Georges Guetary Movies
French singer Georges Guetary is best-known by American audiences for having performed several unforgettable song and dance sequences alongside Gene Kelly and Oscar Levant in American in Paris (1951). In the Oscar-winning film, Guetary played Henri, the popular French singer who provided the third apex in the love triangle involving Kelly and love interest Leslie Caron. His two most memorable sequences in the Oscar-winning film came when he sang George and Ira Gershwin's "'SWonderful" and when, dressed in top hat and tails, he performed "I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise" atop a spectacular lighted staircase. Guetary made his film debut in The Black Cavalier (1949). Much of his career was spent on television and stage. Guetary died of heart failure at the age of 82. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1954
This is the third cinematic production of Johann Strauss the Younger's The Gypsy Baron and it is an amateur effort except for the singing. First performed in 1885, the operetta ("little opera") has all the characteristics of its genre at this time: mistaken identity, political connotations, gaiety, great waltzes, and an overlay of comedy. The story is set in the 17th century and focuses on Sandor von Barinkay (Carlos Thompson) whose father had once hidden a treasure in the forest somewhere. The pig dealer Zsupan knows about the treasure and would like to marry his daughter Arsena to Barinkay to form an alliance between their two families. But when Barinkay meets Czipra (Ida Ehre), a gypsy who also knows about the treasure, the gypsies see Barinkay as their new leader. By gaining the spurious title of "Baron of the Gypsies" he now has the appropriate baronial rank to marry Arsena -- and then he meets Saffi (Daniele Gaubert), a gypsy who turns out to be the daughter of the last Turkish Pasha, and the plot thickens. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Georges Guetary, Paul Hoerbiger, (more)
Gene Kelly does his patented Pal Joey bit as Jerry Mulligan, an opportunistic American painter living in Paris' "starving artists" colony. He is discovered by wealthy Milo Roberts (Nina Foch), who becomes Jerry's patroness in more ways than one. Meanwhile, Jerry plays hookey on this setup by romancing waif-like Lise Bouvier (Leslie Caron) -- who, unbeknownst to him, is the object of the affections of his close friend Henri (Georges Guetary), a popular nightclub performer. (The film was supposed to make Guetary into "the New Chevalier." It didn't.) The thinnish plot is held together by the superlative production numbers and by the recycling of several vintage George Gershwin tunes, including "I Got Rhythm," "'S Wonderful," and "Our Love Is Here to Stay." Highlights include Guetary's rendition of "Stairway to Paradise"; Oscar Levant's fantasy of conducting and performing Gershwin's "Concerto in F" (Levant also appears as every member of the orchestra); and the closing 17-minute "American in Paris" ballet, in which Kelly and Caron dance before lavish backgrounds based on the works of famed French artists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, (more)
- 1946
French cabaret entertainer Georges Guetary, best remembered as Gene Kelly's romantic rival in An American in Paris, plays the title role in The Loves of Casanova. Most of the story concerns the Great Lover's migration from Venice to Paris in search of fame, fortune and fetching damsels. Every so often, Casanova serenades his lady fair with a robust song, indication enough that historical accuracy is not this film's strong suit. There seems to have been an attempt by the filmmakers to poke fun at the Sinatra craze in America, inasmuch as women tend to swoon at the sound of Casanova's voice. Except for the presence of Georges Guetary, whose film appearances were all too few, The Loves of Casanova is a draggy, pedestrian affair. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Georges Guetary, Aimé Clariond, (more)
