We'll Always Have Paris
One of the classic film styles since the dawn of sound cinema has been the musical. Taking the popular stage and vaudeville musicals of the early 20th century and bringing them to the big screen has delighted audiences for nearly a century.
And one of the best is 1951’s An American In Paris, which comes to AMC Chattanooga 18 on South Terrace on Sunday for two showings at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. (and a third on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m.)
Winner of six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, the classic stars Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron as they sing and dance to the music of George and Ira Gershwin.
The plot is not groundbreaking, as is the standard for musicals of that era. When ex-GI Jerry Mulligan (Kelly) remains in Paris to pursue life as an artist, he is discovered by a wealthy patroness interested in more than his art. But Mulligan falls in love with a French shop girl (Caron) who is engaged to his best friend.
Some of the more interesting facts about the film was that Gene Kelly ended up directing a good bit of the film himself, as credited director Vincente Minnelli was often tied up with his divorce from Judy Garland and other directing projects.
Even more impressive is the 17-minute dance sequence at the end which has no dialogue, took a month to film, and cost half a million dollars, which when adjusted for inflation, would cost nearly $5 million today. And when you see it, you understand why it was worth every penny.