Can-Can (C or 2/4 stars)
'Can-Can' (directed by Walter Lang) looks to capture the same je ne sais quoi that Gigi offered 2 yrs. prior, but while I found this to be an initially nice, if somewhat lackluster version of Cole Porter's musical set in Paris, 1896 ... the ending all but ruins any enjoyment that I had beforehand. But I digress, for now. Based on a hit play, the story highlights Simone Pastiche (Shirley MacLaine) as a vivacious cafe owner who is hell bent on keeping her notorious "dirty" Can-Can dance going in her Paris cabaret. See, in the Montmarte district, the dance has been ruled as lewd & banned by French law; so the police raid her cafe.
Francois Dumais (Ratpacker Frank Sinatra) is her lawyer boyfriend who fights hard to keep her out of jail by telling the court of the 'artistic merits' of the salacious Can-Can. The high-class, but hard-nosed young judge hearing the case is Philippe Forrestier (Louis Jourdan). His boss, the kind & elderly chief judge Paul Barriare (Maurice Chevalier), is a close friend of Francois, who would love to dismiss the case altogether. Simone has bribed the police, & is released from custody due to lack of evidence. Judge Philippe goes unrecognized to the club as a rich patron & gets Simone to blab about the bribery.
But rather than lock Simone up, he falls in love her. In gratitude for not throwing her in the clinker, Simone returns the passionate kiss that he lays on her. He then proposes. She turns him down. She asks Francois to propose. He turns her down. And she promptly tells him that she will then marry Philippe -- it's all SO ridiculous. And after the big climactic scene at the club, in which members of the Court witness the Can-Can show to see for themselves how fabulous it really is ... the decision Simone makes outside the club is absolutely nonsensical. As a viewer, you watch the film, you get to know the characters & their motivations, likes, dislikes; you witness the plot developments -- and then -- the rug is pulled from under you in the last 45 seconds. Reprehensible!!
I should be giving this movie an F instead of a C, but I enjoyed too many of the classic Cole Porter songs: C'est Magnifique, l Love Paris, Let's Do It, Live & Let Live, You Do Something to Me, & Just One of Those Things. All of these song-&-dance sequences are well-adorned (Irene Sharaff's threads), well-sung, & well-staged by the engaging MacLaine, newcomer Juliet Prowse (as Claudine), Louis Jourdan & Maurice Chevalier. You know, it's pretty hard to top a Vincente Minelli movie musical, and with his 2nd rate 'Can-Can', it's clear that Walter Lang was not the man to do it.
Francois Dumais (Ratpacker Frank Sinatra) is her lawyer boyfriend who fights hard to keep her out of jail by telling the court of the 'artistic merits' of the salacious Can-Can. The high-class, but hard-nosed young judge hearing the case is Philippe Forrestier (Louis Jourdan). His boss, the kind & elderly chief judge Paul Barriare (Maurice Chevalier), is a close friend of Francois, who would love to dismiss the case altogether. Simone has bribed the police, & is released from custody due to lack of evidence. Judge Philippe goes unrecognized to the club as a rich patron & gets Simone to blab about the bribery.
But rather than lock Simone up, he falls in love her. In gratitude for not throwing her in the clinker, Simone returns the passionate kiss that he lays on her. He then proposes. She turns him down. She asks Francois to propose. He turns her down. And she promptly tells him that she will then marry Philippe -- it's all SO ridiculous. And after the big climactic scene at the club, in which members of the Court witness the Can-Can show to see for themselves how fabulous it really is ... the decision Simone makes outside the club is absolutely nonsensical. As a viewer, you watch the film, you get to know the characters & their motivations, likes, dislikes; you witness the plot developments -- and then -- the rug is pulled from under you in the last 45 seconds. Reprehensible!!
I should be giving this movie an F instead of a C, but I enjoyed too many of the classic Cole Porter songs: C'est Magnifique, l Love Paris, Let's Do It, Live & Let Live, You Do Something to Me, & Just One of Those Things. All of these song-&-dance sequences are well-adorned (Irene Sharaff's threads), well-sung, & well-staged by the engaging MacLaine, newcomer Juliet Prowse (as Claudine), Louis Jourdan & Maurice Chevalier. You know, it's pretty hard to top a Vincente Minelli movie musical, and with his 2nd rate 'Can-Can', it's clear that Walter Lang was not the man to do it.