''Les Girls'' (also known as ''Cole Porter's Les Girls'') is a 1957 American CinemaScope

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

George Cukor George Dewey Cukor (; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO when David O. Selznick, the studio's Head ...

and produced by Sol C. Siegel, with

Saul Chaplin Saul Chaplin (February 19, 1912 – November 15, 1997) was an American composer and musical director. He was born Saul Kaplan in Brooklyn, New York. He had worked on stage, screen and television since the days of Tin Pan Alley. In film, he wo ...

as associate producer. The screenplay by John Patrick was based on a story by Vera Caspary. The music and lyrics were by

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

. It stars Gene Kelly, Mitzi Gaynor, Kay Kendall, and

Taina Elg __NOTOC__ Taina may refer to: People Women * Taina Asili (), Puerto Rican musician, filmmaker and activist * Taïna Barioz (born 1988), French alpine skier * Taina Bien-Aimé, Swiss social activist * Taina Bofferding (born 1982), Luxembourgish ...

, and the cast also includes Jacques Bergerac, Leslie Phillips, Henry Daniell, and Patrick Macnee.

Premise

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 is a 1950 Jidaigeki psychological thriller/ crime film directed and written by Akira Kurosawa, working in close collaboration with cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa. Starring Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyō, Masayuki Mori, and Takashi Shimura as v ...

''-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.

Cast

* Gene Kelly as Barry Nichols * Mitzi Gaynor as Joy Henderson * Kay Kendall as Lady Sybil Wren ** Betty Wand provides the singing voice of Lady Sybil Wren *

as Angele Ducros * Jacques Bergerac as Pierre Ducros * Leslie Phillips as Sir Gerald Wren * Henry Daniell as judge * Patrick Macnee as Sir Percy * Stephen Vercoe as Mr. Outward * Philip Tonge as associate judge *

Barrie Chase Barrie Chase (born October 20, 1933) is an American actress and dancer. Early life Born in Kings Point, New York, Chase began formal dance lessons at age three, studying with the New York City Opera's ballet mistress. She studied ballet, first ...

as dancer

Background notes

* The story by Vera Caspary was inspired by an article which appeared in ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'' – 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 Cyd Charisse (born Tula Ellice Finklea; March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008) was an American actress and dancer. After recovering from polio as a child and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s. Her roles usually featured her abilit ...

Jean Simmons Jean Merilyn Simmons, (31 January 1929 – 22 January 2010) was a British actress and singer. One of J. Arthur Rank's "well-spoken young starlets", she appeared predominantly in films, beginning with those made in Great Britain during and aft ...

and

Carol Haney Carol Haney (born Carolyn Haney; December 24, 1924 – May 10, 1964) was an American dancer and actress. After assisting Gene Kelly in choreographing films, Haney won a Tony Award for her role in Broadway's ''The Pajama Game'', while later wo ...

Awards and honors

* ''Les Girls'' won the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Costume Design for

Orry-Kelly Orry-Kelly was the professional name of Orry George Kelly (31 December 1897 – 27 February 1964), an Australian-American Hollywood costume designer. Until being overtaken by Catherine Martin in 2014, he was the most prolific Australian-b ...

and was nominated for two other awards, Best Art Direction ( William A. Horning,

Gene Allen Gene Allen may refer to: * Gene Allen (art director) (1918–2015), American art director *Eugene Allen (1919–2010), White House butler *Gene Allen (musician) Eugene Sufana Allen (December 5, 1928 – February 14, 2008) was an American jazz re ...

Edwin B. Willis Edwin Booth Willis (January 28, 1893 – November 26, 1963) was an American motion picture set designer and decorator. Willis worked exclusively at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios for his entire career. During his career as a set designer Willis w ...

, 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

Sequel

Immediately after the film was released tentative plans were announced for a sequel called ''Les Boys''. While it did not come to pass, it did inspire ''

Harry's Girls ''Harry's Girls'' is an American sitcom which aired on NBC from September 13, 1963 to January 3, 1964. The series stars Larry Blyden portraying Henry Burns, the leader of a vaudeville troupe consisting of three young women. The co-stars were Dawn ...

'', a sitcom starring Larry Blyden which ran on NBC for 15 episodes in the fall of 1963.

Box office

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.

Choreography

''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.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Girls, Les 1957 films 1957 musical comedy films CinemaScope films American musical comedy films Best Musical or Comedy Picture Golden Globe winners Films based on works by Vera Caspary Films directed by George Cukor Films featuring a Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe winning performance Films produced by Sol C. Siegel Films scored by Cole Porter Films that won the Best Costume Design Academy Award Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films