TheLittleSongbird I have seen four of Joshua Logan's films, South Pacific which I liked despite its flaws(for example colour filtering), Camelot which I had mixed feelings about(loved the songs and production values, didn't much like the pace and singing), Paint Your Wagon which I didn't really like(the story as well as the singing let it down) and this, Fanny-more drama- which I thoroughly enjoyed.1961's Fanny is not completely perfect, it is perhaps overlong and a tad too leisurely. And while the story is admittedly creaky, it does have plenty of charming and poignant moments to make up for it.On the other hand, Fanny does have wonderful production values, consisting of luscious photography, beautifully constructed scenery and sets and gorgeous costumes. Another high point is the music, the background scoring is just amazing. My favourite song from the Broadway musical itself is Welcome Home, which is a masterpiece of a song with a poignant melody and poetic lyrics. It was a song I fell in love with after hearing Sherrill Milnes sing it in the late 80s. While Milnes was past prime there his voice even after his vocal health problems was in good shape singing this and he looked so thoughtful on stage too; it sounded so rich and noble, closing your eyes you would think it was early 70s rather than late 80s.Anyway back to the film, the screenplay is infectious and funny as well as having a great deal of charm and poignancy, and Joshua Logan's direction is less studio-bound and smug than I have known it to be, in fact film wise this is his best and most consistent directing job. The acting is great. Leslie Caron is very beguiling, and while Charles Boyer is very good, Maurice Chevalier and especially Horst Buchholz are wonderful.All in all, a very nice film and my personal favourite so far of Logan's films. 8/10 Bethany Cox

tapestry6-1 I have been reading all these raves about this movie which I just saw on TMC this morning, 11/4/10, and thought I would write my thoughts. Certainly felt there was an overuse-age of the same song over and over again. I kept asking myself could not the composer think of another? What was with all the close ups? We can see a person's expression without a head shot filling the screen. Leslie Caron wasn't dancing with Gene Kelley and Horst Buchholz wasn't following the other '6" in the Magnificent 7. I liked him better in that movie than this one. There was the 2 older actors, Charles Boyer and Chevalier who I suppose were passing the reins onto the younger generation they were pleasant enough but the reins never passed as both of the actors never did much after this movie, unless you liked Father Goose or How the West was Won.Bottom line is its about a small village, a teenage one night stand that turns into a nightmare when she finds out she is pregnant. Basically after she let's him follow his dream, her mother, his father and the local rich man keep the 'secret' by a quick marriage and a 'pre-mature' birthing which made the rich man's family very happy. Of course you could not get away with that nowadays, someone would be screaming for a DNA testing. It's really just a soap opera in Technicolor, why an R rating? I have no clue, it should have been a PG-13. There was no bad language, no violence, no nudity and sex was mildly implied compared to today's standards. The only thing I could think of is it gives the impression that if a girl gets pregnant and her boyfriend heads out she can still get support for her child without government getting involved. Actually, I like that idea but it only happens in the movies so don't try this at home.

calvinnme This is one of the sweetest movies I've ever seen. When I say the movie is sweet, it manages to do so without being cheesy. Leslie Caron is in the title role as a young woman who finds herself pregnant after consummating her relationship with Marius, a young man who has a lust to travel and hates being tied down. The next day he leaves for the long sea journey that he's longed for since childhood. When Fanny learns of her condition, she accepts a proposal from the elderly Panisse (Maurice Chevalier) and he gives all of his love and acceptance to both her and her child. Marius returns after the child is born, never having known until he returns that he is a father. He wants Fanny back, and he and Panisse square off in a showdown over both Fanny and her child. However, Fanny has something to say about this too. It's a great film about love, responsibility, selfishness, and the root of true happiness.It is my favorite Leslie Caron movie and a great role for Chevalier in his later years. After having just recently seen the Ernst Lubitsch musicals Chevalier starred in thirty years before, I have to say he may have grayed but he never lost that essential indescribable charm he had in his youth.

purrlgurrl One of the essential pleasures of the film is its soundtrack of Harold Rome's beautiful melodies from the Broadway show, Fanny. The title theme, the song Fanny, is especially haunting, and played throughout the film.Unfortunately, there is no movie soundtrack CD (Grrrrrrrr!), only a Broadway cast album (yes, a phonograph record) from the 1954 stage production. I keep searching to find the song recorded somewhere, by someone (anyone), but just keep coming up empty. What a genuine pity that this beautiful piece of music seems to have been lost in time and we can only hear it sporadically in this film.Fanny contains my favorite performance my Maurice Chevalier as Panisse, the lovestruck older gentleman who marries the pregnant Fanny (Leslie Caron), whose young lover (Horst Bucholtz) has run off to be with his first true love, the sea. If you've seen The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, you'll know the story (based on the same source material). But, since this is after all a Hollywood production, the ending has an upbeat twist.Romantic love stories such as this were often filmed in epic style back in the day (a style resurrected by James Cameron for "Titanic", complete with theme music that played in your head for weeks). Sadly, it's a genre that's never made a solid comeback . . . though I fervently wish it would. Sigh . . .