Gene Kelly’s last musical for MGM—driven by Cole Porter’s final film score—is a clever, fun, and stylish tale that explores the relativity of truth. Legendary film director George Cukor (The Philadelphia Story, Born Yesterday) brings a lightly elegant touch to the story of a lawsuit that is brought by Sybil (Kay Kendall) against fellow dancer Angele (Taina Elg). Sybil maintains that Angele had a romance with their former employer (Kelly), a reputedly philandering choreographer and namesake of the "Barry Nichols and Les Girls" dance troupe. As each takes the stand in a packed courtroom, Sybil and Angele both have a chance to spin their versions of the facts in the case. But then comes Barry’s under-oath testimony, in which he describes his sometimes testy romantic pursuit of another dancer, Joy (Mitzi Gaynor), rather than the other two. Between big song-and-dance numbers, the three variations of the story allow for the film’s best element: performances by the stars that present different shadings of their characters, especially Kelly’s impressive fine-tuning of Barry within the multiple scenarios. Cukor masterfully keeps track of the details in the sundry tellings, while cinematographer Robert Surtees does splendid work on both the splashy, widescreen musical interludes and the backstage dramas. Extras include a 2003 "making-of" featurette and a classic Tex Avery cartoon. Highly recommended. (T. Keogh)
Les Girls
Warner, 114 min., not rated, Blu-ray: $21.99 Volume 33, Issue 4
Les Girls
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