Not to be confused with Gigli.

Gigi




French film poster

Directed by

Vincente Minnelli

Produced by

Arthur Freed

Written by

Colette (novel)
Alan Jay Lerner (screenplay)

Starring

Leslie Caron
Maurice Chevalier
Louis Jourdan

Music by

Frederick Loewe (music)
Alan Jay Lerner (lyrics

Cinematography

Joseph Ruttenberg, ASC & Ray June

Editing by

Adrienne Fazan

Distributed by

MGM

Release date(s)

May 15, 1958

Running time

119 min.

Language

English

Allmovie profile

IMDb profile

Gigi is a 1958 motion picture musical set in Paris, France. The screenplay was written by Alan Jay Lerner. Alan Jay Lerner (lyrics) and Frederick Loewe (music). It is based on the bestselling novella of the same name by French author, Colette, which was first adapted for the screen with Danièle Delorme in 1948. In 1951, Anita Loos adapted the novel as a play for the stage, and the Broadway production starred Audrey Hepburn in her first major role. Seven years later, producer Arthur Freed approached Lerner about writing a feature film musical adaptation.

Gigi proved to be a major critical and commercial success and the winner of nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture. In 1991, Gigi was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." It is considered the last great MGM musical, and the last great achievement of the Freed Unit, headed by producer Arthur Freed, although he would go on to produce several more films, including the musical Bells Are Ringing in 1960. The film also spawned a stage musical, produced on Broadway in 1973.

Indexed at Wikipedia.