Gene Kelly Movies in June

TCM is showing several Gene Kelly movies in June:

• Sunday, 6/8, 2:45 AM - An American in Paris
• Tuesday, 6/10, 4:45 PM - Summer Stock
• Wednesday, 6/18, 11:30 AM - Brigadoon
• Friday, 6/20, 2:15 PM - The Pirate

An American in Paris is part of a Leslie Caron Tribute. Times are Eastern. Enjoy!

The Results: What's Your Favorite Gene Kelly Musical? Not Brigadoon!

Happy New Year, Gene Kelly fans! This wasn't the post I intended to write today, but I noticed that the blog's poll closed yesterday. And as you can see, the results were somewhat predictable with Singin' in the Rain our favorite by a landslide! SITR garnered 62% of the vote with 68 votes. An American in Paris had 17 votes (15%), Anchors Aweigh had 8 (7%), The Pirate had 12 (11%) and poor Brigadoon only received 4 votes (3%). So, why is there a photo of Brigadoon here and not Singin' in the Rain? It's no surprise that SITR is our favorite - it makes "top ten" lists regularly and it's the one movie I've never heard a Gene fan say they don't like. So, what's more interesting from the poll results is...what's the deal with Brigadoon?

Now, I didn't put much thought into the five selections to be honest - it was our first poll here on the blog. Truth be told, Brigadoon doesn't even make my personal top 5 favorite Gene Kelly films. But, I didn't realize that it wasn't nearly as loved as Gene's other films. Why is that? Part of the reason is that it was not filmed on location in Scotland - that would have gone a long way in changing the look and feel of the movie. In fact, if they had at least shot it outdoors in California it would have helped. Instead, it was filmed on an indoor set and it shows, despite the hard work of the talented artists and set designers at MGM. I think that this has to be the main reason that it isn't on everyone's top five list, because it certainly isn't because of the actors!

Gene gives one of his better performances as Tommy Albright, a man who gets the idea that his life isn't what he thought it would be. The ever-lovely Cyd Charisse is beautiful as Fiona, although her Scottish accent isn't always as convincing as her acting. And the Lerner and Loewe songs are stunning - is there a fan out there that doesn't melt with "Almost Like Being in Love"? In fact, the fantasy-plot has to take its rightful place as Gene's most romantic. Falling in love at first sight? Sure, Gene's brash characters have done it before (On the Town, An American in Paris, Singin' in the Rain, The Pirate...I could go on with a few more if you're not convinced by now!), but would Gaby, Jerry, Don, or Serafin have given up their lives-as-they-knew-it to live forever with their gal? Not even forever, just for one day every hundred years. That's what make the story of Brigadoon so magical! Maybe it looks like they are dancing in front of paintings, or maybe Van Johnson's character is just a bit too cynical, but in terms of pure story, Tommy's the kind of dreamer that a gal can fall in love with! So, maybe for this new year it deserves another look...I doubt it will wind up as our absolute favorite, but it's definitely worth re-watching! For a rather un-conventional "review" of the movie, be sure to visit Tom and Lorenzo for their comical take on the movie.

Stay tuned for a new poll soon! Also, feel free to comment on why you picked the favorite you did, or why you DO or DO NOT like Brigadoon!

To Be an American in Paris

The Gene Scene Blog will be silent for a while as I do my "Jerry Mulligan" tour of Paris. As a bon voyage thought, let me quote Gene Kelly as Jerry himself:

"Back home everyone said I didn't have any talent. They might be saying the same thing over here but it sounds better in French."

Leslie Caron wins an Emmy

At the "Creative Arts Emmys" on Saturday night, Leslie Caron won an award for her guest appearance on the television show "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit." Reports say that the 76-year-old actress quipped "I think I was nominated in 1951 for the most promising newcomer. I'm glad I finally realized my potential."

Leslie will be a presenter on the primetime Emmy Awards on September 16th and will wear a drss that she designed. Read an article by Robert Osborne in The Hollywood Reporter about her win.

An American in Paris

I've been thinking and reading a lot about An American in Paris, not to mention watching it, as I prepare for a trip to Paris. I was about to write a creative and ingenious post about the ballet sequence and how the movie's creative team, from Gene Kelly to the set creators to the costume designers, used the great works of real artists as their inspiration. But as I did a little web surfing for some examples of the paintings that inspired the moods, colors, and dance styles, I've found that someone beat me to it! Great minds think alike! Visit the wonderfully-titled "This is not my blog" for a fantastic post that runs through the ballet sequence and the paintings that inspired it. A Filmsite review offers a similar explanation minus the actual movie clips and paintings. I can leave you with one original comment, however. According to "The Magic Factory: How MGM Made An American in Paris" by Donald Knox, Arthur Freed and Gene Kelly were visiting Paris after the film was made and it was arranged to show the movie to the artist Raoul Dufy in the screening rooms of the MGM office. Dufy (that's his painting of the Place de la Concorde above) was very old at the time, and Gene and Arthur were "sweating with fear" as they watched it with him. Gene comments on what happened when they got to the ballet:

Well, he just chortled; he was so pleased. After the house lights went up, he asked if we would show him the ballet again, which we joyously did. He thought we had all done a wonderful job.

So do we, Gene, so do we!