Les Girls (1957) **½

Rashômon meets the musical genre is this mad-cap look into the history of American dancing act "Barry Nichols and Les Girls" and whether a scathing tell-all novel provides the true story or not. The film is broken into three flashbacks over the same period of time described in Lady Sybil Wren's (Kay Kendall) new book that is currently facing a libel suit from fellow dancer Angèle Ducros (Taina Elg). Each version paints a distinct picture of who exactly was carrying on an affair with Barry (Gene Kelly) and driven to suicide once he breaks it off with them. Both Lady Wren and Angèle give wildly differing accounts of the other's actions during their time in Paris, with elements of truth pervading through on both sides. Only Barry can provide the illumination as to which is the true version of events, and of course, he provides a third account, completely different from the other two.

It's never really known what exactly happened, as even Barry's supposed real version is suspect of purposefully omitting a few details, such as if Barry was having an affair with both girls, but it is comforting to know that in the end all can be forgiven. It's a fun romp and an interesting look to see how separate people can remember, and choose to forget, certain elements of the past. The only problem is that the story can become repetitive but the comedic talents of the cast ensure that it never lags or becomes boring. In fact, the desire to see who exactly is telling the truth about what happened sustains the momentum for the final third of the film despite the fact that events are being witnessed again after two previous glimpses.

The true highlight of the film is Kelly, who continues to impress with the way he throws himself into the role he is given. Here he smoothly switches from an overbearing, sleazy director to caring protector and finally to lovelorn manipulator and he is completely believable as each one. In fact, despite the changes in his overall demeanor, he is pretty much the only constant in all three stories as his charm wins over the audience even when he is at his worst, usually right before he drives his respective ladies to suicide. His character transitions are acceptable because at his core he is still the same man, a determined individual who will do what it takes to get what he wants. Whether this is seducing the new girl, taking care of another to help her through her troubles, or trying to convince the third, Joy (Mitzi Gaynor), that he is dying to win her sympathy and love, it makes no difference. In every account, he is shown to genuinely care for his girls even if he may be a little devious in his dealings with them.

Some of the best bits from this film come from the comedic sequences such as Angèle's account of Lady Wren's drinking problem. Kendall is a comedic tour de force in these scenes, dancing about the room, loudly singing and generally causing her roommates the most grief possible. Angèle's story also contains a hilarious scene on a train, where after Barry has gotten into a scuffle with Sybil's intended husband, Sir Gerald Wren (Leslie Phillips), Sybil attempts to comfort him, but he can only find solace in the wine bottle offered to him by the car's only other passenger. The wine bottle is continually passed around as Sybil and Barry argue giving the film some of it best laughs. Focusing on the more comedic elements in the second story helps to assuage the feeling of duplication as the events are shown again.

Les Girls is an entertaining examination of the differing perceptions held by separate individuals regarding the same events. Its comedic scenes tend to overshadow the more serious drama which hurts the overall tone of the picture. It attempts to shift gears from light-hearted fare to heavy subject matter at the flick of a switch and succeeds only occasionally. The constant shifts in tone give the film a disjointed feel that becomes a distraction as the film continues. The cast is first-rate however, with Kelly and Kendall being particularly noteworthy and by far the comedy does work. It succeeds in large part due to the talent and effort of its cast and makes the film quite an amusing diversion.

Favorite moment: The fight between Sir Wren and Barry is one of the most hilarious scenes in the film as a misunderstanding in communication leads to a physical brawl. Sybil gives conflicting information to both of them which leads Barry to make some wildly inappropriate comments regarding Sybil. It quickly degenerates into each man hitting the other, with laugh-out loud worthy results. The fact that it leads into the equally comical train scene makes for one of the most enjoyable sequences in the film.