An American in Paris
original movie poster
Directed by	Vincente Minnelli
Produced by	Arthur Freed
Written by	Alan Jay Lerner
Starring	Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, Georges Guétary, Nina Foch
Distributed by	Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Release date(s)	October 4, 1951
Running time	113 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$2,723,903 (est.)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

An American in Paris is a 1951 musical film inspired by the 1928 classical composition by George Gershwin. Starring Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, and Oscar Levant, the film is set in Paris, and was directed by Vincente Minnelli from a script by Alan Jay Lerner. The choreography is by Gene Kelly. All the music is by George and Ira Gershwin. The climax is an 18 minute ballet featuring Kelly and Caron and set to Gershwin's An American in Paris. The ballet alone cost more than half a million dollars, a staggering sum in those days. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Vincente Minnelli (February 28, 1903 – July 25, 1986) was a famous Hollywood director and accomplished stage director, often considered by critics to be the father of the modern musical. ... Arthur Freed (September 9, 1894 - April 12, 1973) was born Arthur Grossman in Down Ton Ton Village. ... Alan Jay Lerner (August 31, 1918 – June 14, 1986) was an American Broadway lyricist and librettist. ... For the similarly-named American actress, see Jean Kelly. ... Leslie Caron (IPA: ) (born July 1, 1931) is an Oscar-nominated, Golden Globe-winning, and Emmy-winning motion picture actress and dancer. ... Oscar Levant (December 27, 1906 - August 14, 1972) was an American pianist, composer, author, comedian, and an actor, better known for his mordant character and witticisms, on the radio and in movies and television, than his music. ... Nina Foch (b. ... “MGM” redirects here. ... is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Year 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The musical film is a film genre in which several songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative. ... An American in Paris is a symphonic composition by American composer George Gershwin which debuted in 1928. ... Gershwin redirects here. ... For the similarly-named American actress, see Jean Kelly. ... Leslie Caron (IPA: ) (born July 1, 1931) is an Oscar-nominated, Golden Globe-winning, and Emmy-winning motion picture actress and dancer. ... Oscar Levant (December 27, 1906 - August 14, 1972) was an American pianist, composer, author, comedian, and an actor, better known for his mordant character and witticisms, on the radio and in movies and television, than his music. ... This article is about the capital of France. ... Vincente Minnelli (February 28, 1903 – July 25, 1986) was a famous Hollywood director and accomplished stage director, often considered by critics to be the father of the modern musical. ... Alan Jay Lerner (August 31, 1918 – June 14, 1986) was an American Broadway lyricist and librettist. ... Gershwin redirects here. ... Ira Gershwin (6 December 1896 – 17 August 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century. ... An American in Paris is a symphonic composition by American composer George Gershwin which debuted in 1928. ...

Plot

Jerry Mulligan (Kelly) is an exuberant American expatriate trying to make a living in Paris as a painter. His friend Adam (Levant) is a struggling pianist who's a long time associate of a famous singer, Henri Baurel (Georges Guétary). A lonely society woman (Nina Foch) takes Jerry under her wing and supports him, only to have Jerry fall for Lise (Leslie Caron), a French girl he meets at a restaurant. Lise loves him as well, but she is already in a relationship with Henri, whom she feels indebted to for having saved her family during World War II. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Nina Foch (b. ...

The plot is interspersed with showstopping dance numbers choreographed by Gene Kelly and set to popular Gershwin tunes. Songs and music include "I Got Rhythm," "I'll Build A Stairway to Paradise," "S'Wonderful," "Our Love is Here to Stay" and Concerto in F. I Got Rhythm is a song composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, published in 1930, which became a widely-known jazz standard. ... S Wonderful is a popular song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics written by Ira Gershwin. ... Our Love Is Here to Stay is a popular song and a jazz standard. ... Concerto in F is a composition by George Gershwin for solo piano and orchestra which is closer in form to a traditional concerto than the earlier jazz-influenced Rhapsody in Blue. ...

Awards

• Academy Award for Best Picture - Arthur Freed, producer
• Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
• Academy Award for Best Art - Set Decoration, Color - E. Preston Ames, Cedric Gibbons, F. Keogh Gleason, and Edwin B. Willis
• Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Color - John Alton and Alfred Gilks
• Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Color - Orry-Kelly, Walter Plunkett, and Irene Sharaff
• Academy Award for Best Musical Score - Saul Chaplin and Johnny Green
• Academy Award for Best Writing, Scoring and Screenplay - Alan Jay Lerner
• Writers Guild of America Award for Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen - Alan Jay Lerner

// The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Academy Awards, awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which are voted on by others within the industry. ... Arthur Freed (September 9, 1894 - April 12, 1973) was born Arthur Grossman in Down Ton Ton Village. ... Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy has been awarded annually since 1952 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. ... The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. ... E. Preston Ames (1906 - 1983) first made inroads into Hollywood when he was a draftsman working on The Wizard of Oz in 1939. ... Cedric Gibbons in Dublin, Ireland, (23 March 1893 - 26 July 1960 was the art director at MGM studios. ... Francis Keogh Gleason (1906 - 1982) was a resident set decorator at MGM studios for over 40 years. ... Edwin B. Willis (b. ... Charles Rosher the first recipient in 1928 The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is awarded each year to a cinematographer for his work in one particular motion picture. ... Johann Altmann (October 5, 1901 – June 2, 1996), photographed some of the most famous films noir of the classic period. ... Alfred Gilks (1891 - 1970) was a cinematographer from 1920 through to 1956. ... This Academy Award was first given for movies made in 1948 when separate awards were given for black-and-white and color movies. ... Orry-Kelly was the professional name of John Orry Kelly (31 December 1897 - 27 February 1964), a prolific Hollywood costume designer. ... WALTER PLUNKETT (1902-1985) Famed Hollywood Costume Designer Born in 1902, Walter Plunkett first worked as an actor, much like his peers Orry-Kelly and Charles Lemair. ... Irene Sharaff (b. ... The Academy Award for Original Music Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer. ... Saul Chaplin (born February 19, 1912 - died November 15, 1997) was one of Hollywoods preeminent composers and musical directors. ... For the basketball player see Johnny Green (basketball) Johnny Green (10 October 1908, New York, New York – 15 May 1989 Los Angeles) was an American songwriter, composer, musical arranger, and conductor. ... // The Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best script not based upon previously published material. ... Alan Jay Lerner (August 31, 1918 – June 14, 1986) was an American Broadway lyricist and librettist. ... The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is the collective bargaining representative, or labor union, for writers in the motion picture and television industries in the United States. ...

Nominations

• Academy Award for Best Director - Vincente Minnelli
• Golden Globe Award for Best Director - Motion Picture - Vincente Minnelli
• Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy - Gene Kelly
• Academy Award for Best Film Editing - Adrienne Fazan

Gene Kelly received an honorary Academy Award that year for "his versatility as an actor, singer, director and dancer, and specifically for his brilliant achievements in the art of choreography on film." It was his only Oscar. The Academy Award for Directing is one of the awards given to directors working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. ... Golden Globe Award for Best Director - Motion Picture has been awarded annually since 1944 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. ... The Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951. ... For the similarly-named American actress, see Jean Kelly. ... The Academy Award for Film Editing was first given for films issued in 1934. ... One of several leading female editors from the golden age of Hollywood, Adrienne Fazan (1906 – 1986) first started cutting films in 1933. ... For the similarly-named American actress, see Jean Kelly. ...

In 1993, "An American in Paris" was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The National Film Registry is the registry of films selected by the United States National Film Preservation Board for preservation in the Library of Congress. ...

In 2006 this film ranked #9 on the American Film Institute's list of best musicals. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Part of the AFI 100 Years. ...

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

The film was shot on Hollywood sets, so it features some quirks in the occasional French dialogue. Notably, near the beginning of the I Got Rhythm number, one of the "French" kids says Jerry, parle anglais à nous, which sounds rather curious. In the French soundtrack, which switches to the original sound for the duration of the songs, the à nous is masked through a plop sound, to make the sentence more palatable. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ...

There is a cameo representation of Winston Churchill painting during the opening section of the movie. Churchill redirects here. ...

Hollywood movies set in France seldom used location shooting or native speakers. However, great care was sometimes put into reproducing Paris surroundings, as in American in Paris or Irma La Douce. Ironically, a lot of older French Paris-based movies were studio work as well and the same art directors (e.g. Alexandre Trauner) were sometimes working on both sides of the ocean... First language (native language, mother tongue) is the language a person learns first. ... Irma la Douce is a 1956 French stage musical whose book and lyrics were written by Alexandre Breffort with music by Marguerite Monnot. ... Alexandre Trauner (August 3, 1906 in Budapest, Hungary- December 5, 1993 in Omonville-la-Petite, France) was a set designer. ...

Oscar Levant, who plays Adam Cook, was one of George Gershwin's closest friends in real life. Oscar Levant (December 27, 1906 - August 14, 1972) was an American pianist, composer, author, comedian, and an actor, better known for his mordant character and witticisms, on the radio and in movies and television, than his music. ...