Gui Gui

To say that novelist Colette had a colourful life would be an understatement and no one was better qualified to depict the Game of Love than she. Tragically bed-ridden with arthritis during the German Occupation and with her Jewish husband interned, she transported herself and her readers with this novella to Belle Epoque Paris, an era of which she had first-hand experience, not least regarding the demi-monde.

'Les Grandes Horizontales' as the courtesans of the time were quaintly known, were very much a feature of that world and historically of course the Courtesan has been considered a cut above your average common-or-garden *****(I am obliged to use asterisks so as to conform to IMDb's politically correct guidelines)

In Colette's novella we have fifteen-going-on-sixteen Gigi who is being progressively groomed by her grandmother and great-Aunt, two retired courtesans, to carry on the family tradition of 'pleasing' men. Despite its inherent seediness the novella has been brought to the screen with charm and flair by the sorely underrated Jacqueline Audry with screenplay by her husband Pierre Laroche. Although not universally acknowledged it is generally accepted that Colette contributed to the dialogue and there is little doubt that she welcomed the chance of collaborating with the sole female director of film in France at that time.

This is the first of three adaptations of Colette's works to be filmed by Audry, each of which starred the delectable Daniele Delorme during her 'gamine' period and here she positively shines in the title role. Some have opined that this is her finest role but for this viewer at any rate that distinction must surely belong to her femme fatale in 'Voici le temps des assassins'.

Her fellow players are out of the top drawer with Jean Tissier as loveable old roué Honoré, Frank Villard, who was to be so effective in Audry's later 'Huis Clos', as bored sugar tycoon Gaston, Gaby Morlay as the morally ambiguous Aunt Alicia whilst Cocteau favourite and inveterate scene stealer Yvonne de Bray is magnificent as Mamita.

In Colette's writing the line between the fictional and the autobiographical is often blurred and although the ending of Gigi is ostensibly a happy one with Gigi set to become wife and not mistress, one cannot help but wonder what the future holds for this delightful creature.

Colette passed away before the entertaining and glamorous if somewhat sanitised musical version came out but it is as pointless to compare the two as it is to compare 'Pygmalion' with 'My Fair Lady', 'Liliom' with 'Carousel' or 'Nights of Cabiria' with 'Sweet Charity'.

Arguably not her greatest work, 'Gigi' has certainly struck a chord, proof of which is its enduring popularity and, unsurprisingly, Audry's film was a great success. Although regarded highly by feminist academics, she is a director deserving of and long overdue for reappraisal.

Colette's rather original tale of the education of a teen age girl to become a courtesan or mistress of a rich patron by her grandmother and great aunt, thus carrying out a family tradition, is starkly told with a noticeable lack of emotion. This was likely the director's intention to lend an air of sincerity to what some might consider a frivolous or scandalous story. The cast is quite personable, especially Danielle Delorme in the role of Gigi. This appears to have been her first film in a rather successful career in Europe. For all the sumptuousness of the 1959 musical version, which seemed to me to have an air of "smirking" throughout, I prefer this one.

This delightful film succeeds because of the talents of all who contributed to it, but mostly because of the fresh, light performance of Daniele Delorme in a role that could have been so much less. The young girl's mother and aunt expend extraordinary efforts to develop her into a high class mistress (without letting her in on the plan). This sordid idea is handled with a sure, light touch, succeeding because of the direction, writing and performances, especially that of Delorme, who is sweet but not too sweet, innocent but not too innocent, and above all bright, fresh and unaffected. Conventionally made, but surefooted, deft and captivating. (Not a musical, and not to be confused with the later slick Hollywood version.)

The TCM print (the same shown theatrically in recent years) has the old-fashioned subtitles that fade away completely when the scene has a white background. If you don't know French you may find it too frustrating to be worth watching.

Having grown up on the American version (note my last name), I was surprised that I could accept a very different Gigi. But Danielle Delorme has her own, somewhat less innocent, charm. Perhaps because it's in black and white, and older, this whole film has a somewhat grittier, even documentary feel. One prime example being a cabaret scene that takes place in one of the restaurants which used to be built into the Eiffel Tower - with can-can dancers, no less! For Pariphiles, that sort of thing alone makes this worth viewing.

Still, only the later one will make me cry at the drop of a hat...

Either way, both are extraordinary for how much they extract from a not very long short story. Which is certainly worth reading for those who haven't - disguised as witty light entertainment, it effectively shows a young girl fighting for her life, which is the kind of steel-behind-satin story-telling that makes Colette so wonderful.

Vincente Minnelli's colorful adaptation of Colette's 1944 novel, "Gigi," with its unforgettable Lerner and Lowe score, is so fixated in the public mind that it eclipsed the novel's renown and banished this 1949 French film into oblivion. Fortunately, a less-than-pristine print survives; although the white subtitles are often difficult to decipher, anyone familiar with the MGM musical version will have no trouble following what is almost scene for scene the same story line. However, without the songs, the story of a young girl being groomed in 19th-century French social graces intended to lure rich men moves at a faster pace than Minnelli's film and runs about a half hour less.

The Gallic flavor of the tale has hints of "Lolita" and was tidied up for U.S. audiences of the 1950's. Essentially, Gigi's grandmother and great aunt are training a 15-year old girl to be mistress to a man twice her age. Although actress Daniele Delorme was 29 when the film was made, she clearly states her age in the story as 15 and a half. When 32-year-old Frank Villard, who plays Gaston, puts his hand on her knee, he would be facing child molestation charges today. While her great aunt, played by Gaby Morlay, instructs Gigi in the fine arts of eating lobster, pouring coffee, and choosing cigars, she also teaches her to smoke, and, at one point, she cups Gigi's breasts to check her physical development.

Directed by Jacqueline Audry, "Gigi" is well acted, although Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, and Hermione Gingold are sorely missed; and Louis Jourdan is more of a young girl's dream than the dour Villard. Evidently, the part of Honore was much expanded for the talents of Maurice Chevalier, and the character, played herein by Jean Tissier, is brief. Not surprisingly, the production design also suffers in comparison to the 1958 version. Filmed in black and white, the French film depicts a more modest life for Gigi and her grandmother, and even the luxurious style of Gigi's great aunt and the wealthy Gaston appear compromised herein by budget. However, a few brief glimpses of the Eiffel Tower and Parisian streets are welcome, and Gaston's new automobile is an antique-car aficionado's delight.

Also missed are the songs, especially those sung by Louis Jourdan, which express his changing feelings towards Gigi and his realization that she is no longer a child. In this shorter French version, Gaston's character seemingly flips spontaneously from seeing Gigi as a girl, then a mistress, then a wife. Despite its shortcomings, the 1949 "Gigi" is not a bad film; the story is faithful to the novel, and the performances are quite good. If Vincente Minnelli had not re-filmed the story in color as a musical, Jacqueline Audry's version would have adequately served. However, MGM did produce the 1958 Oscar winner, and this modest adaptation of Colette's novel has been relegated to the archives, where only interested movie lovers will take the time to rediscover its merits.