Gigi (1958)
Thank heaven for little girls, for little girls get bigger every day.
Starring: Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Louis Jourdan (I), Hermione Gingold, Eva Gabor, Jacques Bergerac, Isabel Jeans, John Abbott (I), Richard Bean (III), Edwin Jerome, Corinne Marchand, Maurice Marsac, Dorothy Neumann, Maruja Plose, Ohad Rosen, Pat Sheehan, Marilyn Simms, Lydia Stevens, Jack Trevan, Monique van Vooren, Betty Wand, Leroy Winebrenner
Director: Vincente Minelli
Running Time: 111 minutes
US MPAA rating: N/AUK BBFC rating: PG
Comedy, Musical, Romance
On DVD Leslie Caron stars as Gigi, a precocious adolescent girl living in turn-of-the-century Paris. Gigi's mother is an opera singer with little time for her, and instead she is raised by her grandmother Madame Alvarez (Hermione Gingold). Madame Alvarez has ambitions to turn Gigi into a successful courtesan, and to that end Gigi is sent to her Aunt Alicia (Isabel Jeans) for lessons in everything from how to pour coffee to how to select cigars. In the meantime, handsome Gaston Lachaille (Louis Jourdan) is bored with Paris. A bon vivant like his uncle Honore (Maurice Chevalier), Gaston is rich and lives the high life with a series of mistresses, but little really holds his interest for long.
Gaston begins spending increasing amounts of time visiting Madame Alvarez, who happens to be an old friend of his uncle. There he gets to know Gigi as a little girl - not on her best behaviour but full of life and good humour. However, Gigi is growing up and Madame Alvarez and Aunt Alicia have plans to ensnare a fine patron for her - Gaston would be perfect. On realising that Gigi has grown up to be a beautiful young woman, Gaston declares his love for her and promises to set her up with everything that the best mistresses have. But although Gigi loves Gaston too, she has no desire to be a mistress.
This is a sweet and appealing musical with plenty of charm. The Lerner and Loewe songs are some of the most memorable in any musical, and are performed with verve. The cinematography is outstanding, as is the direction, although the film is rather lacking in dance numbers. All the cast do a superb job, although one wonders what the film might have been like with Audrey Hepburn in the lead role - Hepburn played Gigi on Broadway, and was described by the author of the novel as being exactly as she had imagined the character. Often criticised in this modern age for its non-politically correct content, it is not actually as bad as it seems - after all, in the end it is Gaston who is reformed and has to defy the conventions of the society in which he lives, while Gigi is successful in getting more control of her future than her older female relatives once had.
DVD Extras: Only a trailer with this basic release.
It's Got: Nine Academy Awards and a string of memorable musical numbers.
It Needs: Audrey Hepburn in the lead role.
Alternatives: My Fair Lady, An American in Paris, The Pirate.
Summary: Uplifting and cheerful 1950s musical that perhaps didn't deserve all the accolades it has received but certainly came close.
Review by Andrea Chee
Review Date: 7th January 2003
External Links
Gigi at the IMDB
Comments3 Comments |
| Whilst I absolutely love Audrey Hepburn, the one thing this film certainly does not need is her in the lead role. Leslie Caron is fantastic and that fabulous voice and doe eyed and beautiful face are more than a match for the wit of Maurice Chevalier and the charm and beauty of Louis Jordan. How dare you suggest otherwise. This is a great film and only for those with an ounce of Audrey Hepurn wasn't the only great actress of this era intelligence. Leslie in her own right has made many great films including Daddy Long Legs and An American in Paris. 10/10 for a wonderful, witty, warm, energetic and sigh inducing film. |
| Comment by:- Romaine Maddocks | | 10 May 2004 | ip: logged |
| Right, Audrey Hepburn would have way too much presence plus she got no singing voice whatsoever. |
| Comment by:- EB | | 18 December 2004 | ip: logged |
| Leslie Caron is perfect as the gauche,happy-go-lucky adolescent who turns into a beauty and the fact that she is actually French clinches it for me. Audrey Hepburn could never have portrayed that knowing innocence. She was much too experienced and well known.Gigi is one of my favourite films. The casting is perfect. |
| Comment by:- Ruth | | 19 December 2004 | ip: logged |
