Funny Face ***** (1957, Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Kay Thompson) – Classic Movie Review 553

Director Stanley Donen’s colourful 1957 musical delight Funny Face stars the mighty Fred Astaire as Dick Avery, a fashion photographer who encounters the pertly cute Jo Stockton (Audrey Hepburn) at his fashion shoot at the Greenwich Village bookstore where she works.

When the photo session is over, the store is left in a mess, but Avery stays behind to help Hepburn clean up. Afterwards, he examines the photos, sees her in the background and is entranced by her unique appearance.

This prompts Astaire to offer Hepburn a modelling contract and catapult her from her job as a lowly bookseller clerk into a career as a gorgeous, sensational international fashion model. She is snobbish and reluctant, and only accepts the job because it involves a trip to Paris, where she has dreamed of going. Once there, of course, they start to fall for each other.

Donen shows that he is totally in his element and proves the ideal director to conjure up an enchanting fairy-tale musical for the screen from the classic 1927 George and Ira Gershwin stage show.

The entrancing Paris setting, Astaire’s debonair charm, Hepburn’s offbeat beauty, Kay Thompson’s acid wit relishing spitting out her bon mots as Maggie Prescott, the editor of a leading fashion magazine, Ray June’s lovely Technicolor cinematography, George W Davis and Hal Pereira’s art direction/ set decoration, Edith Head’s superb costume designs, and the Gershwins’ score all combine to help make it a truly memorable occasion. There is no doubt the Maggie Prescott character definitely brings The Devil Wears Prada to mind.

Only its uneasily revealed artistic pretensions and some reticence in the delivery stop it from reaching the very top rank. Sometimes, it is just a little too laid-back and easy going for its own good. It may be that musicals are just meant to be brash and vulgar, not chic, sophisticated and clever like this. It would be a terrible irony if being too tasteful is a handicap. It is snappy, zippy and snazzy, but it occasionally lacks punch.

You have to admit that Astaire (aged 58) is a little old for Hepburn (aged 28), but who cares? They make it work and share sweet romantic chemistry.

The wonderful Gershwin songs include ‘How Long Has This Been Goin’ On?’, ‘Clap Yo’ Hands’, ‘S’Wonderful’, ‘He Loves and She Loves’, Let’s Kiss and Make Up’ and of course the lovely title number. The splashy ‘Think Pink’ number (words by Leonard Gershe, music by Roger Edens) will be the favourite of  a lot of people, from those who think pink is an optimistic way of approaching life to those who think pink is the gay colour. Whatever, it is fantastic fun any way you view it.

Suzy Parker and Sunny Hartnett are the Specialty Dancers in this sequence.

The Paris location filming includes work in various famous locations around Paris, like the Louvre museum, the Paris Opéra National and the Eiffel Tower, as well as at Orly Airport and several locations around Oise, though most of the movie was filmed at the Paramount Studios in LA. The wedding scene was shot at the Château de la Reine Blanche in the Chantilly forest.

RIP Stanley Donen, who died on 21 February 2019 at the age of 94. He helped to reinvent the big-screen musical with a series of hits that includes On the Town, Singin’ in the Rain, 1954’s Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, 1957’s The Pajama Game, 1958’s Damn Yankees and Funny Face. He reunited with Hepburn for Charade (1963) and Two for the Road (1967).

© Derek Winnert 2013 Classic Movie Review 553

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