This weekend is the Maurice Chevalier double feature for local classic film buffs. "Gigi" and "Love in the Afternoon" -- I love both of these movies, though they deal with very adult themes in a very innocent way. "Love in the Afternoon" was a resounding flop in America. Even when director Billy Wilder was forced to add a Chevalier voiceover that Gary Cooper's character and Audrey Hepburn's character were married and living in New York.
Chevalier steals this movie -- but Gary Cooper is a bit hard to take at his age in this role. It's believable, but not necessarily romantic. The scenes in this movie are so beautiful. I love Billy Wilder's films. They really are an art form. He was one of the directors we studied in college.
So, Maurice Chevalier, do you get it?
I watched Gigi every time it came on tv when I was younger. It wasn't until I was older that I figured out what the movie was about. I thought M. Chevalier was such a romantic figure and I made it a point to visit Maxims (the outside only - I was a poor college student) when I went to Paris. Now though, when I watch it he comes off slightly pervy when he sings "Thank Heaven for Little Girls". Of course, that is simply older / mildly more cynical me. Unfortunately, my boys have zero interest in the movie I so loved at their age; all they want to see is Star Wars.
Posted by: Betsy | July 07, 2012 at 12:22 PM
I know, sometimes losing our innocence changes things for the worse, doesn't it? LOL
Posted by: Kristin Billerbeck | July 07, 2012 at 12:54 PM
Fun fact: He's my fifth cousin on my Dad's side. So I grew up watching these movies. Never so much from the filmology standpoint, but from the--this is our family's one claim to greatness standpoint. But I always loved listening to his voice.
Posted by: Erynn Newman (@ErynnNewman) | July 07, 2012 at 01:12 PM
That is a GREAT fact. How fun is that??
Posted by: Kristin Billerbeck | July 07, 2012 at 01:22 PM
Recently watched "Love in the Afternoon" with my daughter. Loved Maurice Chevalier in that movie, Gary Cooper, not so much.
Posted by: Shannon | July 07, 2012 at 03:27 PM
Yeah, he really lacks charm in that movie. He really was too old for that part. I wonder what their age difference was between Gary Cooper and Maurice I mean.
Looked it up. Maurice was 69 when it came out. Gary Cooper was 56 (and he died young, I think like at sixty) Audrey was 28 when it came out, so Gary Cooper had a hard time being charming in that. He's very stiff in the performance, and his character is not likable.
Posted by: Kristin Billerbeck | July 07, 2012 at 03:36 PM
I love the move Gigi! I remember making my roommate watch it with me and she hated it. Now my grand kids call me Gigi. Hmmmm....
Posted by: belindapeterson@tds.net | July 07, 2012 at 07:50 PM
On the same vein as my last comment, I was looking through my Netflix queue and saw this - http://www.amazon.com/Sooner-Later-Denise-Miller/dp/B000056T4G. I was 12 when I first saw this movie and thought it was so romantic. Yeah, now Rex Smith just comes off as majorly pervy, and I cringed through most of the movie. :)
Posted by: Betsy | July 08, 2012 at 02:53 PM
I watched "Forrest Gump" last night and I thought it did a great job of showing the outcome of abuse, but it really is an adult story. I always thought I didn't care for it because of the sixties stuff (because the writing/story/idea/acting is EXCELLENT) but it's really a pretty dark tale too.
I haven't seen that movie you're talking about. It's so funny how we get stuff seared into our minds from a young age. LOL
Posted by: Kristin Billerbeck | July 08, 2012 at 03:05 PM