Gigi (1958) | |
| Director(s) | Vincente Minnelli |
| Producer(s) | Arthur Freed (uncredited) |
| Top Genres | Comedy, Musical, Romance |
| Top Topics | Based on Play, Book-Based, Coming of Age, Courtship / Dating, Money, Paris, Romance (Musical), Socialites |
Featured Cast:
Gigi Overview:
Gigi (1958) was a Comedy - Musical Film directed by Vincente Minnelli and produced by Arthur Freed.
The film was based on the novel of the same name from & Musical Play written by Sidonie Gabrielle Colette published in 1944 (novel); Nov 24, 1951 - May 31, 1952 (play performed at Fulton Theatre, NY).
SYNOPSIS
Set in Paris at the turn of the century, this delightful Lerner-and-Loewe musical, based on a story by Colette, follows a precocious French girl as she is groomed into a would-be courtesan and blossoms into a stunning woman. The story provides plenty of opportunity for Minnelli and MGM to pull out all the stops in its first musical production shot on location.
(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).
.Gigi was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1991.
Academy Awards 1958 --- Ceremony Number 31 (source: AMPAS)
| Award | Recipient | Result |
| Best Art Direction | Art Direction: William A. Horning, Preston Ames; Set Decoration: Henry Grace, Keogh Gleason | Won |
| Best Cinematography | Joseph Ruttenberg | Won |
| Best Costume Design | Cecil Beaton | Won |
| Best Director | Vincente Minnelli | Won |
| Best Film Editing | Adrienne Fazan | Won |
| Best Music - Scoring | Andre Previn | Won |
| Best Music - Song | Music by Frederick Loewe; Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner | Won |
| Best Picture | Arthur Freed, Producer | Won |
| Best Writing | Alan Jay Lerner | Won |
BlogHub Articles:
Thank Heaven For GIGI (1958) (1)
By Margaret Perry on Oct 13, 2012 From The Great Katharine HepburnThank Heaven For GIGI (1958) "GIGI" is the shortest title of any movie to have won the Academy Award for best picture. The day after the film won nine Oscars at the 1959 Academy Awards, telephone operators at the studio answered the phones with a cheery "M-Gigi-M!" The original story was wr... Read full article
Thank Heaven For GIGI (1958)
By Margaret Perry on Oct 13, 2012 From The Great Katharine HepburnThank Heaven For GIGI (1958) Labels: Alan Jay Lerner, Andre Previn, Anita Loos, Cecil Beaton, Colette, Frederick Loewe, Gigi (1958), Hermione Gingold, Leslie Caron, Louis Jourdan, Maurice Chevalier, MGM, My Fair Lady (1964), Vincente Minnelli "GIGI" is the shortest title of any m... Read full article
Thank Heaven For GIGI (1958) (2)
By MargaretPerry on Oct 13, 2012 From Margaret Perry“Caron leads the cast in a contest to see who can be the most French.” (TV Guide) “No doubt inspired by the finicky claustrophobic sets and bric-a-brac, the cast tries (with unfortunate success) to be more French than the French.” (Time Out New York) “I am too old for w... Read full article
Guest Blogger: Author Gigi Amateau interviews Author Joseph Papa
By Google profile on Jul 18, 2011 From Out of the Past - A Classic Film BlogAbout MeBlogger, Out of the Past - A Classic Film Blog and more. Please add my Google profile to your circles. When Elizabeth Taylor passed away earlier in the year, one of my favorite authors Gigi Amateau tweeted the fact that she had met Taylor briefly years ago. I tweeted her back asking if she'... Read full article
“Gigi” – Leslie Caron, Louis Jourdan, Maurice Chevalier
By Art on Jul 10, 2011 From Classic Cinema Gold“This story is about a little girl. It could be about any one of those little girls playing there. But it isn’t. It’s about one in particular. Her name is Gigi.” ~ Honore Lachaille (Maurice Chevalier) . “Gigi” is a 1958 musical film produced by Arthur Freed and... Read full article
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Quotes from
Gigi: Cigars and jewelry?
Aunt Alicia: Gigi, you're from another planet.
[Gastone brings some champagne for Mamita]
Gigi: Can I take a glass of champagne, Mamita?
Madame Alvarez: Have you lost your mind, Gigi? Of course not!
[heads towards the kitchen; Gaston quickly slides his glass over to Gigi]
Gaston Lachaille: [Gaston speculates on the unfaithfulness of his mistress Liane] She's so gay tonight / She's like spring tonight / She's a rollicking, frolicking thing tonight / So disarming, soft and charming / She is not thinking of me / No, she's not thinking of me! In her eyes tonight / There's a glow tonight / They're so bright they could light Fountainbleu tonight / She's so gracious, so vivacious / She is not thinking of me! Bless her little heart / Crooked to the core / Acting out a part / What a rollicking, frolicking bore! She's such fun tonight / She's a treat tonight / You could spread her on bread, she's so sweet tonight / So devoted, sugar-coated / That it's heart-warming to see / Oh, she's simmering with love / Oh, she's shimmering with love / Oh, she's not thinking of me! She is not thinking of me! / Someone has set her on fire / Is it Jacques? Is it Paul or Leon? / Who's turning her furnace up higher? / Oh she's hot, but it's not for Gaston! Oh, she's gay tonight / Oh, so gay tonight / A gigantic, romantic cliché tonight / How she blushes, how she gushes / How she fills me with ennui! / She's so ooh-la-la-la-la, so UNTRUE-la-la-la-la / Oh, she's not thinking of me!
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Facts about
From 1954-56, Arthur Freed had to battle the Hays Code in order to bring Colette's tale of a courtesan-in-training to the cinema. He eventually convinced the film industry's Code Office to view the story as condemning rather than glorifying a system of mistresses.
According to Vincente Minnelli, when shooting in the French restaurant Maxim's the film crew the restaurant's famous mirrored walls to be covered up because they would reflect the equipment, but Minnelli contended that they had to be seen (and uncovered) as they were the hallmark of Maxim's. Eventually cinematographer Joseph Ruttenberg resolved the matter satisfactorily, by putting suction cups on photo flood lights.
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