How did this win Best Picture???

I agree. The Academay must have had a collective frontal lobotomy that year. This has to be the worst best picture EVER. I have tried to watch AAIP at least 20 times trying to find something akin to greatness about it and cannot get through it without puking! How it ever beat out STREETCAR or A PLACE IN THE SUN is incomrehensible. As you stated, SINGING IN THE RAIN a year later, is BY FAR a greater film.

I find An American in Paris to be a very beautiful film. I think that, perhaps, it got a lot of praise and stood out by being very different compared to all the dramas of that year. It's highly stylized and focuses on the artistic content rather than the storyline (I mean, doesn't every Gene Kelly film have some sort of random fantasy dance sequence? But they always look fantastic!).

Also, I personally think that the cast perfectly suited for their roles, and of course, there was the wonderful music. Gene Kelly is the epitome of triple threat in the movie-musical industry, Leslie Caron was sweet, cute and amazingly talented in dance. Oscar Levant's role was (probably) tailor made for him, and I think Nina Foch's acting was really good. When I rewatch it, I always notice small gestures that she makes that shows her character. As for Georges Geutary, his voice is the only one I can think of that I would ever compare to a bell. It's so clear and lovely.

While the other contenders for Best Picture that year are films that I highly respect and like as well, I don't think that AAIP didn't deserve its award. It's beautiful.



Allow me to explain it to you through interpretive dance.

Certainly not the worst best pic, but The day the earth stood still should've won.

"Charming company you keep."

So....


Were you there? AT THE TIME? I think it could have been quite exciting and refreshing. You have the benefit of seeing everything afterwards....

Post elsewhere!

"according to many reports, its Best Picture win was even a shock to Hollywood in 1951, many of whom chalked up victory to big bloc of MGM employees who voted for it in desperation bid to keep studio going and/or as tribute to longtime MGM musical producer Arthur Freed."

Actually there are no reports that say that, it's something that you made up or heard from someone who is ignorant. MGM wasn't pushing for "An American in Paris" at all, everybody who's studied this particular issue knows that the movie they were pushing for was "Quo Vadis", their big costume picture for that year. MGM was in no need of any "desperateion bid" to keep operating, it was still relatively powerful compared to the other studios. Serious speculation has it that votes got split between "Vadis", "Sun" and "Streetcar", so that enough of the "serious" minded voters were split and those favoring Minnelli's musical won. Less than a decade later Minnelli again won big for "Gigi", so it was hardly a freak occurrence at any rate as you make it sound like.

"In any event, this picture has not aged well at all. Lots less fun than most of the studio's many less pretentious B musicals."

You never liked it even in the 1960s as you admitted yourself, so how would you be qualified to say if it's aged well? I saw it in the late 90s as a person in my early 20s and I wasn't all that impressed by it originally except for the music and the final ballet, but it's definitely grown on me over the years. I would offer as an opposite caveat that it's a lot more interesting than the studio's many less ambitious B musicals. You'd really rather watch Esther Williams in "Siesta" or something like that than to see a film that has so much beauty? Your loss, not the movie's.

Did I not love him, Cooch? MY OWN FLESH I DIDN'T LOVE BETTER!!! But he had to say 'Nooooooooo'

Far to middling? Fortunately, you're in the minority with such nonsensical thinking. And rather than Singing in the Rain putting this movie to shame its quite the reverse for a couple of reasons. First, Leslie Caron simply plays opposite to Gene Kelly better then Debbie Reynolds and she's a far, far more accomplished dancer (only other female dancer at MGM that could hold a candle to her was Cyd Charisse). Second, The closing opera-like sequence in this movie was the forerunner for the Broadway Melodies scene in Singing in the Rain and honestly, it's actually better staged and performed. Third, the musical score of this movie is far superior to Singing in the Rain (George Gershwin wrote the music for crissakes). Singing has a somewhat more engaging plot line but the reason why this movie is often considered better is because of Kelly's dance number to the title song, which admittedly is wonderful. Don't get me wrong: Both movies are simply grand. But An American In Paris won five Oscars and beat out A Street Care Named Desire for a reason.

I absolutely love "An American in Paris" and think that it has aged quite well.
I think it's a great movie.

That being said, I probably have to agree with you as far as it winning Best Picture.
I always assumed it won because "A Streetcar Named Desire" & "A Place in the Sun" spilt the vote.

At any rate, have you looked at some of the other winners over time?
AAIP certainly is not the worst movie to win Best Picture - not by a long shot.

In 1952, "The Greatest Show on Earth" beat out "A Quiet Man" & "High Noon"
Not nominated that year, "The Bad and the Beautiful" & "Come Back, Little Sheba"

1956 - "Around the World in 80 Days" beat "Friendly Persuasion", "Giant" & "The King and I"
Not nominated that year, "Bus Stop", "The Man Who Knew Too Much" & "The Rainmaker"

1985 - "Out of Africa" beat "The Color Purple", "Kiss of the Spider Woman", "Prizzi's Honor" & "Witness"

1994 - "Forrest Gump" beat "Pulp Fiction", "Quiz Show" & "The Shawshank Redemption"
Not nominated that year, "Hudsucker Proxy", "Immortal Beloved" & "The Last Seduction" (which I think should have won that year)

1995 - "Braveheart" (IMHO, one of the most egregious winners, also won for Best Director), beating "Apollo 13", "Babe", "Il Postino (The Postman)" & "Sense and Sensibility"
Not nominated that year, "Dead Man Walking", "Dolores Claiborne" & "The Usual Suspects".

I suppose the academy members got dazzled by the spectacular musical numbers because otherwise I don't get how this movie won the Academy Award over A Place in the Sun and especially over A Streetcar Named Desire.

AAIP is a fun movie, with wonderful dancing numbers and beautiful music but the story is quite lame, the acting average at best. The script is full of clichés so I can't understand neither how come this movie beat Ace in the Hole for the "Best Writing, Story and Screenplay". That's something unbelievable.

AAIP won 6 oscars and IMO it truly deserved 4 of them: Cinematography (Color), Costume Design (Color), Music, Art Direction.
But Ace in the Hole should have won for Best Writing and most important A Streetcar Named Desire should have won for Best Picture.