Film

An American in Paris

Name: An American in Paris
Genre: Music, Romance, Comedy
Released: 1951
Cast: Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, Georges Guétary, Nina Foch

MGM at its most lavish: Gershwin standards, Technicolor Paris built entirely on a soundstage, and a G.I.-turned-painter caught between a rich patroness and a shopgirl. It's pure studio-system escapism, unbothered by realism, existing mainly to let Gene Kelly dance and sing his way through a candy-colored fantasy. The famous 17-minute ballet finale is the whole film's ambition distilled into one audacious swing.

TMDb rating

7.0

If you liked this

Singin' in the Rain1952

If Kelly's dancing is what got you, this is the fuller, funnier showcase — same studio, same star, arguably the better film, with jokes that still land and a title number that's pure unfiltered joy.

But It's even more famous than An American in Paris, so you may have already seen it several times over.

Gigi1958

Same director, same leading lady (Leslie Caron), same appetite for Parisian fantasy and glorious tunes — a warmer, more knowing companion piece about growing into a role someone else has written for you.

But The central courtship, built on a considerable age gap, has aged awkwardly and may sit uneasily with modern viewers.

The Band Wagon1953

Another MGM Technicolor marvel, this time with a backstage-showbiz plot and a genuine sense of humor about the whole enterprise — probably the smartest, most self-aware musical of the era.

But Astaire's cooler, drier style is a different animal from Kelly's athleticism, so the energy lands quite differently.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Red Shoes1948

Kelly is said to have studied this film closely before staging his own finale — both trust a long, wordless dance sequence to reveal a character's inner life more honestly than any line of dialogue could.

A dazzling, unsettling Powell and Pressburger classic about a ballerina torn between art and love, whose own extended ballet sequence practically invented the modern movie dance number — gorgeous, strange, and unforgettable.

But It's tragic where An American in Paris is buoyant; if you want the evening to end on a high, this won't oblige.