Song:I Remember It Well
Album:Gigi: Original MGM Soundtrack
Of course Maurice Chevalier was one of the biggest stars of the 30s. But he left Hollywood in 1935 and remained a big star in Europe. He returned to Hollywood in the 50s and showed in the 1958 film Gigi that even as a senior that he was still a star. Hermoine Gingold was a British actress mainly known for her stage work in England. But she also moved to Hollywood in the 50s and has a rare singing role in Gigi. Gigi was based on the 1944 novella by Colette and was a Broadway hit in 1954 starring Audrey Hepburn. MGM producer Arthur Freed wanted to turn it into a musical and hired Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe to write the songs and Andre Previn to arrange and conduct the music. Though he offered the lead to Hepburn and she declined, Freed really wanted An American In Paris star Leslie Caron to star as Gigi. The rest of the casting including Chevalier and Gingold was easy. Vincente Minnelli was hired to direct. Gingold was a British actress who moved to Hollywood in the 50s. Her distinctive voice was because she had nodes on her vocal cords in the 20s. She was very nervous about doing Gigi because she didn't usually sing and she was a Hollywood newcomer. But she said Chevalier really helped her on the set and everything turned out great. Gigi won nine Oscars including Best Picture. The soundtrack is available on CD. The experience encouraged Gingold to do more Hollywood films. She died in 1987 at age 89. Chevalier retired in 1970 and died in 1972 at age 83. He showed in Gigi that he still had "it", whatever "it" is. Here's Maurice Chevalier and Hermoine Gingold performing I Remember It Well from the 1958 film Gigi.
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