Gigi (1949)

A naive young girl called Gigi (Danielle Delorme) being raised by her grandmother (Yvonne De Bray) is quite fond of the dashing playboy (Frank Villard) who visits them regularly. But the girls' great Aunt (Gaby Morlay), who is training the young girl in the ways of a courtesan (the family "business"), sees the visitor as an opportunity to make a profitable alliance for the girl. Based on the novella by Colette and directed by Jacqueline Audry, one of France's first female directors to have a successful career in film. The 1949 film (the Colette novella had also been adapted for the stage in 1951 starring an unknown Audrey Hepburn) has been eclipsed by the Oscar winning 1958 musical which is too bad for this B&W version is quite charming if less elaborate. Audry balances the story's comical aspect with its tender budding romance and without the songs of the 1958 film, the movie is allowed to move along swiftly and finish under 90 minutes without losing a thing. With Jean Tissier and Madeleine Rousset.