Tonight's Movie: Les Girls (1957) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

Gene Kelly's final MGM musical, LES GIRLS (1957), is available on a beautiful Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

I missed the chance to review the LES GIRLS Blu-ray when it was first released in 2018 and was very glad to have the opportunity to do so now. Like most other Warner Archive releases, this disc continues to be readily available years after release.

As I've shared here before, MGM musicals were one of my main gateways into loving classic films. I saw LES GIRLS several times in my early years, including a big screen showing at the Vagabond Theater in Los Angeles.

Like another of the late MGM musicals, GIGI (1958), I liked it well enough "back in the day," though the film's sophistication was somewhat lost on me as a teenager. I've come to appreciate both films much more on closer acquaintance over the years.

LES GIRLS concerns Barry Nichols (Kelly), an American who performs a musical act in postwar Europe with a trio of lovely ladies: British Sybil (Kay Kendall), French Angele (Taina Elg), and American Joy (Mitzi Gaynor).

As the movie opens, Sybil and Angele, who haven't seen each other in years, meet in court for a libel case regarding a book authored by Sybil. Through a series of flashbacks we see the story of professional and personal complications told from the divergent perspectives of Sybil, Angele, and Barry.

LES GIRLS has been compared to the Japanese classic RASHOMON (1951) inasmuch as we see the story from a variety of viewpoints; indeed, an extra wanders outside court with a none-too-subtle sandwich board reading "What is Truth?" Can they all be telling the truth simultaneously?

The movie is a curious blend of the previously mentioned sophistication with old-fashioned notions about women and careers; Sybil and Angele's suitors (Leslie Phillips and Jacques Bergerac) would just as soon their loves quit work -- or at least traveling for it -- and settle down to marriage.

That story contrasts with the film's stylish telling, directed by George Cukor and filmed in CinemaScope by Robert Surtees, with a new score by Cole Porter. John Patrick's screenplay for this 114-minute film was based on a story by Vera Caspary, author of the novel which inspired the film LAURA (1944); the script has a nice sense of humor mixed with a couple moments of genuine poignance.

The costumes by Orry-Kelly are especially dazzling; Kay Kendall's first court outfit alone is worth watching the film, and I also loved the ladies' black gowns worn with long white gloves and slanted wide-brimmed hats. Fabulous! His Oscar for Best Costume Design for this film was well deserved.

It's not a perfect film, including that the Porter songs are somewhat weak; I feel Porter's score for Fred Astaire's final MGM musical, SILK STOCKINGS (1957), was much better. That said, Kelly and Gaynor's dancing of Jack Cole's choreography in "Why Am I So Gone About That Gal?" dazzles, and Kelly's "Rope Dance" with Taina Elg is unique.

I also noticed this time around that LES GIRLS reinforces the fact that, like musical favorite Deanna Durbin, Kelly often played what might be described as a "pill," though his character is forgiven due to so much audience goodwill. Kelly's story arc in many of his musicals is his arrogance being humbled by true love.

Each of the ladies is wonderful in her own way. Elg (who was actually Finnish) is quite glamorous and acquits herself well, while Kendall seems to get the most critical acclaim for her comedic chops; that said, I especially like Gaynor's down-to-earth portrayal of a quietly confident woman. It's interesting that she alone doesn't have the chance to tell her side of things, but she probably would have immediately set everything to rights in a no-nonsense way, and we wouldn't have a movie!

For more on this film, I'd like to direct readers to a thoughtful 2016 take on it from the "Self-Styled Siren," Farran Smith Nehme, for Film Comment.

Disc extras carried over from the original DVD release of nearly two decades ago are a 2003 featurette on Cole Porter featuring Taina Elg; the cartoon FLEA CIRCUS (1954); and the trailer. As with the Warner Archive's other Blu-ray releases, a song selection menu is a very welcome addition to the Blu-ray.

The Warner Archive's Blu-ray releases of MGM musicals over the last few years have been a real joy, and I hope there will be more in the future. I'm crossing my fingers for Fred Astaire's YOLANDA AND THE THIEF (1945)...

Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. Warner Archive Blu-rays may be ordered from the Warner Archive Collection Amazon Store or from any online retailers where Blu-rays are sold.

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