Gigi
Encyclopedia
Gigi is a 1944
novella
by French
writer Colette
. The plot focuses on a young Paris
ian girl being groomed for a career as a courtesan
and her relationship with the wealthy cultured man named Gaston who falls in love with her and eventually marries her.
The novella was the basis for a 1949 French film
starring Danièle Delorme
and Gaby Morlay
. In 1951, it was adapted for the stage
by Anita Loos
and starring Audrey Hepburn
. Seven years later, a musical film version
with a screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner
and a score by Lerner and Frederick Loewe won the Academy Award for Best Picture
. This film version starred Leslie Caron
and Louis Jourdan. According to Caron in an interview on TCM
, [producer] Arthur Freed
came on the set of Lili
and said "I don't know what they're doing. They're ruining the image I worked so hard to create. I made you a star, I made you glamorous, and you look so pathetic in this grey dress and straight hair and no makeup, you look just pitiful, I've got to make another film to restore you to stardom. Any ideas?" She suggested Collette's story Gigi, having acted in the play in London and loved the story. It had been adapted into a dramatic film in France in with Danielle Delorme. The story of a girl being groomed to be a courtesan by her grandmother made Freed doubt making it as a straight drama would be acceptable to the American censors, so they "cleaned it up" and turned it into a musical.
Lerner and Loewe adapted the film for a 1973 stage musical
that proved to be unsuccessful.
The novella was translated into English by Roger Senhouse
and published (with 'The cat' translated by Antonia White
) in 1953.
1944 in literature
The year 1944 in literature involved some significant new books.-New books:*Samuel Hopkins Adams – Canal Town*Jorge Amado – Terras do Sem Fim *Saul Bellow – Dangling Man*Jorge Luis Borges – Fictions...
novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
by French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
writer Colette
Colette
Colette was the surname of the French novelist and performer Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette . She is best known for her novel Gigi, upon which Lerner and Loewe based the stage and film musical comedies of the same title.-Early life and marriage:Colette was born to retired military officer Jules-Joseph...
. The plot focuses on a young Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
ian girl being groomed for a career as a courtesan
Courtesan
A courtesan was originally a female courtier, which means a person who attends the court of a monarch or other powerful person.In feudal society, the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...
and her relationship with the wealthy cultured man named Gaston who falls in love with her and eventually marries her.
The novella was the basis for a 1949 French film
Gigi (1949 film)
Gigi is a 1949 French comedy film directed by Jacqueline Audry and starring Gaby Morlay, Jean Tissier and Yvonne de Bray. A young woman is manoeuvered into an arranged marriage with an older man, by her scheming aunt. It was based on the novella Gigi written by Colette.A more well-known version of...
starring Danièle Delorme
Danièle Delorme
Danièle Delorme is an French actress and film producer....
and Gaby Morlay
Gaby Morlay
Gaby Morlay was a French film actress. She played Queen Victoria in the 1939 historical film Entente cordiale.-Selected filmography:* When Love Is Over * Le Scandale * Nuits de feu...
. In 1951, it was adapted for the stage
Gigi (1951 play)
Gigi was a popular Broadway play based on Colette's 1945 novel of the same name, starring Audrey Hepburn in the title role.-Plot:The play's plot generally follows that of the original story, focusing on a young 19th century Parisian girl being groomed for a career as a courtesan. Gigi lives with...
by Anita Loos
Anita Loos
Anita Loos was an American screenwriter, playwright and author.-Early life:Born Corinne Anita Loos in Sisson, California , where her father, R. Beers Loos, had opened a tabloid newspaper for which her mother, Minerva "Minnie" Smith did most of the work of a newspaper publisher...
and starring Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century...
. Seven years later, a musical film version
Gigi (1958 film)
Gigi is a 1958 musical film directed by Vincente Minnelli. The screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner is based on the 1944 novella of the same name by Colette...
with a screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner
Alan Jay Lerner
Alan Jay Lerner was an American lyricist and librettist. In collaboration with Frederick Loewe, he created some of the world's most popular and enduring works of musical theatre for both the stage and on film...
and a score by Lerner and Frederick Loewe won the Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
. This film version starred Leslie Caron
Leslie Caron
Leslie Claire Margaret Caron is a French film actress and dancer, who appeared in 45 films between 1951 and 2003. In 2006, her performance in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit won her an Emmy for guest actress in a drama series...
and Louis Jourdan. According to Caron in an interview on TCM
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
, [producer] Arthur Freed
Arthur Freed
Arthur Freed was born Arthur Grossman in Charleston, South Carolina. He was a Jewish American lyricist and a Hollywood film producer.- Biography :Freed began his career as a song-plugger and pianist in Chicago...
came on the set of Lili
Lili
Lili is an American film. An MGM release, it stars Leslie Caron as a touchingly naïve French girl, whose emotional relationship with a carnival puppeteer is conducted through the medium of four puppets...
and said "I don't know what they're doing. They're ruining the image I worked so hard to create. I made you a star, I made you glamorous, and you look so pathetic in this grey dress and straight hair and no makeup, you look just pitiful, I've got to make another film to restore you to stardom. Any ideas?" She suggested Collette's story Gigi, having acted in the play in London and loved the story. It had been adapted into a dramatic film in France in with Danielle Delorme. The story of a girl being groomed to be a courtesan by her grandmother made Freed doubt making it as a straight drama would be acceptable to the American censors, so they "cleaned it up" and turned it into a musical.
Lerner and Loewe adapted the film for a 1973 stage musical
Gigi (musical)
Gigi is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. It is based on the novella Gigi by Colette and 1958 hit musical film of the same name. The story concerns Gigi, a free-spirited teenaged girl living in Paris at the turn of the 20th century. She is being...
that proved to be unsuccessful.
The novella was translated into English by Roger Senhouse
Roger Senhouse
Roger Henry Pocklington Senhouse was an English publisher and translator, and a member of the Bloomsbury Group of writers, intellectuals, and artists...
and published (with 'The cat' translated by Antonia White
Antonia White
Antonia White was a British writer.-Early life:White was born as Eirine Botting to parents Cecil and Christine Botting. She later took her mother's maiden name, White. Her father taught Greek and Latin at St. Paul’s School...
) in 1953.
See also
- Gigi (1949 film)Gigi (1949 film)Gigi is a 1949 French comedy film directed by Jacqueline Audry and starring Gaby Morlay, Jean Tissier and Yvonne de Bray. A young woman is manoeuvered into an arranged marriage with an older man, by her scheming aunt. It was based on the novella Gigi written by Colette.A more well-known version of...
- Gigi (1951 play)Gigi (1951 play)Gigi was a popular Broadway play based on Colette's 1945 novel of the same name, starring Audrey Hepburn in the title role.-Plot:The play's plot generally follows that of the original story, focusing on a young 19th century Parisian girl being groomed for a career as a courtesan. Gigi lives with...
- Gigi (1958 film)Gigi (1958 film)Gigi is a 1958 musical film directed by Vincente Minnelli. The screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner is based on the 1944 novella of the same name by Colette...
- Gigi (musical)Gigi (musical)Gigi is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. It is based on the novella Gigi by Colette and 1958 hit musical film of the same name. The story concerns Gigi, a free-spirited teenaged girl living in Paris at the turn of the 20th century. She is being...