Ein süßer Fratz (1957)
55KEin süßer Fratz: Directed by Stanley Donen. With Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Kay Thompson, Michel Auclair. An impromptu fashion shoot at a book store brings about a new fashion model discovery in the shop clerk.
“I recently saw u0026quot;Funny Faceu0026quot; and I was just enchanted from start to finish. This beautiful, sublime, light-hearted musical pairs the incomparable Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn. It was the perfect vehicle for Hepburn, and in my humble opinion, u0026quot;Funny Faceu0026quot; ties with u0026quot;The Band Wagonu0026quot; as the best Fred Astaire musical of the 50u0026#39;s.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Funny Faceu0026quot; tells the story of Jo Stockton (Hepburn) a deep and outspoken Beatnik bookseller, and Dick Avery (Astaire), a raffish but compassionate photographer for u0026quot;Qualityu0026quot; magazine. u0026quot;Qualityu0026quot; is run by its hilariously vapid editor, Maggie Presscott (Kay Thompson, a real scene stealer). After some unusual circumstances, Dick convinces the waifish Jo that she has model potential and should go to Paris with him. The plot is sometimes a moot point as soon as they get there, but what happens after that is song, dance, great clothes, and a beautiful romantic song and dance with Audrey and Fred on a grassy knoll. Thereu0026#39;s also a rather famous scene with Audrey descending a flight of stairs in a gorgeous red strapless dress with white gloves.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIu0026#39;ve seen a lot of criticism for u0026quot;Funny Faceu0026quot;, and I disagree that itu0026#39;s shallow and anti-intellectual. What separates this movie from, say, u0026quot;Sheu0026#39;s All Thatu0026quot; is that Jo only goes to Paris as a u0026quot;means to an endu0026quot; for modelling, which Jo is vehemently against. She never compromises who she is, and doesnu0026#39;t officially fall for Dick until much later, so romance is never a motive for anything. Also, Dick admires Jou0026#39;s inner beauty, even before she becomes a stunner. They are much more likable and romantic leads than in most u0026quot;makeoveru0026quot; movies. Please donu0026#39;t over-analyze u0026quot;Funny Faceu0026quot;, just sit back and let yourself be spellbound. Trust me, u0026quot;su0026#39;wonderfulu0026quot;!!”
