{"id":30481,"date":"2013-04-03T15:45:11","date_gmt":"2013-04-03T22:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=30481"},"modified":"2020-12-13T13:39:20","modified_gmt":"2020-12-13T20:39:20","slug":"american-in-paris-an-1951","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=30481","title":{"rendered":"American in Paris, An (1951)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;What gets me is, I don&#8217;t know anything about her.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Poster-153x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"153\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-30482\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Poster-153x300.jpg 153w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Poster-65x128.jpg 65w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Poster-523x1024.jpg 523w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Poster.jpg 1022w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 153px) 100vw, 153px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAn 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&#8217;s engaged to the man (Georges Gu\u00e9tary) who kept her safe during the war.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Artists<\/li>\n<li>Expatriates<\/li>\n<li>Gene Kelly Films<\/li>\n<li>Leslie Caron Films<\/li>\n<li>Love Triangle<\/li>\n<li>Musicals<\/li>\n<li>Oscar Levant Films<\/li>\n<li>Romance<\/li>\n<li>Vincente Minnelli Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nAs Peary writes, it&#8217;s too bad that the &#8220;potentially interesting storyline&#8221; for this &#8220;lavish M-G-M musical&#8221; is &#8220;given short shrift by Alan Jay Lerner&#8221;, who fails to exploit what should be the &#8220;intriguing relationships&#8221; between the four romantic leads. He argues that &#8220;instead of a steamy, complicated love affair between Kelly and Caron&#8230; their romance is movie-musical predictable&#8221; and &#8220;too proper&#8221;, and he notes that &#8220;Caron&#8217;s character, who no doubt had an interesting past, is very artificial&#8221;. He accurately points out that while &#8220;it&#8217;s nice to see her dance&#8221; (she&#8217;s given a clever introduction in a colorful montage early in the film), she &#8220;doesn&#8217;t yet look like a romantic lead&#8221;; he quips that &#8220;they hadn&#8217;t figured out her makeup, I suppose&#8221;, which isn&#8217;t all that far off the mark, given that she&#8217;s not nearly as attractive as she appears in her later films. <\/p>\n<p>Peary further posits that &#8220;Minnelli&#8217;s elegant balletic style of dancing is too tame for [Kelly]&#8221; &#8212; though he concedes that Kelly is finally allowed to &#8220;let loose in the extravagant 20-minute musical finale&#8221; which features &#8220;several striking ballet interludes&#8221;; he notes that with its &#8220;imaginative use of color, costumes, and sets to create scenes in the styles of French artists &#8230; it is [indeed] one of the best production numbers in cinema history&#8221;. He argues that &#8220;the other, shorter song-and-dance numbers shouldn&#8217;t suffer so badly in comparison&#8221; &#8212; but I don&#8217;t quite agree with this sentiment; I&#8217;m fond of Kelly performing &#8220;I Got Rhythm&#8221; with a group of street kids, as well as his joy-filled tap dance routine to &#8220;Tra-la-la (This Time It&#8217;s Really Love)&#8221; in his friend Jerry&#8217;s apartment. <\/p>\n<p>The primary problem with <em>An American in Paris<\/em> is its insufficiently developed storyline. Kelly&#8217;s crush on Caron is so paper-thin (especially given, as noted above, that she&#8217;s not particularly stunning &#8212; and he doesn&#8217;t see her opening dance sequence, as we do) that we simply can&#8217;t understand his instant obsession; meanwhile, Levant&#8217;s character is little more than a standard comedic foil, and Guetary is essentially a one-dimensional sap. What we&#8217;re left to enjoy are the stunningly vibrant Technicolor sound stage sets, fun costumes (particularly during the black-and-white ball), the Gershwin brothers&#8217; incomparable score, and world-class dance routines &#8212; but without a suitable narrative to back all this up, <em>An American in Paris<\/em> comes up sadly short. It&#8217;s certainly worth at least a one-time look, but hasn&#8217;t endured as one of the best MGM musicals. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Caron&#8217;s impressive dancing in her cinematic &#8220;introduction&#8221;<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Caron-Opening.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Caron-Opening.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"976\" height=\"712\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-30485\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Caron-Opening.png 976w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Caron-Opening-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Caron-Opening-300x218.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 976px) 100vw, 976px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Kelly performing &#8220;I Got Rhythm&#8221;<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-I-Got-Rhythm.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-I-Got-Rhythm.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"976\" height=\"712\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-30484\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-I-Got-Rhythm.png 976w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-I-Got-Rhythm-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-I-Got-Rhythm-300x218.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 976px) 100vw, 976px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Vibrant Technicolor cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Caron-Technicolor.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Caron-Technicolor.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"976\" height=\"712\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-30486\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Caron-Technicolor.png 976w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Caron-Technicolor-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Caron-Technicolor-300x218.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 976px) 100vw, 976px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Impressive sets and costumes<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Costumes.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Costumes.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"976\" height=\"712\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-30487\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Costumes.png 976w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Costumes-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Costumes-300x218.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 976px) 100vw, 976px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>The justifiably lauded ballet finale<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Finale2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Finale2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"976\" height=\"712\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-30489\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Finale2.png 976w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Finale2-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Finale2-300x218.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 976px) 100vw, 976px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Finale.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Finale.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"976\" height=\"712\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-30488\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Finale.png 976w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Finale-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/American-in-Paris-Finale-300x218.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 976px) 100vw, 976px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, once, as an Oscar-winning (if flawed) classic. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Genuine Classic<\/li>\n<li>Oscar Winner or Nominee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0043278\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.filmsite.org\/amer.html\">FilmSite Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1951\/10\/05\/archives\/the-screen-four-new-movies-open-an-american-in-paris-arrival-of.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.reelviews.net\/php_review_template.php?identifier=2255\">ReelViews Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s2877pari.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/67241\/an-american-in-paris#articles-reviews\">TCM Articles<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/london\/film\/an-american-in-paris\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;What gets me is, I don&#8217;t know anything about her.&#8221; 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&#8217;s engaged to the man (Georges Gu\u00e9tary) who kept her safe during the war. Genres, Themes,&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=30481\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30481"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30481\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57591,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30481\/revisions\/57591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}