MAY I SHOW YOU MY ETCHINGS MY DEAR?

 

Maurice Chevalier casts a lecherous eye on Leslie Caron in 1958’s Gigi

This post could well have come under several of the Curmudgeons posts (The Darker Curmudgeon, The Philosophical Curmudgeon or even just The Curmudgeon) but, after a bit of discussion it was decided that I should write it.

THANK HEAVENS FOR LITTLE GIRLS

Yes you could say that songs and sequences like the above came from a simpler and more innocent time.

You could say that but there are a few facts that dispute it.

We've heard a lot in recent years about the dark side of Hollywood with racism, elitism, sexism and a whole lot of other isms were buried beneath a lot of saccharine sweetness and the dirty little secrets are only just surfacing.

Gigi is a good case in point. The film is charming and the music and songs sweet but let's not forget that it's about a girl being groomed for prostitution. That fact sits uncomfortably when you watch Maurice Chevalier’s “Thank Heaven for Little Girls” scene where he dotes on the very young Liza Minelli. His doting isn't avuncular or grandfatherly though because he’s imagining what an awesome whore that little girl will make when she gets older. 

With thanks to Richard of RBB for the inspiration for this post.*

* He likes a mention of gratitude.