The story of the film is interspersed with dance numbers choreographed by Gene Kelly and set to Gershwin's music.[5] Following the death of George Gershwin in 1937, George's brother Ira sold the Gershwin musical catalog to MGM executive Arthur Freed in the late 1940s.[5] Some of the tunes in this catalog were included in the film, such as "I Got Rhythm" and "Love Is Here to Stay".[5] Other songs in the movie include "I'll Build A Stairway to Paradise" and "'S Wonderful". The climax of the film is "The American in Paris" ballet, a 17-minute dialogue-free sequence featuring Kelly and Caron set to Gershwin'sAn American in Paris, with sets designed in the styles of various French artists.[5] The ballet sequence cost nearly half a million dollars and was filmed on 44 sets on MGM's back lot.[5] In an interview from 2009 withPaul O'Grady,Leslie Caron said the film ran into controversy with theHays Office over part of her dance sequence with a chair; the censor reviewing the scene called it "sexually provocative", which surprised Caron, who asked "What can you do with a chair?"
AmericanWorld War II veteran Jerry Mulligan lives inParis trying to succeed as anartist. His friend and neighbor Adam Cook is a struggling concert pianist and longtime associate of French singer Henri Baurel. At the ground-floor bar in their building, Henri tells Adam about his girlfriend, Lise Bouvier. Jerry then joins them before going out to try and sell his art.
Lonely heiress Milo Roberts notices Jerry displaying his work inMontmartre. She buys two paintings, then brings Jerry to her apartment to pay him. Jerry accepts an invitation to her dinner party for that evening, and on the way home, he sings "I Got Rhythm" with some local children. Upon discovering he is Milo's sole dinner guest, an offended Jerry says he is uninterested in being a paid escort. Milo insists she only wants to support his career.
At a crowded bar, Milo offers to sponsor an art show for Jerry. Milo's friends show up and while everyone is talking, Jerry notices a beautiful younger woman at the next table. He pretends they know each other and asks her to dance, unaware it is Lise, the girl Henri loves. Lise, uninterested in Jerry, rebuffs him, but Jerry persists. Milo is upset that Jerry flirted with another girl in her presence and abruptly leaves. In the car, she tearfully criticizes Jerry for being rude and inconsiderate.
The next day, Jerry calls Lise, but she tells him to leave her alone. Meanwhile, Milo has arranged a showing with a collector interested in Jerry's work. Before the meeting, Jerry goes to theparfumerie where Lise works, and his persistence finally wins her over. She agrees to meet him that evening but wants to avoid public places; they share a romantic song and dance along the banks of theSeine River ("Love Is Here to Stay"). Lise then rushes off to meet Henri after his performance ("I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise"). Henri tells Lise he is going on tour inAmerica and proposes marriage to her.
Later Adam humorously daydreams he is performingGershwin'sConcerto in F for Piano and Orchestra in a concert hall. As the scene progresses, Adam is also the conductor, other musicians, and even an audience member enthusiastically applauding at the end.
Milo rents Jerry a lavishart studio and tells him she is planning an exhibition of his work in three months' time. Jerry initially refuses the studio but accepts on condition he will repay Milo when his work sells. After a month of courting, Jerry brings Lise to his apartment building. When Lise suddenly rushes off in a waiting taxi, Jerry is confused and complains to Adam, who realizes that Henri and Jerry are in love with the same girl. Henri and Jerry later discuss the girl they each love ("'S Wonderful") without realizing it is Lise.
That night, Jerry and Lise meet by the Seine. Lise informs him that she and Henri are to be married and will be going to America. Though Lise feels duty-bound to Henri for protecting her during the war, Jerry and Lise proclaim their love for each other before parting.
Dejected, Jerry invites Milo to the art students' masked ball, where they run into Henri and Lise. Jerry admits to Milo that he loves Lise. When Henri overhears Jerry and Lise saying goodbye, he realizes the truth. As Henri and Lise drive away, Jerry fantasizes through a diverse and extended dance scene with Lise all over Paris and set to George Gershwin'sAn American in Paris. A car horn breaks Jerry's reverie; Henri releases Lise from their relationship to return to Jerry, where they embrace on the staircase and leave together to Gershwin's music as the film ends.
Hayden Rorke, best known for playing Dr. Alfred Bellows on the TV seriesI Dream of Jeannie (1965–1970), has an uncredited part as a friend of Milo.Noel Neill, who had already portrayed Lois Lane in the twoColumbia Pictures 1940sSuperman serials, and would later do so again on the TV seriesThe Adventures of Superman, has a small role as an American art student who tries to criticize Jerry's paintings. Jazz musicianBenny Carter plays the leader of a jazz ensemble performing in the club where Milo first takes Jerry.
Madge Blake, best known for playingDick Grayson's aunt Harriet Cooper on the TV seriesBatman (1966–1968) and for her role as Larry Mondello's mother, Margaret Mondello, on theCBS/ABC sitcomLeave It to Beaver, has an uncredited part as a customer in the perfume shop where Lise works.Judy Landon, better known for her appearance in Kelly's next musical,Singin' in the Rain (and as the wife ofBrian Keith), andSue Casey appear as dancers in the "Stairway to Paradise" sequence.
The 17-minute ballet sequence, with sets and costumes referencing French painters includingRaoul Dufy,Pierre-Auguste Renoir,Maurice Utrillo,Henri Rousseau, andToulouse-Lautrec,[8] is the climax of the film, and it cost the studio approximately $450,000 to produce.[9] Some of the backdrops for this sequence measured 300 feet wide and 40 feet high.[10] Production on the film was halted on September15, 1950. Minnelli left to direct another film,Father's Little Dividend. Upon completion of that film in late October, he returned to film the ballet sequence.[11]
Bosley Crowther ofThe New York Times gave a mostly positive review largely on the strength of the closing dance number which he called "one of the finest ever put upon the screen", as well as Leslie Caron's performance, writing that the film "takes on its own glow of magic when Miss Caron is on the screen. When she isn't, it bumps along slowly as a patched-up, conventional music show."[12]Variety called the film "one of the most imaginative musical confections turned out by Hollywood in years ... Kelly is the picture's top star and rates every inch of his billing. His diversified dancing is great as ever and his thesping is standout."[13]Harrison's Reports deemed it "an excellent entertainment, a delight to the eye and ear, presented in a way that will give all types of audiences extreme pleasure".[14]Richard L. Coe ofThe Washington Post called it "the best musical movie I've ever seen", praising its "spirit of crisp originality and sophistication rarely found in a screen musical".[15]John McCarten ofThe New Yorker called it "a thoroughly pleasant musical film ... Never too tightly confined by its slender story,An American in Paris skips from love in the moonlight to handsome ballets with the greatest of ease, and Mr. Kelly is always ready, willing, and able to execute a tap dance."[16]The Monthly Film Bulletin called it "merely a good musical, far more attractive than most, but considerably less than the material seemed to promise. This is due in part to unimaginative use of the Paris settings—a very obvious tourist's view—and to the rather curious way in which the story, after building up interest in Jerry's painting and in his one-man show, simply shelves the whole issue."[17]
Reviewing the film in 2011,James Berardinelli wrote that it "falls into the category of a weak Oscar winner. The movie is enjoyable enough to watch, but it represents a poor choice as the standard-bearer of the 1951 roster ... It's a fine, fun film with a lot of great songs and dancing but there's nothing about this production that causes it to stand out when compared to one of dozens of musicals from the era."[18]
On review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes,An American in Paris holds a score of 95% based on 101 reviews, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "The plot may be problematic, but such concerns are rendered superfluous by Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron's star power, the Gershwins' classic songs, and Vincente Minnelli's colorful, sympathetic direction."[19] OnMetacritic, the film holds a weighted average score of 83 out of 100 based on 18 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[20]
According to MGM records, the film earned $3,750,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $3,231,000 in other countries during its initial theatrical release. This resulted in the studio making a $1,346,000 profit.[3]
Gene Kelly received anAcademy Honorary Award that year for "his versatility as an actor, singer, director, and dancer, and specifically for his brilliant achievements in the art of choreography on film".[21] It was his only Oscar.
In 1993An American in Paris was selected for preservation in the United StatesNational Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[22]
A stage version of the musical was adapted byKen Ludwig and began previews at theAlley Theatre inHouston on April29, 2008, officially opening on May 18 and running through June22. The production, directed by Alley artistic director Gregory Boyd with choreography by Randy Skinner, starredHarry Groener and Kerry O'Malley. The musical had many of the film's original songs and also incorporated other Gershwin songs, such as "They All Laughed", "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off", and "Love Walked In".[25][26]
In 2014 a stage adaptation premiered in Paris at theThéâtre du Châtelet withRobert Fairchild as Jerry Mulligan andLeanne Cope as Lise Bouvier (here renamed Lise Dassin and turned into an aspiring ballet dancer). The production, which ran from November 2014 to January 2015, was directed and choreographed byChristopher Wheeldon, written byCraig Lucas, and designed byBob Crowley. The musical then transferred toBroadway with previews atPalace Theatre beginning on March13, 2015, before officially opening there on April12.[27][28][29]
The epilogue of the 2016 musical filmLa La Land references the set design and costuming ofAn American in Paris, which directorDamien Chazelle called "a movie that we just pillaged".[30]
InThe Boys season 3 finale,Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) reminisces about starring in his ownbiopic, which lost the Oscar for Best Picture toAn American in Paris.
^Crowther, Bosley (October 5, 1951). "The Screen: Four New Movies Open".The New York Times: 38.
^"An American in Paris".Variety: 6. August 29, 1951.
^"'An American in Paris' with Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron and Oscar Levant". September 1, 1951: 138.{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)
^Coe, Richard L. (November 7, 1951). "'American in Paris' Has Many Virtues".The Washington Post. p. B9.
^McCarten, John (October 6, 1951). "The Current Cinema".The New Yorker. p. 73.
.jpg)
