Release Date (UK) – 28th October 2011
Certificate (UK) – U
Country – USA
Runtime – 113 minutes
Director – Vincente Minnelli
Starring – Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, George Guetary, Nina Foch
Sixty years after winning six Oscars, the 1951 technicolor musical An American in Paris is digitally restored and re-released by the BFI as the centrepiece of their ‘MGM Musicals’ season starting at the end of October and running until December. The movie was filmed almost entirely on Hollywood soundstages, directed by Vincente Minnelli, starred Gene Kelly and used the lyrics and music of Ira and George Gershwin (with additional score by Saul Chaplin).
Jerry Mulligan (Kelly) is an ex-GI who, following the end of the war, decides to stay in Paris and try to live out his dream of becoming a successful painter. He lives in an apartment block with fellow American and concert pianist Adam (Levant), who is also friends with Henri (Guetary), a musical comedy star. Jerry’s career is not going particularly well, until he meets a rich American woman called Milo (Foch) who agrees to become his sponsor and organise a show of his work. Milo would like their relationship to be more than just professional though, but matters are complicated when Jerry meets shop girl Lise (Caron) and quickly falls in love. Jerry also remains unaware of a further complication, Lise is already engaged to Henri.
Despite it’s Oscar wins and initial critical and box office success, An American in Paris has since been somewhat overshadowed by the other big Gene Kelly hit of the early 50′s, Singin’ in the Rain. It’s re-release is the perfect opportunity to a reassess a musical that is every bit as entertaining and exhilirating. I have to admit that I’ve been a fan of musicals since I was a teenager and An American in Paris is one of those films that I must have watched on a Saturday afternoon on BBC2. So it was a pleasure to finally see it on the big screen.
Plot-wise it’s fairly basic. Man falls in love with a woman who is already with another man. Nothing to get too excited about. Of course this being an MGM musical, a compelling plot and story is not always essential. The various song and dance sequences are what matters, and it’s here that the film scores highly. Getting the music and songs of the Gershwins was, in fact, the initial inspiration for the films; Producer Arthur Freed having pitched the idea to Ira after a game of pool one night (George had died 14 years earlier). Classic Gershwin standards like ‘I Got Rhythm’, ‘S’Wonderful’ and ‘Our Love is Here to Stay’ make an effective appearance. Saying the plot is simple does perhaps sell Alan Jay Lerner’s script a little short, as he does deserve a lot of credit for the way he manages to incorporate the existing Gershwin songs into the story.
The dancing is also exquisite. Gene Kelly’s ever impressive dance moves bringing extra life to numbers like ‘I got Rhythm’ and ‘S’Wonderful’. He also has a scene near the beginning where he gets out of bed and moves around his tiny apartment that is as impressively choreographed as the more obvious dance numbers. Leslie Caron is also a great dancer (despite only being 17 at the time of filming) and her dance with Kelly by the banks of the Seine during the ‘Our Love is Here to Stay’ sequence is incredibly beautiful. The most impressive dance sequence though and the one that the film is most famous for is the ‘An American in Paris Ballet’, a 17 minute ballet that ends the film. It is beautifully choreographed, but also well shot and lit on inventive and colourful sets inspired by various artists that had made Paris their home including Renoir, Toulouse-Latrec, Manet and Van Gogh. It’s an all the more audacious sequence for being entirely dialogue free, either spoken or sung (in fact the last 20 minutes have no dialogue at all). It’s probably one of the main reasons that it became such a success at the Oscars, taking an initially fairly light and frothy confection and turns it into something truly special.
This is all brought to life by the excellent Gene Kelly (He choreographed the dance sequences and, though not credited as such, was said to have worked as co-director). Having a star like Kelly in a musical definitely makes a big difference. Not only is he a charming and likeable actor, but he’s a great singer and an amazing dancer. From his cute rendition of ‘I got Rhythm’ with a group of French children to his flawless work in the ballet, Kelly is a compelling performer. In support Leslie Caron makes an impressive debut. Though ill at ease with the English dialogue, she more than makes up for it in screen presence and dancing ability. Of the supporting cast Oscar Levant is suitably grumpy and cynical as the unsuccessful concert pianist and has a couple of moments to shine of his own. Including his fantasies of a concert where he plays all the orchestra instruments. He also displays some wonderful comic timing in the scene where he is stuck between Kelly and Guetary talking about the women they love, with Levant being the only one who knows they are talking about the same woman. Guetary himself is very charming and gets to show of his cabaret skills in an impressive nightclub sequence singing ‘I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise’. Nina Foch is also good in the non-singing and dancing role of Milo. In fact both Guetary and Foch are a lot more likeable than these kinds of characters (the other man/woman) usually are in Hollywood films.
An American in Paris is an almost perfect musical. Fully restored it also looks sensational, it’s vibrant colours leaping off the screen. I can definitely recommend checking it out when it goes on release.
The BFI will also be re-releasing Meet Me In St Louis as part of the MGM Musicals season. The season itself runs during November and December.
Related posts:
