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''Not to be confused with Gigli.''
'''Gigi''' is a 1958 motion picture musical set in Paris, France. The screenplay was written by Alan Jay Lerner and the music was composed by Alan Jay Lerner (lyrics) and Frederick Loewe (music). It is based on the bestselling novella of the same name by French author, Colette, which was first adapted for the screen with Danièle Delorme in 1948. In 1951, Anita Loos adapted the novel as a play for the stage, and the Broadway production starred Audrey Hepburn in her first major role. Seven years later, producer Arthur Freed approached Lerner about writing a feature film musical adaptation.
''Gigi'' proved to be a major critical and commercial success and the winner of nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture. In 1991 Gigi was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. It is considered the last great MGM musical, and the last great achievement of the Freed Unit, headed by producer Arthur Freed, although he would go on to produce several more films, including the musical ''Bells Are Ringing'' in 1960. The film also spawned a stage musical, produced on Broadway in 1973.

Contents

Background and production

Plot

Song list

Cast

Awards

Academy Awards

Golden Globe Awards

Other Awards

References

External link

Background and production

The idea was proposed by Hollywood producer Arthur Freed during the Philadelphia tryout of ''My Fair Lady''. Lerner owed Arthur one more film based on the contract he had signed with MGM, so he read Colette's novel and agreed to adapt ''Gigi'' for the screen. Lerner had a short list of stars with whom he wished to work before his career was over: Audrey Hepburn (she starred in the non-musical Broadway stage version of ''Gigi''), Fred Astaire , who had worked with Lerner on ''Royal Wedding''), and Maurice Chevalier. After reading the novel, Lerner thought Chevalier would be perfect for the role of Uncle Honoré. However, Lerner was left without a composer. Lerner's collaborator, Frederick Loewe, had vowed never to work in movies, but he was charmed by the book and agreed to collaborate on the project, working in France. After a few songs were finished, the duo contacted Chevalier, who loved the songs and agreed to act in the film. Hearing a new melody from the bathroom during one session, Lerner jumped up, "[his] trousers still clinging to [his] ankles, and made his way to the living room. 'Play that again,' he said. And that melody ended up being the title song for Gigi."^[1]
The entire film was written, cast, and ready to shoot in four and a half months, except for two songs ("I'm Glad I'm Not Young Any More" and "The Night They Invented Champagne"), which were written in California. Most of the film was shot on location in Paris, but the last few numbers took place in an apartment that MGM decided to construct in the studio in Hollywood. The cast had eight days off between locations, and everyone disappeared except Maurice Chevalier who flew directly to the studio to begin working with Lerner and Loewe on his final songs. At the completion of the film, there was a standard "sneak" preview at a small theater in Santa Barbara. Lerner and Loewe were dissatisfied and offered to buy a percentage of the film, and then to buy the print. (Lerner, pages 175-76). The studio eventually agreed to make changes, and quickly re-shot with some rewritten scenes, re-edited, and re-orchestrated the film. Another preview was held, and the audience reacted not only with appreciation but with affection. The film opened in New York in the spring of 1958 to glowing reviews. The film went on to win the Academy Award for every category in which it was nominated; a total of nine Oscars, more than any other film at that point in Academy Award history. The awards included Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Song, and Best Picture. Maurice Chevalier, although not nominated for an acting award, received a Special Award "for all the joy he had brought to the screen during his lifetime."
''Gigi'' is often identified as the film that marked the end of MGM's production of classic musicals; for example, it is referenced in this conclusionary capacity in two of the three ''That's Entertainment!'' retrospective documentaries. In fact, MGM continued to produce popular musicals into the 1960s, and Arthur Freed himself would produce one more hit musical for the studio, the 1960 version of ''Bells Are Ringing''. ''Gigi'' was, however, the last MGM-produced musical (to date) to receive extensive critical acclaim and awards.

Plot

In turn-of-the-century Paris, Gaston Lachaille (Louis Jourdan) is a rich ''bon vivant'', much like his uncle, Honoré (Maurice Chevalier). But Gaston is becoming bored with the high life, and his series of mistresses. He only truly enjoys the time that he spends with one of his uncle's old friends, Madame Alvarez (Hermione Gingold), and especially her granddaughter, the precocious, carefree Gilberte, or "Gigi" (Leslie Caron). Madame Alvarez sends Gigi to her Aunt Alicia's (Isabel Jeans) to be groomed as a famous courtesan, and there she learns etiquette and charm. During these preparations, it occurs to Gaston that he could become Gigi's first patron, providing her with luxury as his mistress. However, the situation makes him uneasy until he discovers that he's in love with Gigi, whom he eventually marries.

Song list

★ "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" -- Maurice Chevalier

★ "It's a Bore" Louis Jourdan -- Maurice Chevalier

★ "The Parisians" -- Leslie Caron (vocal by Betty Wand)

★ "Gossip"

★ "Waltz at Maxim's (She Is Not Thinking of Me)" -- Louis Jourdan

★ "The Night They Invented Champagne" -- Leslie Caron (vocal by Betty Wand), Hermione Gingold, Louis Jourdan

★ "I Remember It Well" -- Hermione Gingold, Maurice Chevalier

★ "Gaston's Soliloquy" -- Louis Jourdan

★ "Gigi" -- Louis Jourdan

★ "I'm Glad I'm Not Young Anymore" -- Maurice Chevalier

★ "Say a Prayer for Me Tonight" -- Leslie Caron (vocal by Betty Wand)

★ "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" -- (finale) Maurice Chevalier and Chorus
(''Source: [1]'')

Cast

★ Leslie Caron: Gigi

★ Maurice Chevalier: Honore Lachaille

★ Louis Jourdan: Gaston Lachaille

★ Hermione Gingold: Grandmama

★ Eva Gabor: Liane d'Exelmans

★ Jacques Bergerac: Sandomir

★ Isabel Jeans: Aunt Alicia

Awards

The film was nominated for an Oscar in nine categories, and won all nine. A tenth Oscar (this time honorary) went to Maurice Chevalier.

Academy Awards

★ Academy Award for Best Picture

★ Academy Award for Directing (Vincente Minnelli)

★ Academy Award for Set Decoration, Black-and-White or Color – (E. Preston Ames, F. Keogh Gleason, Henry Grace, and William A. Horning)

★ Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Color (Joseph Ruttenberg)

★ Academy Award for Costume Design, Black-and-White or Color (Cecil Beaton)

★ Academy Award for Film Editing (Adrienne Fazan)

★ Academy Award Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture (André Previn)

★ Best Music, Song (Alan Jay Lerner (lyrics), Frederick Loewe (music) - For the song "Gigi")

★ Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay (Alan Jay Lerner)

Golden Globe Awards

★ Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

★ Golden Globe Award for Best Director (Vincente Minnelli)

★ Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress (Hermione Gingold)
'Golden Globe nominations'

★ Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Leslie Caron)

★ Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Maurice Chevalier)

★ Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Louis Jourdan)

Other Awards

★ Writers Guild of America for Best Written American Musical (Alan Jay Lerner)

★ Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (Vincente Minnelli & assistant, George Vieira)

★ Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media (André Previn)

★ The American Film Institute ranked ''Gigi' '#35 in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions.

References

1. Lerner, Alan Jay. ''The Street Where I Live''. 1978, W.W. Norton & Company, pages 161-62 ISBN 0-393-07532-X

External link

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