A classic of the movie musical
genre, this 1952 film stars Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron (making her film debut at
age 19), Oscar Levant, Georges Guetary and Nina Foch. It was written by Alan
Jay Lerner and directed by Vincente Minelli, and features the music of George
and Ira Gershwin.
Gene plays Jerry Mulligan, an
American G.I. who stayed in Paris after WWII ended, and is barely ekeing out a
living as a painter selling his wares on the streets of the city. Jerry is
approached by a rich woman (Foch), wishing to financially back him (but
obviously after much more than just his art). But Jerry falls for the young,
beautiful Lise (Caron), who, herself, is engaged to popular entertainer Henri
(Guetary). Throw in Jerry’s piano-playing composer friend Adam (Levant) as
broad comic relief, and you’ve got criss-crossing three-way-romance plots.
The film includes numerous
song-and-dance numbers, featuring classic and catchy music. Of particular note
are: “I Got Rhythm” and “S’ Wonderful”. The film’s final 17-18 minutes is one
long, extended, dreamlike ballet sequence. All the actors are top notch, and
even if the story itself is a little light-weight, the pleasant performances,
and mesmerizing musical numbers really keep this film in the top echelon of
Hollywood movie musicals. The stage musical based on this film, which is coming
to the Lied Center for the Performing Arts, premiered in Paris in 2014 and in
New York in 2015.
[
Internet Movie
Database entry for this film ] | [ Wikipedia page for An
American in Paris ]
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