Story of movie Les Girls : Les Girls, also known as Cole Porter's Les Girls, is a 1957 musical comedy film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by George Cukor and produced by Sol C. Siegel, with Saul Chaplin as associate producer. The screenplay was by John Patrick, based on a story by Vera Caspary. The music and lyrics were by Cole Porter.
| Les Girls | |
|---|---|
Original movie poster | |
| Directed by | George Cukor |
| Produced by | Sol C. Siegel Saul Chaplin (associate producer) |
| Written by | John Patrick Vera Caspary (story) |
| Starring | Gene Kelly Kay Kendall Mitzi Gaynor Taina Elg Jacques Bergerac Leslie Phillips |
| Music by | Cole Porter (music and lyrics) |
| Cinematography | Robert Surtees |
| Edited by | Ferris Webster |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
|
Running time | 114 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3,384,000 |
| Box office | $3,865,000 |
It stars Gene Kelly, Kay Kendall, Mitzi Gaynor and Taina Elg, and the cast also includes Jacques Bergerac, Leslie Phillips, Henry Daniell and Patrick Macnee.
Screenplay
After writing a tell-all book about her days in the dance troupe "Barry Nichols and Les Girls", Sybil Wren (Kay Kendall) is sued for libeling her fellow dancer Angele (Taina Elg). A Rashomon-style narrative presents the story from three points of view. Sybil accuses Angele of having an affair with Barry (Gene Kelly). Angele insists that it was actually Sybil who was having the affair. Finally, Barry gives his side of the story.
- Gene Kelly – Barry Nichols
- Mitzi Gaynor – Joy Henderson
- Kay Kendall – Sybil Wren
- Taina Elg – Angele Ducros
- Jacques Bergerac – Pierre Ducros
- Leslie Phillips – Sir Gerald Wren
- Henry Daniell – Judge
- Patrick Macnee – Sir Percy
- Stephen Vercoe – Mr. Outward
- Philip Tonge – Associate Judge
- Barrie Chase – Dancer
- The story by Vera Caspary was inspired by an article which appeared in The Atlantic – 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 MGM 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.
- Les Girls won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design for Orry-Kelly and was nominated for two other awards, Best Art Direction (William A. Horning, Gene Allen, Edwin B. Willis, Richard Pefferle) and Best Sound (Wesley C. Miller).
- The film won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Musical/Comedy and for Best Actress, Kay Kendall and Taina Elg together.
- 2006: AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals – nominated
Immediately after the film was released tentative plans were announced for a sequel called Les Boys.
According to MGM records the film made $2,415,000 in the US and Canada and $1,450,000 elsewhere, but because of its high production cost lost $1,635,000.
Les Girls was a major vehicle for choreographer Jack Cole, and one of the first films to feature the role of choreographer in the opening credits.
- List of American films of 1957
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