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Synopsis:
During the advent of talkies in Hollywood, a conceited movie star (Jean Hagen) with a terrible voice struggles to make the transition; meanwhile, her costar (Gene Kelly) falls in love with a young ingenue (Debbie Reynolds) who begins dubbing Hagen’s voice, invoking Hagen’s wrath and jealousy.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Actors and Actresses
• Cyd Charisse Films
• Debbie Reynolds Films
• Gene Kelly Films
• Hollywood
• Jean Hagen Films
• Musicals
• Romantic Comedy
• Stanley Donen Films

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary argues that this “most uplifting of films” remains “one of the great joys of the cinema”, and is the “ultimate musical for lovers of the film medium”. He notes that “not only do innovative directors Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen use ‘film’ (color, lighting, editing, special effects, camera placement and movement, and sound) to enhance the fabulous songs and dances, but, as scripted by Adolph Green and Betty Comden, [it’s] also one of the best, funniest, most perceptive and informative pictures ever made about the movie industry”. He notes that “Green and Comden beautifully spoof numerous Hollywood types: suicidal stuntmen who’ll do anything to be in pictures; starlets with pretensions of being serious thespians who will jump out of cakes to be part of show biz; brainless gossip columnists; tough directors who think the set is a battlefield; smug diction coaches; confused producers; flaky music coordinators; cocky actors who know the importance of ‘image’ to stardom…; and stupid, conceited actresses who believe their own press”. The gamut is covered!

Peary accurately argues that the “musical numbers are all outstanding, with Kelly, [Donald] O’Connor [as Kelly’s friend], and Reynolds displaying amazing athletic dancing skills”. He points out that some “unforgettable highlights include the three dancing on furniture and singing ‘Good Morning’; O’Connor running up walls and flipping during ‘Make ‘Em Laugh'” (an astonishing number no matter how many times you’ve seen it!); “the ‘Broadway Rhythm’ number, especially when Kelly and Cyd Charisse perform a dreamlike ballet; and the [incomparable] title number, which has Kelly happily dancing through puddles”. Peary notes that “in the film’s great[est] moment, the camera moves directly over Kelly’s beaming face for a close-up just as he sings ‘There’s a smile on my face’.” In his Cult Movies book, he lists several other musical highlights; a personal favorite is “Don and Cosmo [O’Connor] bewildering their diction teacher with some tongue twisters and flying feet in the ‘Moses’ number” (I’d forgotten how fun that one is!).

Meanwhile, Peary writes that “the scenes without music are [also] delightful”, and in Cult Movies he points out some specific ones: “Don’s [Kelly’s] hilarious movie stunts which somehow he survives; the knife-in-the-back squabbling between Don and Lina [Hagen]; Lina’s unsuccessful diction lessons, where she can’t learn to properly pronounce the letter a in the phrase ‘I can’t stand it’; the fascinating film at [a producer’s] party in which a weird man explains the ‘sound film’; the many humorous incidents with microphones; [and] the finale…”. I agree that each of these scenes or sequences are gems — masterfully written, directed, and acted; indeed, the entire fast-paced screenplay is “delightful movie fare”, as Peary writes.

In his Alternate Oscars (where he votes the film Best Picture of the Year), Peary nominates Kelly as one of the Best Actors of the Year, and Reynolds as one of the Best Actresses (in Cult Movies he writes “how absolutely great, how bubbly, how vivacious she is!”). However, he rightfully acknowledges that Kelly “allows Jean Hagen ample opportunity to walk away with acting honors” — indeed, while her role is perhaps not quite large enough to be considered in the “Best Actress” category, you could argue that her consistently hilarious, memorable performance plays an enormous part in the film’s overall success. Peary writes that “from this picture, we see that Hagen was never allowed the chance to be the fine comedienne… she was obviously capable of being”, and credits “Kelly, the star, the codirector, [for] willingly shar[ing] his picture with his costars.” He argues that “it is not by mere chance that Reynolds, O’Connor, and Hagen have never been better” — and one can’t help agreeing.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Jean Hagen as Lina Lamont
  
• Gene Kelly as Don Lockwood
  
• Debbie Reynolds as Kathy Selden
  
• Donald O’Connor’s phenomenal “Make ‘Em Laugh” number
  
• Kelly’s iconic “Singin’ in the Rain” number
  
• Kelly, O’Connor, and Reynolds performing “Good Morning”
  
• Kelly and O’Connor performing “Moses”
  
• A hilarious, incisive satire of early Hollywood’s transition to talkies
  
• Vibrant Technicolor cinematography (by Harold Rosson)
  

Must See?
Yes, of course!

Categories

• Genuine Classic

(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die)

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Review
• Film Site Review
• Reelviews Review
• DVD Savant Review
• Digitally Obsessed Review
• TV Guide Review
• TCM Article
• Tired Old Queen at the Movies Video Review

Synopsis:
In turn-of-the-century Paris, a teen (Leslie Caron) living with her grandmother (Hermione Gingold) is groomed by her great-aunt (Isabel Jeans) to be a courtesan — but when a family friend (Louis Jourdan) takes a romantic interest in young Gigi (Caron), she begins to question her future.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Coming-of-Age
• Cross-Class Romance
• Historical Drama
• Leslie Caron Films
• Louis Jourdan Films
• Maurice Chevalier Films
• May-December Romance
• Musicals
• Vincente Minnelli Films

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary writes — and I agree — that Vincente Minnelli’s “exuberant musical, the winner of nine Academy Awards including Best Picture”, features a “bright and witty” script (based on Colette’s 1944 novella), “appealing” stars, “colorful costumes and sets [evocative of] Paris [in] 1900”, and “some charming songs” — including Peary’s (and my) favorite, “I Remember It Well”, as Gingold and Maurice Chevalier “warmly sing of their long-ago romance”. Indeed, I was pleasantly surprised to revisit this film for the first time in over 20 years (I last saw it as a teenage ff), and to find that I appreciate it much more now that I’m better able to understand the nuances of its social milieu. Without a grasp of the “Belle Epoque” societal norms that Colette was depicting in her story, it’s difficult to understand the basic premise of the story, or to fully appreciate the type of dilemma faced by Gigi and Jourdan’s “Gaston” — so younger film fanatics should be duly forewarned.

Storyline aside, however, the film — often designated as the last great MGM musical — works on nearly all other levels. To elaborate on Peary’s points above, it also features excellent use of authentic outdoor locales in France, vibrant Technicolor cinematography, and songs that are integrated seamlessly into the narrative (I’m especially fond of how “Waltz at Maxim’s [She’s Not Thinking of Me]”, with Eva Gabor as Jourdan’s mistress, is handled). Meanwhile, most of the cast is top-notch, with Caron in particular demonstrating a tremendous leap in acting ability since her 19-year-old debut in Minnelli’s An American in Paris (1951). She manages to effectively portray Gigi both as an innocent adolescent and as an emergent courtesan; we can easily understand why Jourdan would fall for her. Jourdan (second choice after Dirk Bogarde, who would have been wonderful) capably embodies bored Gaston (his clever duet with Chevalier — “It’s a Bore” — allows us to understand his character within just a few minutes); but I’ll admit I find Chevalier — especially as he sings “Thank Heaven for Little Girls” (my least favorite number) — a tad creepy.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Leslie Caron as Gigi
  
• Hermione Gingold as Madame Alvarez
  
• Lovely musical numbers — especially Gingold and Chevalier’s duet “I Remember It Well”
  
• Fine period production design and costumes
  
• Vibrant Technicolor cinematography
  
• Excellent use of authentic Parisian locales
  

Must See?
Yes, as an Oscar-winning classic.

Categories

• Genuine Classic
• Oscar Winner or Nominee

(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die)

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• DVD Talk Review
• DVD Savant Review
• TCM Articles
• Time Out Capsule Review

Synopsis:
An aspiring painter (Gene Kelly) in post-WWII Paris, living in the same building as his piano-playing buddy (Oscar Levant), is discovered by a beautiful patroness (Nina Foch) who hopes Kelly will become her new lover; meanwhile, Kelly falls in love with a shopgirl (Leslie Caron) he spies in a restaurant, not realizing that she’s engaged to the man (Georges Guétary) who kept her safe during the war.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Artists
• Expatriates
• Gene Kelly Films
• Leslie Caron Films
• Love Triangle
• Musicals
• Oscar Levant Films
• Romance
• Vincente Minnelli Films

Response to Peary’s Review:
As Peary writes, it’s too bad that the “potentially interesting storyline” for this “lavish M-G-M musical” is “given short shrift by Alan Jay Lerner”, who fails to exploit what should be the “intriguing relationships” between the four romantic leads. He argues that “instead of a steamy, complicated love affair between Kelly and Caron… their romance is movie-musical predictable” and “too proper”, and he notes that “Caron’s character, who no doubt had an interesting past, is very artificial”. He accurately points out that while “it’s nice to see her dance” (she’s given a clever introduction in a colorful montage early in the film), she “doesn’t yet look like a romantic lead”; he quips that “they hadn’t figured out her makeup, I suppose”, which isn’t all that far off the mark, given that she’s not nearly as attractive as she appears in her later films.

Peary further posits that “Minnelli’s elegant balletic style of dancing is too tame for [Kelly]” — though he concedes that Kelly is finally allowed to “let loose in the extravagant 20-minute musical finale” which features “several striking ballet interludes”; he notes that with its “imaginative use of color, costumes, and sets to create scenes in the styles of French artists … it is [indeed] one of the best production numbers in cinema history”. He argues that “the other, shorter song-and-dance numbers shouldn’t suffer so badly in comparison” — but I don’t quite agree with this sentiment; I’m fond of Kelly performing “I Got Rhythm” with a group of street kids, as well as his joy-filled tap dance routine to “Tra-la-la (This Time It’s Really Love)” in his friend Jerry’s apartment.

The primary problem with An American in Paris is its insufficiently developed storyline. Kelly’s crush on Caron is so paper-thin (especially given, as noted above, that she’s not particularly stunning — and he doesn’t see her opening dance sequence, as we do) that we simply can’t understand his instant obsession; meanwhile, Levant’s character is little more than a standard comedic foil, and Guetary is essentially a one-dimensional sap. What we’re left to enjoy are the stunningly vibrant Technicolor sound stage sets, fun costumes (particularly during the black-and-white ball), the Gershwin brothers’ incomparable score, and world-class dance routines — but without a suitable narrative to back all this up, An American in Paris comes up sadly short. It’s certainly worth at least a one-time look, but hasn’t endured as one of the best MGM musicals.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Caron’s impressive dancing in her cinematic “introduction”
  
• Kelly performing “I Got Rhythm”
  
• Vibrant Technicolor cinematography
  
• Impressive sets and costumes
  
• The justifiably lauded ballet finale
  
  

Must See?
Yes, once, as an Oscar-winning (if flawed) classic.

Categories

• Genuine Classic
• Oscar Winner or Nominee

(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die)

Links:

• IMDb entry
• FilmSite Review
• NY Times Original Review
• ReelViews Review
• DVD Savant Review
• TCM Articles
• Time Out Capsule Review

Synopsis:
An unhappy wife (Audrey Hepburn) reflects back on her troubled marriage to an architect (Albert Finney).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Albert Finney Films
• Audrey Hepburn Films
• Flashback Films
• Jacqueline Bisset Films
• Marital Problems
• Road Trip
• Romantic Comedy
• Stanley Donen Films

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary writes that this Stanley Donen-directed romantic comedy (written by Frederic Raphael, who also scripted John Schlesinger’s Darling and Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut) is a “cult film for romantics”, “many [of whom] have been known to become emotionally attached to it”. He notes that “while watching Finney and Hepburn at various times in their relationship”, we “can examine their marriage from the outside”, and clearly “see the road-as-life and trip-as-marriage metaphors”. He argues that “we come to like these two people more than they do themselves”, and to “understand why their marriage has lasted and will survive”. He states that “they are a great couple, flaws and all”, and refers to them as “one of the few screen couples since William Powell and Myrna Loy who make marriage seem exciting”, given that “even their squabbling is romantic”. He argues that Raphael’s script possesses “excellent” dialogue, and that “he smoothly blends comedy… painful drama… and sentimentality”. Finally, he notes that “Donen does a good job handling the changes in tone, except when he attempts some speeded-up slapstick during the film’s least successful sequence, in which Hepburn and Finney travel with super-punctual William Daniels, his wife, Eleanor Bron, and their bratty daughter”.

Unfortunately, I’m not nearly as enamored with this nouvelle vague-inspired cult classic as Peary (and many others) are. I’ve seen it twice now — once many years ago, and again just recently — and still find myself unable to engage with either the characters or their travails. While Raphael’s screenplay was indeed innovative for the time, it now seems like merely an excuse for cinematic trickery, with form trumping content; we focus so much on watching Hepburn’s Joanna and Finney’s Mark shifting between various eras of their relationship (coded primarily by Hepburn’s haircuts and outfits) that we lose all sense of why we should care about these individuals to begin with. Indeed, I disagree with Peary’s assertion that “we come to like these two people”, given that we never learn who, exactly, they are, other than partners in an endlessly contentious marriage; meanwhile, the specifics of their livelihoods — including an unlikely encounter with a wealthy European couple who just happen to be looking for a sharp young architect like Finney — further strain the film’s credibility. Ultimately, at risk of sounding like a philistine, I find myself agreeing most with Bosley Crowther’s review for the NY Times, where he argues that the film “doesn’t tell us very much about marriage and life, other than the old romantic axiom that lovers are likelier to be happy when poor than when rich.”

Yet clearly Two for the Road resonates on a deeply personal level for Peary — and a quick glance at IMDb’s message boards and user reviews reveals that quite a few others feel the same way. In his first Cult Movies book, Peary relates an anecdote of going to see this film while on a road trip heading towards college for the first time, and how it “was a revelation to a college freshmen who hadn’t known there was life after high school”. In this essay, he offers an in-depth analysis of sections from Raphael’s script, arguing that “no contribution [to the film] is more significant than the screenplay”, and that it’s “a writer’s movie”. He points out how the script is rare in paying “as much attention… to gestures as… to dialogue”, and, given that it was written specifically for the screen, in specifying “every effect, movement and motivation” in cinematic terms. Indeed, reading Peary’s analysis provides me with better insight as to why it’s so critically lauded; yet while it may be true, as Peary writes, that “Joanna and Mark are emotional mosaics of the problems and roadblocks we each may bring to a relationship: the selfishness, the intolerance, the egotism, the misguided values, the impulsiveness, the thoughtlessness, the infidelity”, my inability to care about these particular characters makes it difficult for me to glean as much from the film as others apparently can.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Audrey Hepburn as Joanna (voted Best Actress of the Year in Peary’s Alternate Oscars)
  
• Fine cinematography
  
• Henry Mancini’s score

Must See?
No, though it’s worth a one-time look, and may even become a personal favorite — it’s just not mine. Listed as one of the Best Films of the Year in Alternate Oscars.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• Combustible Celluloid
• DVD Savant Review
• Time Out Capsule Review