FiATURE neviiw Funny Face Paramount By PRANK LEYENDECKER n gay, tuneful and dazzlingly colorful musteal in which two of filmdom's top stars, the enchanting Audrey Hepburn and the ever-youthful veteran Fred Astaire. team up in several striking dance routines. Ideal spring entertainment ahe Radio City Music Hall has booked the picture for its annual Easter show), this should do strong business generally—for its fashion world background will intrigue all women patrons—and they'll bring in the men. Although this Roger Edens production employs six memorable George and Ira Gershwin songs, including the title tune and " 'S Wonderful," the Leonard Gershe story is an original with no similarities to the Broadway musical success of some years ago. Dealing with Quality Magazine, the leading publication of the world of fashion, the locale is divided between New York's smart Madison Avenue salons and atmospheric Greenwich Village and the salons of Paris, as well as its boulevards and backstreets— which gives the spectator glimpses of the Eiffel Tower and other Parisian landmarks, magnificently captured by the VistaVision and Technicolor cameras. The soft, misty photographic effects by John P. Fulton and the process photography by Farciot Edouart have rarely been surpassed. The elaborate and imaginative main title backgrounds by Richard Avedon, noted photographer, lead directly into a rhythmically pounding opening shot of the angular nightclub star, Kay Thompson, striding into her magazine offices and dramatically calling a staff meeting. Prom then on, the picture is filled with striking effects, including unorthodox flashing of the screen from one color to another, dazzling and bizarre fashion display (the women will drool at these Paramount "FUNNY presents FACE" in VistoVision and Technicolor Running time: 103 minutes CREDITS Produced by Roger Edens. Directed by Stanley Donen. Written by Leonard Gershe. Music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin, adapted and conducted by Adolph Deutsch. Orchestral arrangements by Conrad Salinger, Van Cleave, Alexander Courage, Skip Martin. Additional music and lyrics by Roger Edens and Leonard Gershe. Choreography by Eugene Loring and Fred Astaire. Songs staged by Stanley Donen. Director of photography, Roy June. Technicolor consultant, Richard Mueller. Art direction, Hal Pereiro and George W. Davis. Edited by Frank Bracht. Special photographic effects, John P. Fulton. Process photography, Farciot Edouart. Set decoration, Sam Comer and Ray Moyer. Costumes, Edith Head. Miss Hepburn's Paris wardrobe, Hubert de Givenchy. Assistant director, William McGorry. Special visual consultant and main title backgrounds, Richard Avedon. Westrex Recording System. THE CAST Jo Audrey Hepburn Dick Avery Fred Astaire Moggi Prescott Kay Thompson Professor Emil Flostre Michel Auclair Paul Duval Robert Flemyng Babs Virginia Gibson Marion Dovima and Suzy Parker, Sue England, Sunny Harnett, Ruto Lee, Jean Del Vol, Alex Gerry, Iphigenie Castiglioni, Albert D'Arno, Marilyn White, Don Powell, Paul Smith, Karen Scott, Diane Du Bois, Elizabeth "Lizz" Slifer (all of these merely hove bits). 24 Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire in "Funny Face," Paramount musical in VistaVision and Technicolor. even if some of the males will find them too chi-chi) and several airy dance routines staged by Eugene Loring and Astaire in which the star's smooth and semi-acrobatic dancing style is deftly integrated with the elfin Miss Hepburn's ballet steps—they make a delightful team. Fresh from her triumph in '"War and Peace," Miss Hepburn agam gives a refreshingly youthful portrayal and Astaij-e, although twice her age, manages to make the romantic scenes convincing. In the singing department, neither star excels but together they put over such Gershwin tunes a,s "How Long Has This Been Going On, S Wonderful," "He Loves and She Loves," "Clap Yo' Hands" and the title melody in ingratiating fashion. To really wham over songs, there is Kay Thompson, a tall, angular nightclub comedienne who resembles Hedda Hopper and who puts tremendous verve and sophisticated style into three special numbers by Edens and Gershe, "Bonjour, Paris," sung on the Eiffel Tower, "Think Pink," which features pink mannequins, pink poodles and even pink toothpaste, and "How to Be Lovely," a melodic lesson in female charm in which she teams with Miss Hepburn in a manner suggestive of a vaudeville routine. The dynamic Kay is a real trouper who has previously scored in clubs, as the author of the bestselling "Eloise" and as a recording star. Stanley Donens direction is first-rate and he also gets good performances from Robert Flemyng, the British star who plays a Parisian coutourier, and Michel Auclaii-, Pi-ench film star, as a Bohemian cultist Audrey idolizes. The others are merely bits, except for Dovima, a stunning model who unexpectedly uses Brooklyn-ese speech. The light and inconsequential plot starts in the New York offices of Quality Magazine, whose editor, Kay Thompson, hits upon an idea to find a new model to represent the magazine in creations designed by Robert Flemyng, the greatest coutourier in Paris. Fred Astaire, the magazine's photographer, finds Audrey Hepburn, a plainly-dressed bookshop clerk, and photographs her in shots that delight Kay. In Pai'is, Audrey searches for a phoney cult leader while Fred finds himself falling in love with her. When she realizes her idol is made of clay, she returns to Pred and together they make Kay's fashion show a success. To Screenplay 'Tin Roof HOLLYWOOD—Phil Yordan has been signed by MGM to write the screenplay of Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." Pandro S. Berman will produce. Industry Set to Aid Brotherhood Drive NEW YORK—Amusement industry observance of Brotherhood Week will start Sunday (171 and climax two months of preparation under the leadership of William J. Heineman and Spyros S. Skouras, national co-chairmen of the 1957 drive sponsored by the National Conference of Christians and Jews. It will mark the 11th anniversary of participation by the amusement industry. Much of the activity will center in motion picture theatres across the U. S., where exhibitors will recruit members and solicit contributions. Governors of 40 states and thousands of mayors will issue proclamations asking support of the drive. In some communities, civic leaders will take part in inaugural ceremonies in theatres. School children will be excused from classes to attend the programs. Promotion will include presentation of a special newsreel featuring Ed Sullivan, lobby and marquee displays and recruiting booths manned by managers and their staffs. Various industry companies and organizations are conducting fund-raising drives among their members. Academy Lists Nomination For Documentary Awards HOLLYWOOD—Nominations for the documentary awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as selected by a special documentary nominations committee, headed by Sidney P. Solow. have been determined as follows: Documentary features (over 3,000 ft. in length! : "The Naked Eye," Camera Eye Pictures, Louis Clyde Stoumen, producer; •The Silent World," A Filmad-F.S.J.Y.C. Production (French), Columbia, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, producer; "Where Mountains Float," Arn Studio (Danish), Brandon Films, Government Film committee of Denmark, producer. Documentary short subjects (3,000 ft. or less in length) : "A City Decides," Charles Guggenheim and Associates, producer; "The Dark Wave," 20th Century-Fox, John Healy. producer; "The House Without a Name," Universal-International, Valentine Davies, producer; "Man in Space," Walt Disney-Buena Vista, Ward Kimball, producer; "The True Story of the Civil War," Camera Eye Pictures, Louis Clyde Stoumen, producer. All Warner Bros. Officers Re-elected for One Year NEW YORK— All the officers of Warner Bros. Pictures were re-elected for a oneyear term at a meeting of the board of directors at the home office February 8. Those re-elected were: Jack L. Warner, president; Benjamin Kalmenson, executive vice-president: Herman Starr, vice-president; Stanleigh P. Friedman, vice-president; Robert W. Perkins, vice-president, secretary and general counsel; Wolfe Cohen, vice-president; Robert S. Taplinger, vice-president; Thomas J. Martin, treasurer; Walter Meihofer, controller and assistant treasurer; Cyril H. Wilder, assistant treasurer; Harold S. Bareford, assistant secretary; Edward K. Hessberg, assistant secretary, and Roy Obringer, assistant secretary. BOXOFFICE ;: February 16, 1957 % i
BOXOFFICE :: February 16, 1957 25
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