Leslie Caron

Leslie Caron really wanted to do her own singing in Gigi, as she had in Lili (and as she is currently doing onstage in Paris as Mme. Armfelt in A Little Night Music). She wasn't even allowed to do the easy stuff in "The Parisians" and "The Night They Invented Champagne." Here she records "Say A Prayer For Me Tonight" and you can hear Andre Previn playing her melody line on the piano. Annoying!

Gigi's orchestrations were completely changed before release of the film, opting for simpler arrangements. Previn accompanied the actors while they sang in isolation booths. I think the actors lip-synced to their piano/vocals during filming, then an orchestra was added to the tracks...twice!

I remember being genuinely intrigued with this movie as a thirteen-year-old. I know, how gay can you get? But it was always on HBO at Peter Howard's house, and I always got involved. "You just came over to watch our HBO" Peter's Mom would say. No, Pete's Mom, it was just Gigi...and those videos by that new girl Madonna.