Turns out, the movie wasn't even shot in France! Practically the entire film (except for just a handful of shots) was done on a back-lot at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio in Hollywood, California. !! (To read more, visit http://geneius.webs.com/thisstarcalledparis.htm.)
So far, my FAVORITE French movie is An American in Paris, starring the incomparable Gene Kelly and beautiful Leslie Caron. The movie captures what Five Months Until Paris blog readers say they love most about The City of Light ...
... its incredibly contagious atmosphere, where hope seems to spring eternal. If you haven't seen this movie, do so immediately and be in for a delight that's even better than a freshly baked macaron
An American in Paris was made in 1951 - and it undoubtedly influenced this next bit of entertainment I'd like to share with you. From the same time period, here's a little humor - I Love Lucy style - about Paris. And as you'll see, should you get in trouble, you'd better be able to speak French! The shenanigans start here in an I Love Lucy Paris at Last episode that aired in 1956. In this episode, Lucy thinks she's discovered an unknown, struggling artist much like Gene Kelly's artist character in An American in Paris. Turns out Lucy's artist find is a fraud, out to take her francs - which by the way are counterfeit!
When Lucy is caught passing counterfeit francs (before there even was such a thing as the euro) at a outdoor cafe, she's whisked off to a Paris jail. In this clip, Ricky comes to her rescue at the jail and tries to help her out.
~ The gaming on Sorority Life in Paris is magnificent!! With lots of haute couture "glam" to buy with our fake money and bonus points. My Marsha DeLite character bought a cute Can-Can costume. Check it out!
And the gaming events even "teach" a little about the Paris sights - from a Sorority Sister point of view, that is. A bit sophomoric, yes, but fun.
On the downside, I haven't been keeping up with my French movie "fest" activities. The last French-related movie I watched was ...
In preparation from my upcoming trip to Paris, and I watched "The Last Time I Saw Paris."
Elizabeth is Taylor is beautiful in this flick! Halfway through the movie, she cuts her hair short and looks so gamine - like these famous gamine girls, one of whom is French ...
Here's a clip from the movie:
You can watch the movie - in full - online by clicking here.
"The Last Time I Saw Paris" is loosely based on the famous F. Scott Fitzgerald short story "Babylon Revisited" and stars Elizabeth Taylor and Van Johnson - along with a very young Roger Moore (who I never knew was so handsome, almost statue/Greek godlike). I enjoyed the snips of French spoken here and there in the movie. It tells the tale of Americans living in Paris, their dalliances and brush with fortune, as well as tragedy. At one point in the movie, Elizabeth Taylor's character, Helen - dressed in a yellow dress - is arrested for swimming in a public fountain and her husband has to go and get her. Later, they stop in a bar where an artist paints a picture of Helen emerging from the fountain in her yellow dress.
I wonder if the Paris bar where Helen is painted on the wall actually exists - does anyone know? Maybe I will have to go and look for it.
