Picture 31: Gigi (1958)

1958 brings us Vincente Minelli’s musical romantic comedy. Andre Previn conducts the orchestra whilst superstar lead Leslie Caron is supported by Maurice Chevalier. Nine times an Oscar winner and now in the Library of Congress, the stage is surely set for a cinematic phenomenon. As we have already seen however, avoiding harsh judgement after six whole passing decades is by no means guaranteed.

We visit an optimistic time in French history. France’s early 1900s economy, culture and empire are booming whilst the horrors of WW1 are yet to be encountered. Honore (Maurice Chevalier) is a wealthy Parisian senior citizen who, despite the audience shifting in their seats, insists on singing his favourite number “Thank Heaven for Little Girls”. Meanwhile, his nephew, 25 year old Gaston, is also very wealthy and now trying to navigate the young adult heterosexual dating scene.

The eventually central love interest takes the form of title character Gilberte, affectionately known as Gigi (Leslie Caron). Gigi is a precocious young lady who is not much past her sixteenth birthday. In the hope of ensnaring a husband, she is being trained in the art of manners by her upper class aunt who is herself a veteran 19th century celebrity dating.

These scenes in which Gigi is learning to be a high society lady are engaging and comical. The rest is essentially a hideous cross between My Fair Lady and Netflix’s Lily in Paris but unable to match either. It is condemned to the relegation zone.

Rating:

4/10

Reflections:

1. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth while it lasts.

Oscar Best Picture Rankings:

1. Casablanca (1943)

2. Rebecca (1940)

3. Lost Weekend (1945)

4. All About Eve (1950)

5. Hamlet (1948)

6. How Green Was My Valley (1941)

7. Gone With the Wind (1939)

8. Mrs. Miniver (1942)

9. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

10. Wings (1928)

11. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

12. You can’t take it with you (1938)

13. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

14. On the Waterfront (1954)

15. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

16. Marty (1955)

17. Cimarron (1931)

18. Grand Hotel (1932)

19. An American in Paris (1951)

20. From Here to Eternity (1953)

21. It Happened One Night (1934)

22. Gentleman’s Agreement (1947)

23. Cavalcade (1933)

24. The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

25. Going My Way (1944)

26. The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

27. All the King’s Men (1949)

28. Gigi (1958)

29. Around the World in 80 Days (1956)

30. The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)

31. The Broadway Melody (1929)

Previous or current ranking leaders are in bold.

With credit and thanks to the patrons of the Best Picture Film Club:

Dr Sophie Bloomfield

Dr Caspar Briault

Dr Kate Diomede

Dr Fionnuala Durrant

Dr Meera Radia