LES GIRLS [1957 / 2018] [Warner Archive Collection] [Blu-ray] [USA Release]
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"BRAVO" say critics about an entertainer's tell-all memoir chronicling her days in the cabaret act Barry Nichols and Les Girls. "Libel!" cries another of Les Girls, setting in motion a talons and fact-baring litigation that proves ‘LES GIRLS’ will be girls and that Cole Porter movie musicals will always sparkle.
Gene Kelly plays Barry Nichols, and Mitzi Gaynor, Golden Globe® Best Actress winner Kay Kendall and Taina Elg are the femmes in this George Cukor-directed romp that won a Best Costume Design Oscar® and another Golden Globe® for Best Comedy/Musical. Among the highlights: a ribald "Ladies in Waiting" and a hepcat parody of The Wild One called "Why Am I So Gone About That Gal?" You'll be so gone about ‘LES GIRLS.’
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1957 Boxoffice Magazine Awards: Win: Boxoffice Blue Ribbon Award for Best Picture of the Month for the Whole Family (November) for George Cukor. 1957 Faro Island Film Festival: Nominated: Golden Moon Award for Best Film for George Cukor. 1957 New York Film Critics Circle Awards: Nominated: Best Actress for Kay Kendall. 1958 Academy Awards®: Win: Best Costume Design for Orry-Kelly. Nominated: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration for Edwin B. Willis, Gene Allen, Richard Pefferle and William A. Horning. Nominated: Best Sound Recording for Wesley C. Miller (M-G-M SSD). 1958 Golden Globes: Win: Best Motion Picture in a Comedy or Musical. Win: Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical for Kay Kendall who tied with Taina Elg for ‘LES GIRLS’ [1957]. Win: Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical for Taina Elg who tied with Kay Kendall for ‘LES GIRLS’ [1957]. 1958 Directors Guild of America: Nominated: DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in for Motion Pictures for George Cukor. 1958 Laurel Awards: Win: Golden Laurel Award for Top Female Musical Performance for Mitzi Gaynor. Nominated: Golden Laurel Award for Top Musical. Nominated: Golden Laurel Award for Top Female Musical Performance for Kay Kendall [4th place]. Nominated: Golden Laurel Award for Top Male Musical Performance for Gene Kelly [5th place]. 1958 Writers Guild of America: Win: WGA Award (Screen) for Best Written American Musical for John Patrick.
FILM FACT No.2: The story by Vera Caspary was inspired by an article which appeared in The Atlantic publication of a reminiscence of a dancer's touring years. Miss Caspary's version turned the memoir into a point of dispute and raised questions about the nature of truth. As only the title was used from Miss Caspary's story for the screenplay, she joked that she was the highest paid writer in the world, as she was paid $80,000 for writing just two words – "Les Girls." ‘LES GIRLS’ was Gene Kelly's last musical under his contract at M-G-M which began in 1942. ‘LES GIRLS’ was the last film score by Cole Porter and the next-to-last score of his career. The film's original female leads were to have been played by Leslie Caron, Cyd Charisse, Jean Simmons and Carol Haney.
Cast: Gene Kelly, Mitzi Gaynor, Kay Kendall, Taina Elg, Jacques Bergerac, Leslie Phillips, Henry Daniell, Patrick Macnee, Stephen Vercoe, Philip Tonge, Richard Alexander (uncredited), Gordon Armitage (uncredited), Frank Arnold (uncredited), Brad Brown (uncredited), Barrie Chase (uncredited), Lilyan Chauvin (uncredited), Gene Coogan (uncredited), Adrienne D'Ambricourt (uncredited), George Davis (uncredited), Marcel De la Brosse (uncredited), (uncredited), Wilkie de Martel (uncredited), George Dee (uncredited), Cyril Delevanti (uncredited), Claire Du Brey (uncredited), Billy Griffith (uncredited), Colin Kenny (uncredited), Maurice Marsac (uncredited), Owen McGiveney (uncredited), Gregor Momdjian (uncredited), Alberto Morin (uncredited), George Navarro (uncredited), Nestor Paiva (uncredited), Genevieve Pasques (uncredited), George Pelling (uncredited), Francis Ravel (uncredited), Geoffrey Steele (uncredited), Gilchrist Stuart (uncredited), Arthur Tovey (uncredited), Lusita Triana (uncredited) and Maya Van Horn (uncredited)
Director: George Cukor
Producers: Saul Chaplin and Sol C. Siegel (uncredited)
Screenplay: John Patrick (screenplay) and Vera Caspary (story)
Composers: Cole Porter (music and lyrics) and Saul Chaplin (uncredited)
Cinematography: Robert Surtees, A.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Metrocolor)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (CinemaScope)
Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
English: 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
Subtitles: English SDH
Running Time: 114 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / Warner Archive Collection
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘LES GIRLS’ [1957] is a musical that is set in London, Paris and Granada in Spain. It is a story of a song-and-dance team made up of Gene Kelly, Mitzi Gaynor, Kay Kendall and Taina Elg. Known as “Barry Nichols and Les Girls” and they are a popular Continental performing act. Many years after the act has broken up, Kay Kendall, now the wife of an English peer, has written a book of reminiscences that lands her in a London court, the defendant in a libel suit brought by Taina Elg, now married to a French industrialist. The court trial provides the setting for a series of flashbacks. Each gives a different version of what actually happened.
The excursion into the past provides the setting for a number of Cole Porter tunes and the Les Girls dances are brightly staged by Jack Cole and look truly amazing, especially the where Gene Kelly wrapped in rope that gets pulled by Taina Elg and then entangles them both in a seductive dance, and also the brilliant “Ladies-in-Waiting” number that was so risqué, and just shows you how far censorship was relaxed, even though it’s only 1957. Cole Porter created seven new songs for the picture. Kay Kendall emerges as a delightful comedienne in her first foray into an American picture. Taina Elg, a Finnish actress-ballerina who portrays a French girl, has a quality that is exceedingly appealing. Mitzi Gaynor is the wholesome, uncomplicated member of the troupe.
The film's opening title cards read: "Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer presents A Sol C. Siegel Production of Cole Porter's Les Girls." Throughout the film, an older man passes by the court building carrying a sign that asks, "What Is Truth?" An unconventional musical and ‘LES GIRLS’ has an amusing premise. It begins in a London courtroom where Lady Sybil Wren [Kay Kendall], a former showgirl, is faced with a libel suit after publishing her memoirs about her experience with an act called Les Girls. All three women in the act, Sybil, Angele [Taina Elg] and Joy [Mitzi Gaynor] are amorously involved with their manager and star Barry Nichols [Gene Kelly].
The film features Cole Porter’s last complete score, which was not vintage Cole Porter, who was extremely ill during pre-production, Saul Chaplin had to finish some of the scores. The sophisticated air and ingenious rhyming were intact but the musical was too reminiscent of Cole Porter’s previous endeavours; “Ca C’est L’Amour,” echoed “C’est Magnifique” from the film ‘Can Can.’
The film has one standout number, “Why Am I So Gone About That Gal” a musical parody of Marlon Brando’s 1954 motorcycle film, ‘The Wild One’ and performed by Gene Kelly in shiny black leather, it imitated Marlon Brando’s arrogant macho hood attitude, with Mitzi Gaynor as his moll. The number is played against a red barroom background with a large chorus of other Brando type characters.
In Kay Kendall’s big number with the other women, “Ladies in Waiting,” gives her screen presence is so strong that Kay Kendall really steals the scene that sees her tall, blithe and beautiful thoroughbred features, Kay Kendall has star quality that adds “something” extra which both Mitzi Gaynor and Taina Elg do not project. In one scene, we see Kay Kendall getting out of a cab wearing an enormously chic black hat. And just by accident, the hat got caught but, with a gesture and a look, she turned it into a marvellously funny bit.
Director George Cukor had to submit Cole Porter’s songs for ratings before shooting began, and a number of changes were dictated, especially with the song “Ladies in Waiting,” with words like “nizzle-nozzle” and “foodle-doodle” was deemed too “suggestive,” so the song was toned down, but it was still very funny because of Kay Kendall’s totally assured comic style and most of all George Cukor thought that the censorship demands were downright ridiculous.
While ‘LES GIRLS’ is a very enjoyable and light-hearted musical film, it is easy to understand why the film was not deemed a great success with audiences initially. For one, it often feels like a throw-back to the glory days of the M-G-M musical, conveniently ignoring the shifting changes in American pop culture taste towards rock-and-roll, but despite this, it is still a very enjoyable film. There is certainly nothing wrong with this cheerful, romantic comedy approach, but young audiences simply were not as interested in these sorts of films anymore. Furthermore, Gene Kelly's character is not always given a sympathetic portrayal, and he seems at times to portray a harsh and business-like approach. Of course, the very nature of the film suggests that this may or may not actually be the truth, but such mind-twisting logic was probably too much for audiences seeking just simple-minded entertainment. Also, as a musical, ‘LES GIRLS’ strangely has very few songs, and most of the numbers are not as well-integrated into the plot as in Gene Kelly's earlier films. It is perhaps more accurate to consider the film as a romantic comedy with incidental musical numbers. ‘LES GIRLS’ may not be his finest work, but as a musical in that classic M-G-M mould, it is a worthy tribute to one of the studio's most beloved stars and Gene Kelly still had to his credit an impressive legacy comprised of some of M-G-M's most memorable Hollywood musicals to be proud of and again these films are a total joy to view time after time and now for the first time has now been released on the Blu-ray disc format.
LES GIRLS MUSIC TRACK LIST
LES GIRLS (uncredited) (Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter) [Performed by Gene Kelly, Kay Kendall (dubbed by Betty Wand), Mitzi Gaynor and Taina Elg] [Danced by Gene Kelly, Mitzi Gaynor and Taina Elg]
THE ROPE DANCE (uncredited) (Music by Cole Porter) [Danced by Gene Kelly and Taina Elg]
ÇA C’EST L’AMOUR (uncredited) (Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter) [Performed by Taina Elg and dubbed by Thora Mathiason]
LADIES IN WAITING (uncredited) (Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter) [Performed by Gene Kelly, Kay Kendall (Kay Kendall dubbed by Betty Wand), Mitzi Gaynor and Taina Elg]
YOU’RE JUST TOO TOO! (uncredited) (Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter) [Performed by Gene Kelly and Kay Kendall (Kay Kendall dubbed by Betty Wand]
WHY AM I SO GONE (About that gal) (uncredited) (Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter) [Performed by Gene Kelly] [Danced by Gene Kelly and Mitzi Gaynor]
BE A CLOWN (uncredited) (Music by Cole Porter) [Heard as background music]
ZAMPA (excerpt) (by Louis Joseph Hérold)
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Warner Archive Collection has once brought you an immaculate 1080p image presentation. The excellent Metrocolor shows off the Almodóvar titles of the flashy stage shows in a very excellent way. The enhanced 2K scanned image shows the original CinemaScope framing so perfectly, that is impressively sharp and detailed, and very filmic quality. The colour quality is totally brilliant, notably the staged production numbers and especially the performers off-stage outfits. The black colours are dark and solid, and also equally impressive is the contrast colours. The optical dissolves between scenes have been exceptionally well managed, which is a frequently a challenge with films of this vintage. Overall, Warner Archive Collection has once again brought us a very professional image presentation for this classic M-G-M musical.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Warner Archive Collection brings us a high quality remixed 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio experiences that captures the finely nuanced composed Cole Porter music and lyrics so beautifully. The original four-track magnetic master was used for reference quality to presents a very well balanced audio fidelity that is totally remarkable, and especially you get smooth transitions between spoken and singing voices, that you get to experience a beautiful clear stereo separations, plus with the rich orchestral audio presence. Overall, Warner Archive Collection again has done a really superb audio presentation on a film released in 1957.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Cole Porter in Hollywood: Ça C'est L'amour [2003] [1080p] [1.37:1] [8:44] This short special feature, that was first featured on the inferior DVD of ‘LES GIRLS,’ and provides an overview of the ‘LES GIRLS’ film's background, including a segment on the brilliant British actress Kay Kendall, who had been diagnosed with leukaemia and sadly passed away just three years after making the film. This documentary short takes a look at the making of Cole Porter's M-G-M classic Hollywood musical ‘LES GIRLS.’ Hosted by the Finnish film legend Taina Elg and starred in the film ‘LES GIRLS’ who informs us what it was like working with Gene Kelly, Kay Kendall, Mitzi Gaynor and director George Cukor on one of the last great M-G-M musicals. We also get lots of clips from the film ‘LES GIRLS.’ Contributors include: Taina Elg (Host), Cole Porter (archival image), Kay Kendall (archival image), Gene Kelly (archival image), Mitzi Gaynor (archival image), Jack Cole (archival image), George Cukor (archival image) and Rex Harrison (archival image).
Special Feature: M-G-M Vintage Cartoon “The Flea Circus” [1954] [1080p] [1.37:1] [7:01] In this classic M-G-M Vintage Cartoon, concerns a famous flea circus that is run by Pepito [voiced by Daws Butler] and unfortunately a passing dog enters the theatre by mistake and the entire entourage of the fleas takes to the dog, who runs off to find a pond, so leaving the owner Pepito now bankrupt and with no actors. But little François Le Clown [voiced by Bill Thompson] who plays a sad clown, goes off to save Fifi Le Flea [voiced by Francoise Brun-Cottan] from drowning, marries the star Fifi Le Flea and has enough fleas together to bring the flea circus back to life and a whole set of new fleas back to the act. Viva la France! The 1954 M-G-M short "The Flea Circus" was directed by the zany Tex Avery. Animated By Grant Simmons, Michael Lah, Robert Bentley and Walter Clinton. Produced By Fred Quimby. Written by Heck Allen.
Theatrical Trailer [1957] [1080] [2.35:1] [2:33] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘LES GIRLS.’
Finally, ‘LES GIRLS’ is an exceptionally tasty Hollywood musical morsel that is in the best tradition of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio. This was Gene Kelly’s last musical under his contract at M-G-M, and on the surface seems like an opportunity for a magnificent star turn by the screen's most athletic hoofer; after all, he is the sole leading man among the four stars. Surprisingly, it turns out to be a really good ensemble piece, and a totally Technicolor delightful one at that. Also surprisingly, it doesn't feel like a real musical. The "offstage" character musical numbers are fine though they could easily have been replaced with dialogue, to give the characters development and emotional impact. This is probably testament to the strength of the script, which, while decidedly light, is nonetheless very engaging. Gene Kelly’s dance duets with each of the girls are highly enjoyable, with special mention going to his and Mitzi Gaynor's "Why Am I So Gone About That Gal?" who is a total delight, Best of the ladies is delicious Kay Kendall, especially in her memorable drunk scene. Gene Kelly has never been better, excelling at playing his character that is rougher and less charming than most of his roles. Production values are very high; but I must mention also the intriguing and bizarre geometric setting for the Gene Kelly and Taina Elg "rope dance" sequence. This film is an enjoyable magical bauble, and ‘LES GIRLS’ is fizzy and frothy fun filled classic Hollywood musical. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
