Can-Can (film)

Infobox Film
name = Can-Can


caption = Original film poster
director = Walter Lang
producer = Jack Cummings
Saul Chaplin
writer = Dorothy Kingsley
Charles Lederer
Abe Burrows(play)
starring = Shirley MacLaine
Frank Sinatra
Louis Jourdan
Maurice Chevalier
Juliet Prowse
Marcel Dalio
music = Cole Porter (Composer Music Score)
Nelson Riddle (Musical Direction)
cinematography = William H. Daniels
editing = Robert L. Simpson
distributor = Twentieth Century-Fox
released = 9 March 1960
runtime = 131 min.
country = US
awards =
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0053690

"Can-Can" is a 1960 musical film made by Suffolk-Cummings productions and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Walter Lang, produced by Jack Cummings and Saul Chaplin, from a screenplay by Dorothy Kingsley and Charles Lederer, based on the musical play by Abe Burrows with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. Art direction was by Jack Martin Smith and Lyle R. Wheeler, costume design by Irene Sharaff and dance staging by Hermes Pan. The film was photographed in Todd-AO. It was, after "Ben-Hur", the top grossing film of 1960.

The film starred Shirley MacLaine, Frank Sinatra, Louis Jourdan, Maurice Chevalier and introduced Juliet Prowse in her first film role. Sinatra, who was paid $200,000 along with a percentage of the film's profits, acted in the film under a contractual obligation required by 20th Century Fox after walking off the set of Carousel in 1954.

Musical Score

The film contains what critics now consider some of Cole Porter's most enduring songs, including "I Love Paris", "It's All Right With Me", and "C'est Magnifique". (At the time of the show's premiere in 1953, however, many critics complained that Porter was now turning out material far below his usual standard.) Some of the songs from the original Broadway musical were replaced by other, more famous Porter songs, including "Let's Do It", "Just One of Those Things" and "You Do Something to Me". Oddly enough, "I Love Paris" is sung by the chorus over the opening credits, instead of being sung in the actual story by Sinatra. A version by Sinatra, however, was featured on the movie soundtrack album.

Plot alterations

The plotline of the musical was also somewhat revised. In the stage version, the judge was the leading character. In the film, it is the lover (Sinatra) of the nightclub owner (Shirley MacLaine) who is the lead, and the judge (played by Louis Jourdan) forms the other half of a love triangle not found in the play.

International Controversy

During the filming, Soviet premier Nikita Kruschev famously visited the 20th Century Fox studios [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,869193,00.html] and was allegedly shocked by the goings-on. He took the opportunity to make propagandistic use of his visit and described the dance, and by extension, American culture as "depraved" and "pornographic" [http://www.usask.ca/relst/jrpc/art12-goodandbad-print.html]

Awards and Nominations

Academy Awards, 1961:

* "Nominated" - Best Costume Design
* "Nominated" - Best Original Music Score

Golden Globe Awards, 1961:

* "Nominated" Best Motion Picture, Musical

Grammy Awards, 1961:

* "Winner" - Best Motion Picture Soundtrack

External links

*imdb title|id=0053690|title=Can-Can

References

1. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,869193,00.html| TIME Magazine]

2. [http://www.usask.ca/relst/jrpc/art12-goodandbad-print.html| Journal of Religion and Popular Culture]