|
| Les Girls | 
 enlarge | Directors: George Cukor, Tex Avery
Actors: Gene Kelly, Mitzi Gaynor, Kay Kendall, Taina Elg, Jacques Bergerac
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $5.32
You Save: $14.66 (73%)
New (48) Used (16) from $4.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 24333
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Dubbed)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 114
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: D65709D
ISBN: 0790774801
UPC: 012569570924
EAN: 9780790774800
ASIN: B00008AOWL
Theatrical Release Date: November 6, 1954
Release Date: April 22, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: PLEASE READ CAREFULLY. BRAND NEW FULLY guranteed. Missing manufacturers SHRINK WRAP. Read OUR feedback & BUY with Confidence. Ships FAST in 24 hours via FREE upgrade to 1st Class.
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Never heard of Kay Kendall? Chic, leggy, funny Kay Kendall? Check out Les Girls, one of the best moments for the beautiful British actress (and wife of Rex Harrison), whose promising career ended when she died two years after this film's 1957 release. A cheeky musical variation on Rashomon, the film gives three flashbacks on the Parisian sojourn of a dance master (Gene Kelly) and his featured artists (Kendall, Tania Elg, Mitzi Gaynor). The film isn't a peak outing for director George Cukor, and the Cole Porter songs are infrequent and not top-drawer. But there's a kooky dance number inspired by motorcycle gangs (Kelly in Wild Ones territory), and Kendall has a long drunk scene that she handles with regal aplomb. A stuffy suitor asks les girls why they spend their youth scurrying around Europe in a dance troupe: "Is having fun so important?" The film answers a resounding "mais oui." -- Robert Horton
Product Description
"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 Nichols and Mitzi Gaynor Golden Globe Best Actress winner Kay Kendall and Taina Elg are the femmes in this George Cukor-directed romp that 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 gone about Les Girls.Running Time: 114 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY UPC: 012569570924
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
 Best forgotten July 6, 2008
This is one of the weakest musicals ever produced by MGM, leagues away from, say, American in Paris and Brigadoon. Gene Kelly, looking (oh, that wig) more like the dancers' father than lover, is saddled with a weak script that has him bickering, snarling, and bossing people about throughout the film. The girls in the story seem to be miscast, Kendall and Elg especially, and their lines are usually sappy in the extreme. The Cole Porter music is VERY minor and mostly embarrassing. The costumes are good, and the dancing is passable. All in all, this is a waste of time and money. An MGM musical that is best forgotten.
 Tribute to Jack Cole, choreographer May 20, 2008
One of the reasons I love this film so much is because of the extraordinary choreography by JACK COLE. Mr. Cole was a pioneer in the theater dance genre and he was one of the most creative choreographers and performers around.
As a teen, I had the priviledge of studying jazz under him and he was a very patient teacher who could inspire profoundly.
"I'm no good ... nobody wants my cigarettes!" November 20, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This film is a treasure. It isn't just a lush, vibrant showcase for minor Cole Porter and major dance routines; it's also a delightful romantic comedy with a clever twist. The one point where I disagree with Amazon's review by Robert Horton is this: the film is a peak outing for director George Cukor. Everyone understands their role perfectly; each actor is well cast and plays well off the others; each gets the most out of a sharply written script.
The film is basically three accounts of the same story (as in Rashomon), each from the obviously self-protecting viewpoint of a different person. You might expect this to be tedious or redundant, but it's skillfully done, with very little repetition, so it's fresh each time. The title of the film comes from a musical/dance revue troupe based in Paris, run by and starring American Barry Nichols (Gene Kelly), and featuring three wonderful and very different women, "Les Girls." Nichols, judging from the three stories, falls in love with each of them. There are strong hints, though, along with some inconsistencies, that suggest none of the stories is the whole truth, and that none is too far from the truth either.
Horton (and others I see) is right to single out Kay Kendall, a beautiful tall thin glass of comedic, vocal and dance talent who would steal the show if the others weren't also at the top of their game. I wonder how much of her drunk scenes was improvised: her take on Bizet's Carmen (which leads to the perfectly tossed-off line I put in my title) is hilarious. She's the only-slightly-proper British corner of the Girls.
The other two Girls, the very French (though actually Finnish) Taina Elg and the All-American Mitzi Gaynor, are also beauties and real all-around talents. The song and dance numbers are great fun, especially the "Ladies in Waiting" romp that the Girls take center stage in. Kelly and Gaynor also have a memorable number, choreographed by Kelly himaself (the rest were done by Tony winner Jack Cole), which is built around a parody of Marlon Brando's motorcycle gang persona from The Wild One.
The costumes and wardrobe live up to the Parisian setting (and the Oscar they won for Edith Head), a pleasure to look at. The orchestrations are full and fun, especially for the Brando parody, with its rich saxes and punchy brasses. The film looks gorgeous on DVD. A great treat.
The main DVD extra is an 8-minute behind-the-scenes piece about the film narrated by a much older and still engaging Taina Elg, well put together and well worth watching. There is also an extended trailer (which informs us twice that "Les Girls" rhymes with "playgirls") and a cute 1954 cartoon short called "The Flea Circus," which concerns a troupe of singing and dancing fleas, not otherwise related to the main feature.
Little known musical very under rated. November 1, 2006
Three talented woman and a talented man in Paris. They all work together as entertainers. They were all romanced by ladies man Gene Kelley, but he only married one of them. Very funny, good songs, good dancing and glib dialogue. Enjoy!
could ANYBODY resist a taina elg musical? October 5, 2006
0 out of 11 found this review helpful
george cukor only ventured into musicals on rare occasions. two of those ("a star is born" and "my fair lady") are classics; "les girls" is assuredly not. this was gene kellys last mgm musical, and cole porters penultimate score of any kind, and neither master is at his peak; as a matter of fact theyre both pretty close to their nadirs. kellys attempt at parodying marlon brando in "the wild one" (already a passe reference by the time this was filmed) is downright embarrassing, and the supporting "girls" (when mitzi gaynor is the biggest star among them) just kinda sit there like a lump. if thats entertainment ...
|
|
|
 Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
