Movies - Gigi

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	Movies - Gigi

Gigi is a 1958 motion picture musical set in Paris, France. It is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by French author, Colette.

In additional to numerous awards, the film also has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. It is considered the last great MGM musical, and the last great achievement of the Freed Unit, headed by producer Arthur Freed, although Freed would go on to produce several more films, including the musical Bells Are Ringing in 1960.

Plot

In turn-of-the-century Paris, Gaston Lachaille is a bon vivant much like his uncle, Honoré (who thanks heaven for little girls). But Gaston is becoming bored with the high life ... especially the women. He only truly enjoys the time that he spends with one of his uncle's old friends, Madame Alvarez, and her grand-daughter, the precocious and carefree Gigi. Gigi is being groomed to follow in her grandmother's footsteps as a famous courtesan. It suddenly occurs to Gaston that he could become her first protector, but the situation makes him uneasy until he discovers that he's in love with Gigi, whom he eventually marries.

Primary cast

Leslie Caron
: Gigi
Maurice Chevalier
: Honore Lachaille
Louis Jourdan
: Gaston Lachaille
Hermione Gingold
: Madame Alvarez
Eva Gabor
: Liane d'Exelmans
Jacques Bergerac : Sandomir
Isabel Jeans : Aunt Alicia

Awards

The film was nominated for an Oscar in nine categories, and won all nine.

Academy Award for Best Picture
Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Academy Award for Directing (Vincente Minnelli
)
Golden Globe Award for Best Director (Vincente Minnelli)
Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (Vincente Minnelli & assistant, George Vieira)
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress (Hermione Gingold
)
Academy Award for Set Decoration, Black-and-White or Color – (E. Preston Ames, F. Keogh Gleason, Henry Grace, and William A. Horning)
Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Color (Joseph Ruttenberg)
Academy Award for Costume Design, Black-and-White or Color (Cecil Beaton)
Academy Award for Film Editing (Adrienne Fazan)
Academy Award Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture (André Previn)
Best Music, Song (Alan Jay Lerner (lyrics), Frederick Loewe (music) - For the song "Gigi")
Writers Guild of America for Best Written American Musical (Alan Jay Lerner)
Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay (Alan Jay Lerner)
Best Soundtrack Album, Dramatic Picture Score or Original Cast (André Previn)

Award nominations

Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Leslie Caron
)
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Maurice Chevalier
)
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Louis Jourdan
)

Trivia

A copy of the soundtrack album is seen on the cover of the 1969 Pink Floyd album Ummagumma.

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