CAN CAN

Can-Can
(aka "Cole Porter's Can-Can")
20th Century-Fox, 1960, Color, 131 minutes, ***½
Released March, 1960

Any musical denounced by Nikita Khrushchev as being "immoral" can't be all bad! Shirley MacLaine is the Gay Paree nightclub owner charged with indecency, and Frank Sinatra is the lawyer who defends and falls in love with her. Maurice Chevalier, Louis Jourdan co-star. Lively Cole Porter score includes "I Love Paris," "Let's Do It," "C'est Magnifique."

Great story, great music, great cast. Fine entertainment. The only thing I have a problem with is that it doesn't feel like a period piece - it's set in 1896, but it feels a lot like 1960 or thereabouts. I think it's largely the dialogue and the dance numbers (not including the Can-Can). Speaking of the Can-Can, it's great -- once they get to it! Highly entertaining film!

The story begins at Montmartre, 1896

Producer: Jack Cummings
Associate Producer: Saul Chaplin
Directed by: Walter Lang
Assistant Director: Joseph E. Rickards
Screenplay by: Dorothy Kingsley and Charles Lederer
Based on the Musical Comedy by Abe Burrows
Produced on the stage by Feuer and Martin
Songs by: Cole Porter
Music Arranged and Conducted by: Nelson Riddle
Vocal Supervision by" Bobby Tucker
Dances Staged by: Hermes Pan
Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler, Jack Martin Smith
Set Decorations: Walter M. Scott, Paul S. Fox
Costumes Designed by: Irene Sharaff
Makeup by: Ben Nye
Hair Styles by: Myrl Stoltz
Sound Recording Supervised by: Fred Hynes
Sound: W. D. Flick
Director of Photography: William H. Daniels
Produced in TODD-AO, Color by Deluxe
Color Consultant: Leonard Doss
Film Editor: Robert Simpson

Awards: Academy Award nominations for Best Score - Musical (Nelson Riddle), Best Costume Design - Color (Irene Sharaff)

Cast: Frank Sinatra [Francois Durnais], Shirley MacLaine [Simone Pistache], Maurice Chevalier [Paul Barriere], Louis Jourdan [Philipe Forrestier], Juliet Prowse [Claudine], Marcel Dalio [Andre, the Headwaiter], Leon Belasco [Arturo, the Orchestra Leader], Nestor Paiva [Bailiff], John A. Neris [Photographer], Jean Del Val [Judge Merceaux], Ann Codee [League President], Additional Cast: Genevieve Aumont [Secretary], Eugene Borden [Chevrolet], Carole Bryan [Gigi], Charles Carmen [Knife Thrower], Barbara Carter [Camille], Peter Coe [Dupont, Policeman], Marcel De la Brosse [Plainclothesman], Jane Earl [Renee], Ruth Earl [Julie], Laura Fraser [Germaine], Renee Godfrey [Dowager], Jonathan Kidd [Recorder], Edward Le Veque [Judge], Vera Lee [Gabrielle], Ambrogio Malerba [Apache Dancer], Maurice Marsac [Bailiff], Alphonse Martell [Butler], Lisa Mitchell [Fifi], Wanda Shannon [Maxine], Wilda Taylor [Lili], Darlene Tittle [Giselle], Lili Valenty [Dowager], Marc Wilder [Adam]

Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (includes Choral vocal of "I Love Paris") (played by Orchestra, sung by Chorus behind titles); [0:02] Montmartre (sung by Frank Sinatra, Maurice Chevalier and Chorus); [0:04] Maidens Typical of France (sung and danced by Juliet Prowse and Girls Chorus); [0:09] Can Can (danced by Shirley MacLaine, Juliet Prowse and Girls Chorus); [0:17] C'est Magnifique (sung by Frank Sinatra); [0:24] Quadrille (?) (danced by Shirley MacLaine and Ensemble); [0:35] C'est Magnifique (sung by Shirley MacLain); [0:38] Can Can (danced by Shirley MacLaine and Girls Chorus); [0:45] Live and Let Live (sung by Maurice Chevalier and Louis Jourdan); [0:53] You Do Something to Me (sung by Louis Jourdan); [0:58] Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love) (sung by Frank Sinatra and Shirley MacLaine); [1:14] It's All Right with Me (sung by Frank Sinatra); [1:20] Live and Let Live (reprised by Maurice Chevalier and Louis Jourdan); [1:29] Come Along with Me (sung by Shirley MacLaine); [1:37] Just One of Those Things (sung by Maurice Chevalier); [1:43] Adam and Eve (instrumental arrangement of "I Love Paris" danced by Shirley MacLaine, Marc Wilder and Chorus); [1:55] It's All Right with Me (reprised by Louis Jourdan); [2:05] Can Can (danced by Juliet Prowse, Shirley MacLaine and Girls Chorus); [2:10] I Love Paris (short excerpt sung by Chorus at end of film)