Because
movie-going tastes had begun rapidly changing by 1957, LES GIRLS
($20) probably wasn’t as successful as it might have been had it been
released a few scant years earlier. In the cinematic scheme of things, LES
GIRLS also marked Gene Kelly’s swan song as a leading man in an MGM
musical, as well being the last time that the legendary Cole Porter would
compose songs for a motion picture. With all of that in mind, LES GIRLS
is really more of a comedy with musical numbers, than an actual screen
musical. However, the film’s comedy literally sparkles because of the
presence of the beautiful Kay Kendall, an actress of tremendous comedic
gifts, whose career wasn't allowed to achieve its full potential.
Utilizing
the same storytelling device as Akira Kurosawa’s RASHOMON, LES
GIRLS tells wildly different versions of the same story as the events
of a particular summer are "remembered" by the various
participants. The film opens with Lady Sybil Wren (Kay Kendall) being sued
over the memoir that she has written about her days as a performer in a
trio known as Les Girls. Former costar, Angèle Ducros (Taina Elg) claims
that Sybil’s memoir is slanderous fabrication, with nary an ounce of
truth in it. During the trial, Sybil and Angèle are each called upon to
give testimony, which allows them to recount (via flashback) the summer in
question, during which headliner Barry Nichols (Gene Kelly) and Les Girls
were on tour together. While the Cole Porter tunes for LES GIRLS
aren’t the best of his career, the film does feature one standout
musical number- Why Am I So Gone About That Gal, in which
Kelly gets to do a hilarious spoof on Marlon Brando, as well as
demonstrate his amazing dancing prowess with costar Mitzi Gaynor.
Warner
Home Video has made LES GIRLS available on DVD in a wonderful
looking 2.35:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for
playback on 16:9 displays. This is the absolute best that I’ve ever seen
LES GIRLS look in the home venue, with the image appearing nicely
crisp and well defined. The film element used for the transfer is very
clean; displaying very few age related anomalies or blemishes. A grain
structure is occasionally noticeable, but never particularly pronounced.
Colors are quite nice, and while the hues don’t display the saturation
of IB Technicolor, there are times that the MetroColor elements appear
quite vibrant. Blacks appear deep, whites are clean and the contrast is
smooth. Digital compression artifacts are well concealed throughout.
For
this release, LES GIRLS has had its soundtrack upgraded to the 5.1
channel variety of Dolby Digital. Considering its vintage, this is a very
nice sounding track; fidelity isn’t up to modern standards, but it is
very pleasing nonetheless. The forward soundstage tends to dominate the
mix, with the songs and music having a nice stereo presence. As for the
rears, they supply a bit of ambient and musical fill to the track.
Dialogue is always fully understandable and clean sounding. A French
monaural track is also encoded onto the DVD, along with English, French,
Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which provide access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as some very nice
extras. Cole Porter In Hollywood: Ca, C'est L'Amour is a
nine minute program hosted by Taina Elg that looks back fondly on the
production of LES GIRLS and costar Kay Kendall, whose fire was
prematurely extinguished. Also included on the DVD is the French themed
Tex Avery cartoon Flea Circus, awards listing and a
theatrical trailer.
While
not the perfect musical, LES GIRLS is indeed a comic delight with
five musical numbers thrown in for good measure. Warner has done a fine
job with the DVD presentation, so there is nothing disappointing on that
front. Recommended to genre buffs, Gene Kelly fans and those who remember
or want to discover the effervescent Kay Kendall.
Because
movie-going tastes had begun rapidly changing by 1957, LES GIRLS
($20) probably wasn’t as successful as it might have been had it been
released a few scant years earlier. In the cinematic scheme of things, LES
GIRLS also marked Gene Kelly’s swan song as a leading man in an MGM
musical, as well being the last time that the legendary Cole Porter would
compose songs for a motion picture. With all of that in mind, LES GIRLS
is really more of a comedy with musical numbers, than an actual screen
musical. However, the film’s comedy literally sparkles because of the
presence of the beautiful Kay Kendall, an actress of tremendous comedic
gifts, whose career wasn't allowed to achieve its full potential.
Utilizing
the same storytelling device as Akira Kurosawa’s RASHOMON, LES
GIRLS tells wildly different versions of the same story as the events
of a particular summer are "remembered" by the various
participants. The film opens with Lady Sybil Wren (Kay Kendall) being sued
over the memoir that she has written about her days as a performer in a
trio known as Les Girls. Former costar, Angèle Ducros (Taina Elg) claims
that Sybil’s memoir is slanderous fabrication, with nary an ounce of
truth in it. During the trial, Sybil and Angèle are each called upon to
give testimony, which allows them to recount (via flashback) the summer in
question, during which headliner Barry Nichols (Gene Kelly) and Les Girls
were on tour together. While the Cole Porter tunes for LES GIRLS
aren’t the best of his career, the film does feature one standout
musical number- Why Am I So Gone About That Gal, in which
Kelly gets to do a hilarious spoof on Marlon Brando, as well as
demonstrate his amazing dancing prowess with costar Mitzi Gaynor.
Warner
Home Video has made LES GIRLS available on DVD in a wonderful
looking 2.35:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for
playback on 16:9 displays. This is the absolute best that I’ve ever seen
LES GIRLS look in the home venue, with the image appearing nicely
crisp and well defined. The film element used for the transfer is very
clean; displaying very few age related anomalies or blemishes. A grain
structure is occasionally noticeable, but never particularly pronounced.
Colors are quite nice, and while the hues don’t display the saturation
of IB Technicolor, there are times that the MetroColor elements appear
quite vibrant. Blacks appear deep, whites are clean and the contrast is
smooth. Digital compression artifacts are well concealed throughout.
For
this release, LES GIRLS has had its soundtrack upgraded to the 5.1
channel variety of Dolby Digital. Considering its vintage, this is a very
nice sounding track; fidelity isn’t up to modern standards, but it is
very pleasing nonetheless. The forward soundstage tends to dominate the
mix, with the songs and music having a nice stereo presence. As for the
rears, they supply a bit of ambient and musical fill to the track.
Dialogue is always fully understandable and clean sounding. A French
monaural track is also encoded onto the DVD, along with English, French,
Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which provide access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as some very nice
extras. Cole Porter In Hollywood: Ca, C'est L'Amour is a
nine minute program hosted by Taina Elg that looks back fondly on the
production of LES GIRLS and costar Kay Kendall, whose fire was
prematurely extinguished. Also included on the DVD is the French themed
Tex Avery cartoon Flea Circus, awards listing and a
theatrical trailer.
While
not the perfect musical, LES GIRLS is indeed a comic delight with
five musical numbers thrown in for good measure. Warner has done a fine
job with the DVD presentation, so there is nothing disappointing on that
front. Recommended to genre buffs, Gene Kelly fans and those who remember
or want to discover the effervescent Kay Kendall.
