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2001 |
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Vincente Minnelli |
 Vincente Minnelli congratulates daughter Liza after she wins the Best Actress Oscar for 1972's 'Cabaret' |
He directed two 1950s musicals that both won Best Picture Oscars
By
JAMES BAWDEN
for TheColumnists.com
MY TAXI SPED through Beverly
Hills and into the courtyard of an all-white mansion that was
directly across Sunset Boulevard from the fancy Beverly Hills
hotel. The curtains on the second floor moved back and forth
and I knew I was being watched as I knocked on the door.
I had tiptoed out of a Century City convention of TV critics
to make this afternoon rendezvous with the film director I considered
supreme in the musical field: Vincente Minnelli. I was astonished
he had picked up the phone when I rang his home and equally surprised
he'd readily agreed to an interview--many publications described
him as reclusive.
It was the summer of 1979, a particularly sticky June day, and
his wife, Lee, was at the door, bubbling about how my visit might
cheer him up. He was having heart problems, his friends had told
me, and was still depressed over the lousy reception of his last
film, 1976's "A Matter of Time," starring his daughter
Liza Minnelli, Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer.
"But this I warn you: he's not exactly verbal,'' she said.
The house was blindingly white, inside and out and I was ushered
upstairs to Minnelli's all-white study that was cluttered with
art books and fashion magazines. Coffee had been prepared in
a white gold tea service that was a gift from Barbra Streisand
with the inscription ``You're the cream in my coffee.'' Minnelli
was dressed in a red blazer and sports shirt. He seemed a bit
nervous until I started plying him with detailed technical questions
about such classics as "Meet Me In St. Louis," "Undercurrent"
and "Brigadoon."
Twice Minnelli movies had won the coveted Oscar as best picture: "An American in Paris" in 1951 and "Gigi" in 1958. Both were musicals, both starred Leslie Caron and both took place in Paris. When I suggested Minnelli should make another Caron feature set in the city of lights, he smiled and agreed.
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"A good portion of
'An American In Paris' (1951) was shot on the MGM backlot. Of
course there are many establishing shots we did there (in Paris).
Other shots are wholly backlot: Gene's Parisian garrett, the
'I Got Rhythm' number. They had to be because crowd control would
have been too difficult. And it was still the tradition in 1951
to do everything possible at home.''
Minnelli said he'd been passing Irving Berlin on an MGM street
and told the composer he was making a musical with a 17-minute
ballet as the finish.
"Irving just shook his head," said Minnelli. "He
thought we had gone quite mad.''
Minnelli says he got to make the movie because, "I cashed
in my chips. I'd had a good run and was coming off 'Father of
the Bride,' which was a huge hit. I managed to convince producer
Arthur Freed I could do it and Gene Kelly was at his box office
peak.''
In retrospect Minnelli thought, "How could we not
succeed? The story was by Alan Jay Lerner, the music was the
best of George and Ira Gershwin. We had the rights to 'Love Walked
In,' 'Our Love Is Here To Stay,' 'I've Got A Crush On You,' and
so on. It was very simple: Gene played an American using the
G.I. bill to study in Paris. The musical director was Johnny
Green--superb!"
What Minnelli did not have was a leading lady, a French gamin
who could dance.
"Tested Vera-Ellen, Cyd Charisse, Sally Forrest,"
he said. "All good American dancers. Not a bit French. We
saw Leslie Caron on the cover of Paris Match. We were
told she was studying to be a ballerina. She tested great and
that was it. Then she turned up at the studio. Very untidy. Not
a drop of makeup. And I had to wonder if she would do.''
Minnelli pointed out there was only one big production number:
Georges Guetary dancing up stairs to "I'll Build A Stairway
To Paradise." When Kelly and Caron dance along the Seine:
"That was Studio 20, the water was agitated by a motor,
the view of Notre Dame was a cyclorama. It was all an illusion.''
Minnelli says when the film, which cost $2.7 million, was previewed
for MGM executives, "(Studio production chief) Dore Shary
asked if the ballet could be cut down. Even he didn't get it.''
The film was released in November, 1951, took in $8 million in
North American sales and was nominated for six Oscars.
"George Stevens won over me as best director for 'A Place
In The Sun.' I sank in my seat. I assumed he'd get it for best
picture, but we won. There was stunned silence. It was the first
win for a musical since 'The Great Ziegfeld' in 1936.''
Out of the success of "An American in Paris" came "Gigi."
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"I'd seen the 1951
French film and bugged Arthur to buy American rights. Then it
became a wonderful Broadway play, rewritten by Anita Loos. In
1953, the stage production played Los Angeles with Audrey Hepburn
in the lead and MGM became reinterested. By 1955, we had the
rights and were making a musical of it. The Breen
Office was horrified. The basic story had a grandmother training
this child to be a courtesan--a prostitute to the Breen people.
Audrey refused to do it because she thought she was too old.
Maurice Chevalier was the first signed. He had actually known
Colette (who wrote the original novella.) We shot key scenes
at the real Maxim's--these were the first shots we made, in blazing
heat in August when it was normally closed.''
Most of the outdoor scenes for "Gigi" were done in
Paris.
"The norm had changed. The ice skating was done in terrible
heat. With the traffic, crowds, noise, I still don't know how
we did it.''
Cecil Beaton designed other sets back in Culver City. Minnelli
says Louis Jourdan as Gaston was a late addition.
"As the aunt I desperately
wanted Irene Dunne, but she thought the material distasteful.
Then she asked for first billing, which was impossible. Isabel
Jeans replaced her.''
Leslie Caron was still under MGM contract, but "she balked
at first. She was 27 by then and didn't want to be 15 again.''
The preview was disastrous. Freed ordered a quarter of the picture
reshot to speed up dialogue.
"It was completely redubbed," said Minnelli. "I
felt it lacked necessary warmth.''
What Minnelli did not mention was MGM director Charles Walters
had come in and redone key sequences, printing as many as 30
takes in a day.
"Gigi" won nine Oscars, including best picture, director,
cinematography (Joseph Ruttenberg), costume design, writing and
best song (the title tune).
"It was the most wonderful night for us," Minnelli
recalled. "But it was the end. We knew no new musicals were
being planned. We were a hit everywhere but in France, where
they hated it.''
Said Minnelli: ``It was the last great MGM musical. It grossed
over $13 million but Metro lost interest in musicals, except
Elvis Presley. They never did that well in foreign markets. MGM
never even made a bid on 'My Fair Lady.' An era was over.''
©2001
by James Bawden.
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After "Gigi," four more musicals won the Best Picture Oscar: "West Side Story" in 1961, "My Fair Lady" in 1964, "The Sound of Music" in 1965 and "Oliver!" in 1968. Minnelli never directed another film after his disastrous "A Matter of Time" in 1976. He died in 1986. |
You can comment on this column or contact James Bawden with an email to: talkback@thecolumnists.com
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