MUSICALS!: An American in Paris (1951)

Macintosh & Maud Haven't Seen What?!

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CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of underage romance, sexism, war, trauma.

We continue our musical series with a movie that some consider the worst Best Picture winner of all time. And while we might not go that far, the fact that this beat out A Place in the Sun and A Streetcar Named Desire for top honors in both production AND writing at the Oscars is near-highway-robbery. To be clear - this film is a technical marvel, and its historical and artistic value are justified. The last 20 minutes of this film is one of the most beautiful, influential pieces of cinema of all time. Yet this movie does none of the work to earn the sweeping production value and emotion created in that magical ballet, steadfastly refusing to focus on an actual story with actual stakes. This movie should be a melodrama, or a musical comedy, but instead it winds up being neither, and it’s a total mess. Except for the dancing, God, the dancing. Pack up your brushes and canvases and head to Montmartre as we discuss An American in Paris (1951) this week on Macintosh & Maud Haven’t Seen What?!

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Intro and outro music taken from the Second Movement of Ludwig von Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Hong Kong (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 HK) license. To hear the full performance or get more information, visit the song page at the Internet Archive.

Excerpt taken from “Main Title (An American In Paris, 'S Wonderful, I Got Rhythm)” from the original motion picture soundtrack to the film An American in Paris, composed by George Gershwin. Copyright and Phonographic Copyright Turner Entertainment Co.

Excerpt taken from the film The Red Shoes is © 1948 Independent Producers, Ltd.

Excerpt taken from “Overture” from the original motion picture soundtrack to the film A Star is Born, written by Harold Arlen, composed by Ray Heindorf and performed by The Warner Bros. Orchestra. Copyright © Sony Music Entertainment Inc.

Excerpt taken from “Halloween Theme” from the original motion picture soundtrack to the film Halloween (2018), composed and performed by Cody Carpenter, Daniel Davies and John Carpenter. Copyright Sacred Bones Records, Universal Studios.