If you want to know what romance is you will have to go way back to the old musical that Broadway has recently dusted off and is currently playing called An American In Paris starring Gene Kelly and his hand- picked girl little Leslie Caron from France.  You can hear him serenade her the song, “Our Love Is Here to Stay” that every couple in love should serenade to each other regularly. In the movie there is no current competition with the level of dancing, the originality of the songs and lyrics and the sexual tension.  65 years ago Leslie Caron was 19 years old staring in her first movie production that became Best Picture at the Oscars in 1951. It had everything from fast paced duets to toe ballet dancing to an erotic sexy scene with a chair as her partner.

At the time the scene was considered too sexy and censors told the production to tone it down. Leslie was discovered at the age of 16 when she was dancing at The Ballet Champs Elysees in Paris by Gene Kelly. It was the classic story when the star of the production is ill and cannot perform and the unknown understudy steps in to do the performance and gets discovered by a big dancing star. Not often is talent met with a whole lot of good luck too. She went on to earn the first of 2 Oscar nomination’s in the movie called Lilly. She danced with Fred Astaire in the movie called Daddy Longlegs. In her case no one was sensitive about older men romancing such a young girl.

In the musical Gigi, it was as if the musical was made just for her while the very French and old Maurice Chevalier sang to her “Thank heaven for little girls.’  Gigi went on to win 9 Academy Awards and by then she became a big star. Then she settled down to raise three children and become a good wife devoted to her husband and children. Now she recognizes the will of women to say to their husbands that they exist and have a right to pursue their professional dreams too.  As it is women are still judged more harshly for their looks than men are judged. After 40 years old most women do not work in. Luckily we still have Maggie Smith and Julie Dench to lead the charge for any older gal in the movies.