Gigi
Thank heavens for little tabs
Today’s hed gif is a segment from the 1958 movie Gigi, directed by Vincent Minnelli, produced by Arthur Freed, and starring French-born Leslie Caron in the title role. The musical score for the movie was written by Fredric Loewe with lyrics by screenplay author Alan Jay Lerner. It swept the Oscars of 1959 by winning all nine of the awards for which it had been nominated, a record at the time. It proved extraordinarily popular with critics and moviegoers, a glorious big-screen musical “last hurrah” for MGM, long recognized for excellence in musicals but losing ground to changing audience tastes and a declining studio system. For all its success, it’s a movie that almost didn’t happen: the story centers around a young Belle Époque Parisian learning the family business of becoming a courtesan, a topic that ran up against Hays code restrictions. In the end, the Production Code office agreed to view the scenes that had them worried. Caron’s overall approach to the role and in particular during the worrisome scene between Gigi and her on-screen paramour Gaston (played by the dashing Louis Jourdan)—wherein the obligations between courtesan and sponsor were elaborated—were delivered with such innocence that the censors withdrew their objections. There was an additional obstacle to producing the movie: the rights to the story had already been sold to another screenwriter. Freed would spend the princely sum of over $87,000 to acquire those rights for his team.
The screenplay for the film was adapted from a 1951 Broadway stage play, based on a 1945 novella of the same name by French writer Colette. It was Colette’s choice to award the starring role in the play to then-unknown actress Audrey Hepburn. Playing Gigi was the role that launched Hepburn’s career. The actress was later approached to play the rewritten character for the film version but she turned down the opportunity. But while Hepburn was polishing her skills elsewhere, Gigi was a movie that resurrected the career of Maurice Chevalier. Chevalier was a show business veteran and had starred in many a Hollywood musical in the 1930’s. However, at least partly due to his activities during World War II, his movie career declined1. The success of Gigi re-established the 70-year-old Chevalier as a beloved international star. Many film admirers felt that Chevalier deserved an Oscar nomination for his role as Gaston’s uncle, Honoré Lachaille. The Academy corrected that oversight with an honorary Academy Award "for his contributions to the world of entertainment for more than half a century."
Uncle Honoré was a minor character in Colette’s novella, but Lerner saw the potential for re-writing the character in the film version and filling the role with an older high-powered star with known singing talent. He specifically wrote the screenplay and lyrics with Chevalier in mind. Filling the other roles became more of a challenge. With Hepburn bowing out, Freed and Lerner looked to Leslie Caron, who had been performing the role of Gigi for the unsuccessful London showing of the stage play. But when she learned that the role had been significantly changed in the film screenplay, she accepted the part. However, not being a singer, Caron’s songs are dubbed by Betty Wand. Likewise, Freed and Minnelli had in mind Dirk Bogarde for the role of Gaston, but contractual commitments prohibited his signing. It was Freed who suggested looking into French actor Louis Jourdan, and was pleasantly surprised to learn that Jourdan had a fine singing voice.
Gigi is available to stream for free on Tubi. It’s a delight of costuming and music, exquisite cinematography and beautiful Parisian scenes; a fun and frilly confection, where of course true love triumphs in the end. As the final jewel of MGM’s “Freed Unit” (the group responsible for so many of MGM’s biggest musical offerings), Gigi has earned it’s place in history—it has been selected by the Library of Congress as a work for preservation in the National Film Registry.
The history of Maurice Chevalier’s activities during World War II can hardly be faulted in hindsight. A World War I veteran and French patriot, he did in fact, perform and raise money for Resistance efforts. However, under threat to his Jewish wife and family, the Vichy government eventually pressured him into performing at a war camp. In exchange for his appearance, ten French war prisoners were released, but the act landed him on the collaborator list. The post-war courts were quick to exonerate Chevalier in France, but the damage to his reputation persisted in the United States, exacerbated by his affiliation with the Communist Party driven by his anti nuclear-weapons stance. In the mid 1950’s the McCarthy era came to a close, and Chevalier was again allowed back into the United States under visa. Gigi was his second film of his US cinematic return; the first was Love in the Afternoon, in which he co-starred with… Audrey Hepburn.
As I recall the story, Audrey Hepburn was discovered when Colette spotted her in a hotel lobby and exclaimed, "Voilà! C'est Gigi!'
Thank you, Martini. I have always enjoyed Gigi. My favorite song is I Remember It Well though obviously he doesn't. Lovely film about a weird subject.