Lili (1953)

I had never seen Lili before today and I mentioned that to a friend who told me this was Mel Ferrer's greatest film role. I'm happy to report that he was oh so right. The title role however is played by Leslie Caron who with her elfin charm and ability to dance was doing a small dress rehearsal for the much bigger budgeted Gigi.Lili is a French orphan who wanders into Marseilles looking for employment at a bakery owned by a friend of her late father. When that doesn't pan out she's kind of adopted by a passing carnival. She likes magician Jean-Pierre Aumont whose a charming sort, but a brooding and angry puppeteer Mel Ferrer intrigues her.Probably Montgomery Clift would have been perfect casting for the puppeteer, but Mel Ferrer delivers a great performance as a very bitter man. He's got reason to be bitter. An up and coming ballet dancer he was wounded in the late war and now limps. A psychologist could probably better explain how with his puppets he acts out all the various aspects of a complex personality.But Ferrer and his partner Kurt Kaszner hit upon an idea of essentially using Caron as a stooge for the puppets when they see how a crowd of onlookers reacts to them. This is where the song Hi Lili Hi Lo comes in which became a mega hit for the show.Caron's dancing talent is utilized to maximum effectiveness in the final imaginary ballet sequence. It's so well done that one doesn't really notice that Ferrer only appears intermittently and only takes a step or two. The illusion is MGM musical making at its finest.Oddly enough the song Hi Lili Hi Lo got no Academy Award nomination. The film itself earned a few and composer Bronislau Kaper got an Oscar for overall scoring.Zsa Zsa Gabor is in this as well playing Aumont's wife who for the sake of the act keeps the marriage a secret so that love struck girls can imagine themselves with him. A lot of the film is Aumont being charming and fending off Caron's intentions. Gabor finally calls a halt to that. She's playing a part and not just being Zsa Zsa Gabor. She plays it well too.Charming musical numbers, a charming performance by Leslie Caron, and a great bit of acting from Mel Ferrer. Last but not least is that simple catchy song that you can't get out of your head.All great reasons why Lili has held up for over 60 years and great reasons to see it over and over.

Sweet little story.The story of a 16-year old orphaned girl, Lili (played by Leslie Caron), who, after main trials and tribulations, gets a job in a carnival as a puppeteer's assistant. The story of misplaced love, unrequited love, innocence and innocence lost.Very moving story. Leslie Caron is wonderful as Lili and Mel Ferrer puts in a solid performance as Paul, the puppeteer. On the negative side, it is over far too quickly. Not just because it is so good and you want more, but it felt like some more detail was required. It just seems to move so fast - some time to stop, take a breath and contemplate was in order.

Sadly, I've been confined to watching (and showing my little girls) excerpts of Lili on YouTube ... but it's clear to me that this movie is quite a treasure. The undertone of sadness is subtle, enriching the experience for adults yet not disturbing young children viewers--an impressive directorial balancing act! Moreover, the backstage circus world is a fascinating one for young viewers; this is a large part of why my daughters love Billy Rose's Jumbo (with Doris Day), even though that film has less enchantment than Lili. If any IMDb member might be willing and able to make a copy for me, please email. My family and I will be much obliged.

This is a nice film that has many wonderful moments but also suffers from too much padding. It's really a shame, as the wonderful moments are so enchanting and I really wanted to love this film--instead, it's good but not great.Leslie Caron plays the title character, a sweet but rather simple-minded young lady. She is an orphan and has no place to go, so this 16 year-old follows a magician back to the traveling circus--hoping that he'll feel sorry for her and ask her to stay. Considering that Marc (Jean-Pierre Aumont) is such a dashing and seemingly nice man, it's no wonder she's taken by him. However, Aumont is actually married and the only one who might help her is the very gloomy and morose puppeteer, Paul (Mel Ferrer). Oddly, however, although Paul is a grouchy jerk, through his puppets he's able to tell Lili how he really feels and they make a wonderful act--with Lili talking to Paul through the puppets. But, despite their act catching on, Paul never can let go of his bitterness until finally Lili has no choice but to leave. In the end, it's up to Lili to either stay away or go back to this weasel who loves her but mistreats her badly.Throughout the film, there are lengthy interludes that involve surrealistic dream sequences--complete with singing and dancing. Unfortunately, these sequences serve to completely undo the magic the film has created--and they are rather boring to boot. Had they just stuck with the story and avoided these segments (that seem strongly inspired by the film, AN American IN Paris), the overall effort would have been significantly better. Still, it's a decent film for the family--just don't be surprised if you find yourself speeding through the dream segments.