An American in Paris (1951)

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An American in Paris (1951)
Topic Started: May 1 2009, 08:49 PM (388 Views)
Laughing Gravy	May 1 2009, 08:49 PM Post #1
Revered in the UK Posts: 11,059 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: August 31, 2005	Gene Kelly is an ex-GI painter (and apparently song & dance man) living in Paris; Oscar Levant is his pal, a concert pianist (which is a euphemism for "unemployed"); Georges Guétary is Oscar's bud, a music hall performer a la Maurice Chevalier. Leslie Caron is the young woman who is about to marry Georges but who falls in love with Gene (sorry, Oscar). All this is set in beautiful Technicolor against a Parisian backdrop, with plenty of Gershwin tunes and a 20-minute ballet to cap things off. Won Best Picture and a slew of other Oscars, and a year later Kelly made Singin' in the Rain with Stanley Donen and that film was considered a disappointment after this one, although that one's become the favorite as the years rolled by. As many times as I've seen Singin' (and that is a lot), I had never seen American until today. It's very, very good indeed but does lack some of the charm and most of the laughs of its successor. Gene Kelly is, I think, at his very best here, and he did the choreography too. His number of "I Got Rhythm" with a bunch of French kids was my favorite part of the film (I watched it twice so I could see how delighted the kids were the second time) and he has many sequences where he dazzled me with his athleticism. Leslie Caron was no actress (at least, not at that point in her career) and I don't find her very pretty and I didn't see much chemistry between her and Gene, but oh, my, my could she dance. Incredible. Ya gotta overlook her shortcomings when she stands up on her toes and the music begins. I thought Guétary was terrible and I can see why he was quickly out of Hollywood and back in France where he belonged. I didn't care at all for Nina Foch as the predator heiress after Gene, either; dull, ugly, and scary. In addition to Kelly's dancing, Vincente Minnelli's clever direction and the wonderful "An American in Paris" ballet are reason enough to enjoy this excellent film; I liked it a lot. (And I got a big kick out of the sets designed to represent famous French painters, too!)



JazzGuyy	May 2 2009, 02:55 AM Post #2
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 2,164 Group: Members Member #110 Joined: June 1, 2006	The new edition of this on Blu-Ray is spectacular. I have seen a lot of versions of this musical over the years and nothing comes close to the Blu-Ray edition. You finally get to really see how good the Technicolor was for this. By the way, those "French" kids were probably Americans (though they might have been French speakers) since the whole thing was shot on Hollywood sound stages. I think Foch is supposed to be a little scary in this. You wouldn't want her to be more attractive than Caron so that she would be a better choice for Kelly. Of course the best thing about this film is the Gershwin music. That's why I actually like this one better than "Singin' In the Rain". Gershwin's music makes a huge difference to me.



panzer the great & terrible	May 2 2009, 02:10 PM Post #3
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,298 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	Quote: Of course the best thing about this film is the Gershwin music. That's why I actually like this one better than "Singin' In the Rain". Gershwin's music makes a huge difference to me. I agree wholeheartedly. I've seen American at least twice as many times as Singin'. It's one of my favorite movies. There are a lot of good MGM musicals, but I think the top five are: Wizard of Oz Meet Me In St. Louis American In Paris Singin' In the Rain, and The Band Wagon Frankly, I'll watch any of the five any night of the year and be perfectly happy, so why quibble about which is best? As long as Edens and Freed are involved, everything's going to be hunkydory. I have noticed that Singin' is one of the very few musicals enjoyed by people who don't like musicals. I always showed it to film classes and even the thickest jocks and the daffiest intellectuals loved it. I never asked anybody to write about it, though, because that's too hard.
	We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater


Laughing Gravy	May 2 2009, 02:33 PM Post #4
Revered in the UK Posts: 11,059 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: August 31, 2005	Were those "best MGM musicals" or your faves? Would you count "March of the Wooden Soldiers" and "The Bohemian Girl" as MGM musicals, BTW? Wow, I remember what an event it was and how much we looked forward to seeing Wizard of Oz on TV every year, and now I own a beautiful DVD of it and never look at it. Got it memorized, pretty much. Like you and Casablanca, Mr. P? Five sheer faves if you don't count the Laurel-Hardy musicals as MGM musicals... Cabin in the Sky Meet me in St. Louis On the Town Singin' in the Rain The Band Wagon High Society So okay, I never could count. An American in Paris wouldn't be far behind. I probably like 42nd Street, Swing Time, Guys and Dolls and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes as well as or more than any of these, by the way.



panzer the great & terrible	May 2 2009, 06:13 PM Post #5
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,298 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	Would you count "March of the Wooden Soldiers" and "The Bohemian Girl" as MGM musicals, BTW? Hell, no. I don't count Animal Crackers as a musical either. Nobody watches them for the music. Oh yeah -- I forgot Cabin In the Sky, so my list of five has six too. One that hasn't been mentioned is A Star Is Born, the MGM Judy Garland movie that was made at the wrong studio and they didn't realize what they had -- but I saw it when it came out, full-length, and I never saw a better movie. Why did really great movies by gay directors like this one and The Leopard got cut to ribbons? Was it a homophobic thing?
	We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater


Frank Hale	May 2 2009, 07:51 PM Post #6
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 828 Group: Members Member #59 Joined: October 6, 2005	“Why did really great movies by gay directors like this one and The Leopard got cut to ribbons? Was it a homophobic thing?” Probably because they were too long for exhibitors? Have you got some other examples to support this thesis? The last time I saw “An American in Paris” was at college. Pretty much OK, but the 2 reel ballet stopped the show dead in the water. People started walking out because it was just so god-damned long. Admittedly a 16mm print, so I’d like to see the Blu-Ray, which has received numerous good reviews in addition to JazzGuy's. And I think Leslie Caron is yummy. Saw “Fanny” last summer and she completely put over an otherwise routine soaper. Can't remember at this distance whether her more awkward performance in An American was by design or from inexperience.



panzer the great & terrible	May 5 2009, 05:33 AM Post #7
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,298 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	Didn't Von Sternberg get similar treatment when he worked on Duel In the Sun? Didn't Cukor get fired off Gone With the Wind because Gable thought him unmanly? Didn't The Chapman Report lose 40 minutes without Cukor's consent? With Justine, the studio cut and rearranged the footage so that now it makes no sense. Just a few more examples.
	We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater


Frank Hale	May 5 2009, 03:37 PM Post #8
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 828 Group: Members Member #59 Joined: October 6, 2005	Was Von Sternberg “gay”? I thought he was just extremely weird. What about that big love affair with Marlene Dietrich? No argument about Cukor, but I think he also had other issues as a director. Anyway, the main reason I don’t fully embrace your theory is that I think money was all that mattered to Hollywood producers. They would hire a guy with three heads if they believed he could turn out a good picture.



panzer the great & terrible	May 6 2009, 12:37 PM Post #9
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,298 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	Perhaps, but they were also bullies, and bullies pick on gay people. As for having an affair with Dietrich proving that you're hetero, I venture to guess that any affair with Madame D. was very much like a gay affair no matter what sex you were. Strange lady. Say you're a producer interested in money: whose movies would you cut: Antonioni's, which go on forever and mean very little, or Visconti's which tell tight, nuanced stories? Don't know what you mean when you say Cukor had "other issues as a director, " Frank, but IMO the guy who directed Girls About Town, Camille, Holiday, The Philadelphia Story, Born Yesterday, Adam's Rib, The Marrying Kind, A Star Is Born and Heller In Pink Tights was far ahead of the pack. The Indian attack in Heller is one of my favorite sequences ever. You could say Cukor's films are mostly adaptations, but Cukor's graceful style and unique skill with actors lift them above other adaptations. I directed Holiday in college because I had seen the movie and thought it would be easy to do. Turned out, Cukor made it LOOK easy, but it was diabolically hard. Biggest disaster I ever had, well, until my first marriage anyway. Cukor laid a few eggs: Les Girls is one of the worst musicals ever, a tremendous amount of talent wasted; the only comparable flop is Minnelli's Kismet. Still, I rate him among the top 20 American directors. As I said to Jazzguyy when we met yesterday, I value people who can do what I can't do, and Cukor's near the top of the list. You can imitate Griffith, you can imitate Hitchcock, but you can't imitate Cukor.
	We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater


Frank Hale	May 6 2009, 02:15 PM Post #10
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 828 Group: Members Member #59 Joined: October 6, 2005	I merely meant that he had a troubled track record, so much so that personality issues, rather than sexual orientation, might have been responsible. Off the top of my head, for example, didn’t Lubitsch kick him off One Hour With You? I didn't mean it as a slam, since I like his work also. As to Visconti vs. Antonioni, you’re making a subjective, artistic judgment. I’m saying that bottom line considerations would rule (and I have no idea who was better box office without doing some research.) There must be a lot of counter-examples of people who were “gay” yet had long careers. Rock Hudson? [I’m putting “gay” in quotes as a futile protest against the subornation of this poor, formerly innocent word.]



Laughing Gravy	May 7 2009, 07:23 AM Post #11
Revered in the UK Posts: 11,059 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: August 31, 2005	Interesting thread. I personally think that studios probably had what amounted to a "don't ask, don't tell" policy and cut a film if they thought it would make more money 40 minutes shorter. If the director were gay, the producer might laugh with his buddies about "cutting the fruit's picture" (and then probably go home and have sex with his male gardener) but I find it hard to believe that unmanly guys got edited for it. And I think that Gable worried more that Gone with the Wind was going to end up a woman's picture than he was worried about the director's manliness.



JazzGuyy	May 7 2009, 08:23 AM Post #12
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 2,164 Group: Members Member #110 Joined: June 1, 2006	It's always been my understanding that the only thing that matters in Hollywood is whether you can create product that makes money. Everything else is secondary. Of course, Hollywood in the classic era did hide people's personal lives because negative stuff might affect the box office receipts.



CliffClaven	May 7 2009, 10:34 AM Post #13
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 228 Group: Members Member #712 Joined: March 30, 2009	Hacking up films in the name of "pacing" (and/or enabling theaters to squeeze in an extra showing per day) is a Hollywood tradition that transcends bigotry. It's a low-cost way for executives to claim a creative contribution after the work is finished, and to claim it was a piece of junk before their brilliant executive work. Sometimes producers would go in and have scenes reshot or added, but more often it was just a matter of clipping. The one reversal I know of is Disney's "Pollyanna". Director David Swift claims he desperately wanted to trim some things, but Disney was so enamored of the film he wouldn't allow the cuts.



Frank Hale	May 7 2009, 12:48 PM Post #14
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 828 Group: Members Member #59 Joined: October 6, 2005	The people have spoken, Mr. P! FWIW, the IMdB says Cukor was booted off Gone With The Wind because of differences with Selznick, not because of Clark Gable.



panzer the great & terrible	May 10 2009, 05:57 PM Post #15
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,298 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	Gee whiz, Frank, IMDb, like Wickipedia, is written by jes' folks like me. They don't even sign their contributions, which is why I don't contribute. Accountability matters. By way of contrast, the article on movies in the 1937 (I think, or maybe it was 39) Encyclopedia Brittanica was written by Alfred Hitchcock. Get my drift? I see that my swipe has already touched off a response to what I didn't say, so mum's the word for now -- but what happened to The Leopard and A Star Is Born are crimes. The Leopard is the worse crime since the original elements still exist, yet the public has no chance to judge. One more time -- it's the best movie I ever saw, but thanks to the folks at Criterion I may never see it again. That hecks me off to the max.
	We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater


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