Lerner & Loewe’s Gigi–Part Three

As we mentioned in our last post, one of the last MGM musicals to be produced by the Arthur Freed unit (including Conrad Salinger) is 1958’s Gigi. Colette painted a picture of 1900 Paris. Paris society demanded that its eligible bachelors be seen in public; but in order to be seen, the bachelors must be accompanied by fascinating women. Thus, the bachelor is not wooing, he is preening in public. Part of his allure is his ability to attract and discard mistresses.

Yet, Colette found her inspiration in throwing sand in the gears and stopping the choreographed dance. Her novella posed the ultimate challenge to an orderly but antiseptic society–true love. For this reason, any adaptation had to preserve the reverence for societal norms as a baseline, while at the same time introducing a newness and freshness that only innocence and true love could inspire.

The movie is entirely dependent on the performance of Leslie Caron. Once cast as Gigi, we, the audience, are as susceptible to the child-like charms of the young Gigi as Gaston, who finds that his only truly happy hours are the ones spent with Gigi and her grandmother. Louis Jordan is a perfect Gaston, bored to death with society but happy in the company of Gigi. Hermione Gingold is wonderfully cast as Madame Alvarez, Gigi’s grandmother, a mix of stern discipline and motherly indulgence.

We are introduced to Paris through the the wisdom and charm of Honore, Gaston’s uncle, played with such grace by Maurice Chevalier that we overlook his many faults. He sings the song that keeps all men young, “Thank Heaven for Little Girls.”  It is an anthem to the blossoming of the human roses of spring and summer, the transformation from youth to womanly beauty. He is also a master at the game of musical mistresses.

We see the attention lavished on bachelors by society in the chorus (“The Gossips”), balanced against Gaston’s disgust (“She’s Not Thinking of Me”).

The movie quickly shifts our attention to Madame Alvarez’ small apartment, where Gigi cheats at cards in order to win a bet–a trip for Gigi and her grandmother to Trouville. Gigi’s character is real and is irresistible to both Gaston and the audience (“The Night They Invented Champagne”).

In Trouville, Gaston permits himself to be a child again with Gigi, while Madame Alvarez recalls an earlier liaison with Honore (“I Remember It Well”).

We will complete our examination of Gigi in the next post.