''Mardi Gras'' is a 1958 American

musical comedy film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

directed by

Edmund Goulding Edmund Goulding (20 March 1891 – 24 December 1959) was a British screenwriter and film director. As an actor early in his career he was one of the 'Ghosts' in the 1922 silent film ''Three Live Ghosts'' alongside Norman Kerry and Cyril Chadwick. ...

and starring

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer and actor. He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold more than 45 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and appeared in mo ...

and

Christine Carère Christine Carère (27 July 1930 – 13 December 2008), born Christine de Borde, was a French film actress who co-starred in the 1966 American television series ''Blue Light''. Biography Born in Dijon, France, in 1930, Carère appeared in 25 ...

Plot

A military school cadet (Boone) wins a date with a French movie goddess (Carère) who happens to be the queen of the "Mardi Gras" parade. The two fall in love, but Carère's movie studio wants to capitalize on this newly found love for publicity.

Cast

''as'' Paul Newell *

''as'' Michelle Marton (singing voice was dubbed by

Lilyan Chauvin Lilyan Chauvin (; ; 6 August 192526 June 2008) was a French-American actress, television host, director, writer, and acting teacher. A native of Paris, Chauvin began her career performing on French radio and onstage in England. She relocated to t ...

) *

Tommy Sands Thomas Adrian Sands (born August 27, 1937) is an American pop music singer and actor. Working in show business as a child, Sands became an overnight sensation and instant teen idol when he appeared on ''Kraft Television Theater'' in January 19 ...

''as'' Barry Denton *

Sheree North Sheree North (born Dawn Shirley Crang; January 17, 1932 – November 5, 2005) was an American actress, dancer, and singer, known for being one of 20th Century-Fox's intended successors to Marilyn Monroe. Early life North was born Dawn Shirley ...

''as'' Eadie West (singing voice was dubbed by Eileen Wilson) * Gary Crosby ''as'' Tony Collins *

Fred Clark Frederick Leonard Clark (March 19, 1914 – December 5, 1968) was an American film and television character actor. Early years Born in Lincoln, California, Clark was the son of Fred Clark Sr. He attended Stanford University with plans to become ...

''as'' Al Curtis *

Dick Sargent Richard Stanford Cox (April 19, 1930 – July 8, 1994), known professionally as Dick Sargent, was an American actor, notable as the second actor to portray Darrin Stephens on ABC's fantasy situation comedy ''Bewitched''. He took the name ''Dick ...

''as'' Dick Saglon * Barrie Chase ''as'' Torchy Larue *Jennifer West ''as'' Sylvia Simmons *

Geraldine Wall Geraldine Wall (June 24, 1907 – June 22, 1970) was an American actress who had numerous stage, film and television credits. Her career involved mainly character roles but encompassed a wide range of different acting parts. Early life Wall wa ...

''as'' Ann Harris *

King Calder Albert King Calder (April 21, 1898 – June 28, 1964) was an American film, television and theatre actor. Early life Calder was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He began his acting career in 1929 in the Broadway play ''The Humbug'', playing D ...

''as'' Lt. Col. Vaupell *

Robert Burton Robert Burton (8 February 1577 – 25 January 1640) was an English author and fellow of Oxford University, who wrote the encyclopedic tome ''The Anatomy of Melancholy''. Born in 1577 to a comfortably well-off family of the landed gentry, Burt ...

''as'' Comdr. Tydings * The Corps of Cadets of the

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

Production

Jerry Wald announced the film in October 1957. It was called ''Romantic Comedy'' and was based on an original story by

Curtis Harrington Gene Curtis Harrington (September 17, 1926 – May 6, 2007) was an American film and television director whose work included experimental films, horror films and episodic television. He is considered one of the forerunners of New Queer Cinema. ...

, who worked for Wald. The film was about the adventures of four students from the Virginia Military Institute at Mardi Gras, but Wald was unable to use that title because Universal had it registered and he needed permission from the city of New Orleans. Wald said the stars would be

Robert Wagner Robert John Wagner Jr. (born February 10, 1930) is an American actor of stage, screen, and television. He is known for starring in the television shows '' It Takes a Thief'' (1968–1970), ''Switch'' (1975–1978), and ''Hart to Hart'' (1979– ...

Jeffrey Hunter Jeffrey Hunter (born Henry Herman McKinnies Jr.; November 25, 1926 – May 27, 1969) was an American film and television actor and producer known for his roles in films such as ''The Searchers'' and ''King of Kings (1961 film), King of Kin ...

and

Tony Randall Anthony Leonard Randall (born Aryeh Leonard Rosenberg; February 26, 1920 – May 17, 2004) was an American actor. He is best known for portraying the role of Felix Unger in a television adaptation of the 1965 play ''The Odd Couple'' by Neil Sim ...

and he hoped for

Mitzi Gaynor Mitzi Gaynor (born Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber; September 4, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Her notable films include '' We're Not Married!'' (1952), '' There's No Business Like Show Business'' (1954), '' The Birds ...

to play the movie star. The following month these permissions had been secured and Wald had also arranged for cooperation from the city of New Orleans and the Virginia Military Institute.

Winston Miller Winston Miller (June 22, 1910 – June 21, 1994) was an American screenwriter, film producer, and actor. He wrote for more than 60 films and television shows between 1936 and 1976. He began as an actor in silent films, appearing in eleven fi ...

had been signed to write a script and had already completed half the job. He was sent to VMI for further research. Wald arranged for second unit filming done of Virginia Military Institute even before a director had been arranged. He originally wanted

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

but Kelly was too expensive. He eventually decided on Edmund Goulding, whose career was in decline and was therefore cheap, because Wald had admired his films when he was younger.Matthew Kennedy, ''Edmund Goulding's Dark Victory: Hollywood's Genius Bad Boy'', Terrace Books 2004 p. 275
accessed 31 August 2014 The script was finished by November 1957.

Casting

In December 1957, Wald announced

Barry Coe Barry S. Coe (born Barry Clark Heacock; November 26, 1934 – July 16, 2019) was an American actor who appeared in film and on television from 1956–1978. Many of his movie parts were minor, but he co-starred in one series, titled '' Follow the ...

from ''Peyton Place'' would play a lead. Pat Boone's casting was announced in February 1958.

Shirley Jones Shirley Mae Jones (born March 31, 1934) is an American actress and singer. In her six decades in show business, she has starred as wholesome characters in a number of musical films, such as '' Oklahoma!'' (1955), ''Carousel'' (1956), and ''The M ...

, who had co-starred with Boone in ''April Love'', was meant to play the female lead but had to drop out due to pregnancy. Instead the studio cast French actress Christine Carere, who has just made ''

A Certain Smile ''A Certain Smile'' was originally published in French as ''Un certain sourire'' by the Paris publisher Juillard in 1956. It was the second novel by Françoise Sagan and was written in two months. Two translations into English then followed in 195 ...

'' for Fox. The film was

's final film with

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

, who had signed North in 1954 in order to mold her as a replacement for

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

. While under contract with Fox, North made six other movies that Fox also released; ''

How to Be Very, Very Popular ''How to Be Very, Very Popular'' is a 1955 comedy film written, produced and directed by Nunnally Johnson. The film starred Betty Grable in her final film role and Sheree North in her first leading role. Johnson later said "I don't much like to ...

'' (1955), ''

The Lieutenant Wore Skirts ''The Lieutenant Wore Skirts'' is a 1956 comedy film directed by Frank Tashlin and starring Tom Ewell, Sheree North, and Rita Moreno. It is a comedy about a man whose marriage begins to fail when his wife enlists. Plot TV writer Greg Whitcomb ...

'' (1956), ''

The Best Things in Life Are Free "The Best Things in Life Are Free" is a duet between American singers Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson, recorded for the Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis-produced soundtrack to the 1992 American film '' Mo' Money'', starring Damon Wayans. The song was ...

'' (1956), ''

The Way to the Gold ''The Way to the Gold'' is a 1957 drama film directed by Robert D. Webb and starring Jeffrey Hunter, Sheree North, and Barry Sullivan. It was released by 20th Century-Fox. Plot Joe Mundy (Hunter) is being released from prison and an old convict ...

'' (1957), ''

No Down Payment ''No Down Payment'' is a 1957 drama film directed by Martin Ritt. It was written by Philip Yordan, who fronted for an uncredited and blacklisted Ben Maddow, and is based on the novel of the same name by John McPartland. The film stars Joanne Woo ...

'' (1957) and '' In Love and War'' (1958). Filming started 15 July 1958. Shot on location in New Orleans, in

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...

and

Deluxe color DeLuxe Color or Deluxe color or Color by DeLuxe is Deluxe Laboratories brand of color process for motion pictures. DeLuxe Color is Eastmancolor-based, with certain adaptations for improved compositing for printing (similar to Technicolor's "sel ...

, this was director Goulding's final film.

Reception

The film received generally good notices ("makes for sprightly, gay entertainment" – ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

''). It opened at number four at the US box office and the following week went to number one where it stayed for two weeks and ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' ranked it the December box office winner but it failed to continue to do well at the box-office. According to ''Kinematograph Weekly'' the film performed "better than average" at the British box office in 1959. North was then released from her studio contract. Fox seemed to have lost interest in her in 1956 when they signed

Jayne Mansfield Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer; April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American actress, singer, nightclub entertainer, and ''Playboy'' Playmate. A sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s while under contract at 20th Century Fox, Man ...

to a six-year contract. ''Diabolique'' later wrote "The film is bright enough, but is hampered by its casting. Boone is fine, but Carrere looks like a stunned mullet for most of the running time. Boone kisses her on the cheek, incidentally, but still no mouth!"

Awards

Composer

Lionel Newman Lionel Newman (January 4, 1916 – February 3, 1989) was an American conductor, pianist, and film and television composer. He won the Academy Award for Best Score of a Musical Picture for '' Hello Dolly!'' with Lennie Hayton in 1969. He ...

was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Original Score The Academy Award for Best Original Score is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by t ...

(Scoring of a Musical Picture) for this film.

References

External links

*
Turner Classic Movies page
{{Edmund Goulding 1950s English-language films 1958 musical comedy films 1958 films Films directed by Edmund Goulding Films scored by Lionel Newman Films set in New Orleans 20th Century Fox films Holiday-themed films Mardi Gras American musical comedy films CinemaScope films 1950s American films