It is based on the bestselling novella of the same name by French author, Colette, which was first adapted for the screen with Danièle Delorme in 1948. In 1951, Anita Loos adapted the novel as a play for the stage, and the Broadway production starred Audrey Hepburn in her first major role. Seven years later, producer Arthur Freed approached Lerner about writing a feature film musical adaptation.

Gigi proved to be a major critical and commercial success and the winner of nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture. In 1991 Gigi was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. It is considered the last great MGM musical, and the last great achievement of the Freed Unit, headed by producer Arthur Freed, although he would go on to produce several more films, including the musical Bells Are Ringing in 1960. The film also spawned a stage musical, produced on Broadway in 1973.

Contents

The idea was proposed by Hollywood producer Arthur Freed during the Philadelphia tryout of My Fair Lady. Lerner owed Arthur one more film based on the contract he had signed with MGM, so he read Colette's novel and agreed to adapt Gigi for the screen. Lerner had a short list of stars with whom he wished to work before his career was over: Audrey Hepburn (she starred in the non-musical Broadway stage version of Gigi), Fred Astaire , who had worked with Lerner on Royal Wedding), and Maurice Chevalier. After reading the novel, Lerner thought Chevalier would be perfect for the role of Uncle Honoré. However, Lerner was left without a composer. Lerner's collaborator, Frederick Loewe, had vowed never to work in movies, but he was charmed by the book and agreed to collaborate on the project, working in France. After a few songs were finished, the duo contacted Chevalier, who loved the songs and agreed to act in the film. Hearing a new melody from the bathroom during one session, Lerner jumped up, "[his] trousers still clinging to [his] ankles, and made his way to the living room. 'Play that again,' he said. And that melody ended up being the title song for Gigi."[1]

The entire film was written, cast, and ready to shoot in four and a half months, except for two songs ("I'm Glad I'm Not Young Any More" and "The Night They Invented Champagne"), which were written in California. Most of the film was shot on location in Paris, but the last few numbers took place in an apartment that MGM decided to construct in the studio in Hollywood. The cast had eight days off between locations, and everyone disappeared except Maurice Chevalier who flew directly to the studio to begin working with Lerner and Loewe on his final songs. At the completion of the film, there was a standard "sneak" preview at a small theater in Santa Barbara. Lerner and Loewe were dissatisfied and offered to buy a percentage of the film, and then to buy the print. (Lerner, pages 175-76). The studio eventually agreed to make changes, and quickly re-shot with some rewritten scenes, re-edited, and re-orchestrated the film. Another preview was held, and the audience reacted not only with appreciation but with affection. The film opened in New York in the spring of 1958 to glowing reviews. The film went on to win the Academy Award for every category in which it was nominated; a total of nine Oscars, more than any other film at that point in Academy Award history. The awards included Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Song, and Best Picture. Maurice Chevalier, although not nominated for an acting award, received a Special Award "for all the joy he had brought to the screen during his lifetime."

Gigi is often identified as the film that marked the end of MGM's production of classic musicals; for example, it is referenced in this conclusionary capacity in two of the three That's Entertainment! retrospective documentaries. In fact, MGM continued to produce popular musicals into the 1960s, and Arthur Freed himself would produce one more hit musical for the studio, the 1960 version of Bells Are Ringing. Gigi was, however, the last MGM-produced musical (to date) to receive extensive critical acclaim and awards.

In turn-of-the-century Paris, Gaston Lachaille (Louis Jourdan) is a rich bon vivant, much like his uncle, Honoré (Maurice Chevalier). But Gaston is becoming bored with the high life, and his series of mistresses. He only truly enjoys the time that he spends with one of his uncle's old friends, Madame Alvarez (Hermione Gingold), and especially her granddaughter, the precocious, carefree Gilberte, or "Gigi" (Leslie Caron). Madame Alvarez sends Gigi to her Aunt Alicia's (Isabel Jeans) to be groomed as a famous courtesan, and there she learns etiquette and charm. During these preparations, it occurs to Gaston that he could become Gigi's first patron, providing her with luxury as his mistress. However, the situation makes him uneasy until he discovers that he's in love with Gigi, whom he eventually marries.

  • "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" -- Maurice Chevalier
  • "It's a Bore" Louis Jourdan -- Maurice Chevalier
  • "The Parisians" -- Leslie Caron (vocal by Betty Wand)
  • "Gossip"
  • "Waltz at Maxim's (She Is Not Thinking of Me)" -- Louis Jourdan
  • "The Night They Invented Champagne" -- Leslie Caron (vocal by Betty Wand), Hermione Gingold, Louis Jourdan
  • "I Remember It Well" -- Hermione Gingold, Maurice Chevalier
  • "Gaston's Soliloquy" -- Louis Jourdan
  • "Gigi" -- Louis Jourdan
  • "I'm Glad I'm Not Young Anymore" -- Maurice Chevalier
  • "Say a Prayer for Me Tonight" -- Leslie Caron (vocal by Betty Wand)
  • "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" -- (finale) Maurice Chevalier and Chorus

(Source: [1])

The film was nominated for an Oscar in nine categories, and won all nine. A tenth Oscar (this time honorary) went to Maurice Chevalier.

Golden Globe nominations

  1. ^ Lerner, Alan Jay. The Street Where I Live. 1978, W.W. Norton & Company, pages 161-62 ISBN 0-393-07532-X

Awards
Preceded by
The Bridge on the River Kwai		 Academy Award for Best Picture
1958		 Succeeded by
Ben-Hur
v • d • e
Academy Award for Best Picture: Winners (1941–1960)
v • d • e
Lerner and Loewe musicals
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigi_%281958_film%29"
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