| An American in Paris | |
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&sq=&lang=&file=File:An_American_in_Paris_(1951_film_poster).jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Vincente Minnelli |
| Written by | Alan Jay Lerner |
| Produced by | Arthur Freed |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography |
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| Edited by | Adrienne Fazan |
| Music by |
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Production company | |
| Distributed by | Loew's Inc.[1] |
Release dates |
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Running time | 113 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2.7 million[3] |
| Box office | $7 million[3] |
An American in Paris is a 1951 American musical romantic comedy film inspired by the 1928 jazz-influenced symphonic poem (or tone poem)[4] An American in Paris by George Gershwin. Starring Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron (her film debut), Oscar Levant, Georges Guétary, and Nina Foch, the film is set in Paris, and was directed by Vincente Minnelli from a script by Alan Jay Lerner. The music is by George Gershwin, with lyrics by his brother Ira, with additional music by Johnny Green, and Saul Chaplin, the music directors.
The story of the film is interspersed with dance numbers choreographed by Gene Kelly and set to Gershwin's music.[5] MGM executive Arthur Freed bought the Gershwin musical catalog from George's brother Ira in the late 1940s, since George died in 1937.[5] Some of the tunes in this catalog were included in the movie, such as "I Got Rhythm" and "Love Is Here to Stay".[5] Other songs in the movie include "I'll Build A Stairway to Paradise" and "'S Wonderful". The climax of the film is "The American in Paris" ballet, a 17-minute dialogue-free dance featuring Kelly and Caron set to Gershwin's An American in Paris, with sets designed in the styles of various French artists.[5] The ballet sequence cost almost half a million dollars to shoot.[5] It was filmed on 44 sets in MGM's back lot.[5] According to Leslie Caron in a 2009 interview on Paul O'Grady's interview show, the film ran into controversy with the Hays Office over part of her earlier dance sequence with a chair; the censor viewing the scene called it "sexually provocative", which surprised Caron, who answered "What can you do with a chair?"
An American in Paris was an enormous success, garnering eight Academy Award nominations and winning six (including Best Picture), as well as earning other industry honors. In 1993, it was selected for preservation by the United States Library of Congress in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[6][7] It is ranked number nine among AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals.
- ^ An American in Paris at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- ^ "An American in Paris - Details". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
- ^ a b The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
- ^ Staff (April 1, 2017). "An American in Paris". Theatricalia.com. Archived from the original on August 31, 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Mcgovern, Joe (February 2017). "The Musical That Changed movies". Entertainment Weekly. No. 1451/1452. pp. 82–87.
- ^ "National Film Registry". National Film Registry (National Film Preservation Board, Library of Congress). Retrieved May 24, 2018.
- ^ "Librarian Announces National Film Registry Selections (March 7, 1994) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin". www.loc.gov. Retrieved 2020-09-15.