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“An American in Paris” swept the Academy Awards in 1951, taking home awards for best picture, as well as in the major technical categories of screenplay, score, cinematography, art direction, set design, and even a special award for the choreography of the film’s closing ballet extravaganza, which lasted 18 minutes and was choreographed by George Balanchine.
Singin’ in the Rain, which was released in 1952 and continued the remarkable golden age of MGM musicals, did not do nearly so well when it was first released, and it was a critical and commercial failure. “Singin’ in the Rain” was routinely regarded as the greatest of all Hollywood musicals by 1960, and “An American in Paris” was remembered with more reverence than enthusiasm at the time.
Now that the film has been restored for a national theatrical release and a possible re-release on videotapes and laserdiscs, it’s easy to see why “Singin’ in the Rain” outperformed it in terms of box office gross and popularity. Essentially, it’s a clothesline on which to hang recycled Gershwin songs (“I Got Rhythm,” “S’Wonderful”) and a corny story of love won, lost, and won again. The film is about two Americans living in Montparnasse – a struggling painter (Gene Kelly) and a perpetual piano student (Oscar Levant) – who fall in love with each other. When compared to “Singin’ in the Rain,” which was a tart satire of Hollywood at the dawn of the talkies, this is rather tame fare.
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Nonetheless, “American” has many distinguishing characteristics of its own, not the least of which is its famous ballet production number, in which Kelly and Leslie Caron dance to represent the entire story of their courtship. Moreover, there are other production numbers, which are set in everyday Parisian settings, and which are endlessly inventive in their use of props and locations in their execution.
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It is strange how closely the plots of the two films are similar. In both films, Kelly must end his romance of convenience with a predatory older blonde (Nina Foch in “American,” Jean Hagen in “Singin’ in the Rain”) in order to follow his heart to a younger, more innocent brunette (Nina Foch in “American,” Jean Hagen in “Singin’ in the Rain” (Leslie Caron and Debbie Reynolds). In both films, he is advised by a best friend (Oscar Levant in the first and Donald O’Connor in the second). And in both stories, there is a dramatic moment when everything appears to be lost, just as everything appears to be about to be gained.
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“Singin’ in the Rain” is the more realistic film, which may explain why it has held up better over time. In “American,” there are scenes that are completely inexplicable, such as the one in which Levant joins Kelly and their French friend Henri (Georges Guetary) at a cafe. Following the realization that they are both head over heels in love with the same woman, Levant begins to smoke several cigarettes while simultaneously attempting to drink coffee.
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Perhaps it appeared amusing at the time.
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As well as this, there’s an interesting contrast between the Nina Foch character – a possessive rich woman who hopes to buy Kelly’s affections – and Jean Hagen’s brassy blonde, who is a silent movie star whose shrieking voice is out of place in the sound era. Foch’s blonde is simply sour and unpleasant to the taste. Hagen’s blonde is amusing and entertaining. As a matter of fact, there’s no comparing the two ingenues: Caron, who’s still in his infancy and is an excellent dancer but a mediocre actress; and Reynolds, who’s already a pro in her feature film debut, perky and bright-eyed.
According to the experts at Turner Entertainment, the version that is now being released is a “true” restoration. They claim that the work they did on “American” is comparable to the salvage work done on films such as “Gone With the Wind” and “Lawrence of Arabia.” Because a fire destroyed two reels of the original negative, it was necessary to conduct extensive lab work in order to match the reels to the remaining reels of the film. The result is a print that is bright and fresh-looking, with colors that are (most likely intentionally) less saturated and bold than those produced by the classic Technicolor process.
According to the advertisements, the movie is now in stereo. This is not entirely correct. It is only the 18-minute ballet that has been reprocessed into a sort of reconstructed stereo, and it is possible that if a theater plays the entire film in stereo, the result will be the kind of raw-edged sound I heard at a press screening before the projectionist eventually gave up and switched to mono. The best option would probably be to start in mono and physically switch to stereo when the ballet begins – although I’m baffled as to why so much effort is put into creating quasi-stereo effects in the first place. Real reasons to see “An American in Paris” are the Kelly dance sequences, the closing ballet, the Gershwin songs, the bright locations, and a few moments of Oscar Levant’s indescribable, always curiously sad charm.
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