Gigi (1958)

At the turn of the century in Paris, a precocious young girl (Leslie Caron) is being raised by her aunt (Isabel Jeans) to be a courtesan. The girl is unaware of this but when a family friend (Louis Jourdan) stops seeing her as a child but as a young woman, plans are set in motion. Based on the book by Collete by way of a hit (non-musical) Broadway play, this Lerner and Loewe musical is near perfection. Elegantly directed by Vincente Minnelli, it sparkles and fizzes propelled by the effervescent Alan Jay Lerner (who also wrote the screenplay) and Frederick Loewe songs. Also, as exquisite as Joseph Ruttenberg's Oscar winning cinematography is, one cannot underestimate Cecil Beaton's contributions of production design and costumes to the film's success. Unfortunately, the ensuing decades have given Maurice Chevalier's opening song Thank Heave For Little Girls, so innocent in 1958, a disturbing implication which was never intended. Winner of a (then) record nine Oscars including best picture. With Eva Gabor, Hermione Gingold, Jacques Bergerac, John Abbott and Monique Van Vooren.