A classic, Gigi (Vincente Minnelli, 1958), is great for so many reasons. The great cast, direction, costumes, set and music, it's no wonder it won nine Academy Awards, including best picture. Leslie Caron plays the funloving, enchanting girl who we see transform into a lady well, we connect with her character and want to become her friend. Louis Jourdan plays the handsome playboy, getting some great songs, including the title track which won an Academy Award.
Maurice Chevalier seems to enjoy himself with some great songs including "Thank Heaven for Little Girls", "I'm Glad I'm Not Young Anymore" and the classic, fun number, "I Remember It Well", performed with Hermione Gingold. They capture the mood and the audience through the number making it a fun and memberable performance.
Cecil Beaton's set and costume are fabulous, winning an Academy Award for the set. Caron, Jourdan and Chevalier give the Paris setting aunthenticity, highlighting Beaton's great Parisian sets. The costumes have the same flair of those in My Fair Lady(George Cukor, 1964) Beaton designs six years later for the screen version of the story. Yes there are similarities between Gigi and My Fair Lady with the storyline, costumes and music. Some of the songs have the same feel, both being written by Alan Jay Lerner and composed by Frederick Loewe, proving a great team, also taking home the Academy Award for Best Music and Original Song ("Gigi"). Although it is easy to assimilate the two great films, it really is unfair to the earlier film to compare it to the wonders of My Fair Lady. Still a classic film with a great cast and crew behind it.
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