Can-Can (1960)

58% of users liked it
(455 ratings)

Cole Porter's Gay Paree musical about the introduction in Montmartre in 1896 of the notorious Can-Can dance, is brought to the screen, filtered through a Rat Pack sensibility. Shirley MacLaine stars as Simone Pistache, the perky and vivacious owner of a Parisian cafe, who, aided by her swingin'… More Cole Porter's Gay Paree musical about the introduction in Montmartre in 1896 of the notorious Can-Can dance, is brought to the screen, filtered through a Rat Pack sensibility. Shirley MacLaine stars as Simone Pistache, the perky and vivacious owner of a Parisian cafe, who, aided by her swingin' boyfriend Francois Dumais (Frank Sinatra), is trying to keep her establishment from being closed down by the Paris authorities because of Simone's insistence on treating her patrons to the Can-Can, the salacious dance outlawed by French law. Maurice Chevalier is a kindly French judge who graciously looked the other way, but another hard-nosed judge, Philippe Forrestier (Louis Jordan), turns up the heat on Simone to close her cafe. That is, until Simone turns up the heat on him, and Phillippe falls hard for Simone. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 2 hr. 11 min.
Directed By: Walter Lang
Written By: Dorothy Kingsley, Charles Lederer
Genres: Drama, Musical & Performing Arts, Classics, Comedy

In Theaters: Mar 9, 1960 Wide
On DVD: May 22, 2007

Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
A vulgar and lackluster version of Cole Porter's musical set in Gay Paree in 1896.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Despite the star presence of Frank Sinatra and Shirley MacLaine, this is a second-rate musical due to Walter Lang's pedestrian direction but some of Cole Porter's songs are wonderful.

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