Victor Victoria

Plot synopsis:
Set in 1934 Paris, the film opens with Richard di Nardo, a young hustler, emerging from the bed of gay middle-aged Carroll Todd (Robert Preston), a.k.a. Toddy; Richard dresses, takes money from Toddy's wallet and leaves Toddy's apartment. Going about his day, Toddy, a performer at Chez Lui in Paris, sees Labisse, the club owner, auditioning a frail, impoverished soprano, Victoria Grant (Julie Andrews). After the audition, Labisse drily writes her off, and she responds by sustaining a pitch to shatter his wine glass using resonant frequency. That night, Richard comes to Chez Lui as part of a straight foursome and Toddy incites a brawl by insulting Richard and the women in his group. Labisse fires Toddy and bans him from the club. Walking home, he spots Victoria dining at a restaurant, and she invites him to join her. As neither of them can pay for the meal, she dumps a cockroach in her salad to avoid paying their check, but it escapes and the whole place breaks out in havoc.
The duo run out through the rain to Toddy's, and he invites her to stay when she finds that the rain has shrunk her cheap clothes. The next morning Richard shows up to collect his things. Victoria, who is wearing his clothes, hides in Toddy's closet. When she thinks that Richard might harm Toddy, she ambushes Richard and literally kicks him out. Witnessing this, Toddy is struck with the inspiration of passing Victoria off as a man (the illusion convinced Richard who stumbles downstairs to his friends waiting in the car claiming a strange man wearing his clothes hit him) and presenting her to Andre Cassell (John Rhys-Davies), the most successful agent in Paris, as a female impersonator.
Cassell accepts her as Count Victor Grazinski, a gay Polish female impersonator and Toddy's new boyfriend. Cassell gets her a nightclub show and invites a collection of club owners to the opening. Among the guests is King Marchand (James Garner), an owner of multiple clubs in Chicago, who is in league with the mob. King attends with his ditzy moll Norma Cassidy (Lesley Ann Warren) and burly bodyguard Bernstein (Alex Karras), a.k.a. Squash. Victor is a hit, and King is smitten, but devastated and incredulous when she is "revealed" as a man at the end of her act. King is convinced that "Victor" is not a man.
After a quarrel with Norma and his subsequent failure with her later that night, King sends her back to America. Determined to get the truth of Victor's gender, King sneaks into Victoria and Toddy's suite and confirms his suspicion when he spies her getting into the bath. He keeps his knowledge secret and invites Victoria, Toddy, and Cassell to Chez Lui, where Toddy is now welcomed due to Victor's status as a big star. Another fight breaks out with exactly the same foursome as before; Squash and Toddy are arrested with the bulk of the club clientele, but King and Victoria escape. King kisses Victoria pretending that he does not care about Victoria's gender (although he of course actually knows that she is a woman), leading them to get together.
Squash returns to the suite and catches King with Victoria in bed. King tries to explain, but soon receives a shocker himself - Squash reveals himself to be gay. Meanwhile, Labisse hires a P.I., Charles Bovin, to investigate Victor. Victoria and King live together for a while, but keeping up the public act of Victoria being a man strains the relationship and King ends it. Back in Chicago, Norma tells King's club partner Sal Andretti (Norman Chancer), that King is having an affair with Victor.
At the same time that Victoria has decided to give up the persona of Victor in order to be with King, Sal arrives and demands that King transfer his share of the empire to Sal for a small portion of its worth. Squash tells Victoria what's happening, and she interrupts the paperwork signing to show Norma that she is really a woman, and prevent King from having to lose his stake. That night at the club Cassell tells Toddy and Victoria that Labisse has lodged a complaint against him and "Victor" for perpetrating a fraud. The Inspector tells Labisse that the performer is a man and Labisse is an idiot.
In the end, Victoria joins King in the club as her real self. King is stunned, as moments earlier, the announcer had said that Victor was going to perform. Toddy is revealed as the performer, having masqueraded as "Victor" to fool the Inspector. After an intentionally disastrous, but hilarious performance, Toddy claims that this is his last performance. The film ends with King, Squash, Victoria, Cassell and the public applauding enthusiastically.

Tags: queer

Review:
"Victor/Victoria" was the film where Blake Edwards finally managed to deliver his valentine to his wife, Julie Andrews, and convince the public to join in.
And the score is priceless.All in all, a flawless entertainment, which, like the best movies from the studio system's heyday of which "Victor / Victoria" is a proud and worthy descendant, rewards the attentive (and interested) viewer with far more substance - and style - than might appear at first.
(It didn't hurt that stars Julie Andrews and James Garner were hottest in the sixties, and had acted together in 1964's "The Americanization of Emily.")Robert Preston, "The Music Man" of late fifties Broadway and 1962 screen fame, further added an element of early sixties nostalgia -- with the twist that he here used his booming vocal tones in the service of a delightfully out and comfortable gay man.
Enough music for a Broadway musical (which is what "Victor/Victoria" became), and with a sad and wistful Mancini title tune (reprised in the film by Andrews) that reminds one a bit of "Moon River" and "Days of Wine and Roses."  Just like in the early sixties..
Le Film Hot. Dazzling art direction, lavish costumes, funny dialogue, a fabulous soundtrack, and Robert Preston make "Victor/Victoria" one of filmdom's most entertaining musicals of all time.
Toddy (Robert Preston), a gay performer, persuades Victoria (Julie Andrews), a struggling singer, to change her appearance to that of a man so that she can pose on stage as a female impersonator.
Julie Andrews finally solved the problem of Maria by playing a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman, Robert Preston's gay entertainer is a long, long way from Harold Hill, and Lesley Ann Warren...
And they all get to sing some great songs from Henry Mancini and Leslie Brucusse, among them "Le Jazz Hot," (in which Andrews sings in her lower range, and actually sizzles) "The Shady Dame From Seville," (first sung by Andrews, then hilariously reprised at the end by Preston) and "Chicago, Illinois."  (Warren is great in that)  Though there is a long stretch in the middle that either included jokes and/or subtleties that went over my head or just wasn't funny, though not bad, otherwise it's a great comedy.
This fact became the inspiration for the film "Victoria/Victoria." In the movie, a talented female singer (Julie Andrews) named Victoria Grant (aka Count Victor Grezhinski) schemes with an out of work cabaret singer, Carroll 'Toddy' Todd (Robert Preston, who is fantastic in this role) to create a female impersonation act.
Then we have a great moment when ROBERT PRESTON does an imitation of Julie singing "The Shady Dame from Seville" in drag--yes drag--the actor who played such sturdy romantic leads in the '40s and '50s is hilarious as a gay blade who hooks up with Julie during a restaurant scene in which she plants a cockroach in her plate to avoid paying for dinner.That's the kind of romp this is.
And it's extremely witty, with JAMES GARNER as Julie's romantic interest who hasn't figured out why he's so attracted to "the shady dame" when she's supposed to be a man.First-rate sets and cinematography in color, and while none of it really makes any sense, the song and dance routines are fabulous with some great tunes by Henry Mancini.
The movie probably could have done without Lesley Ann Warren's song and dance number (why ruin Julie and Robert's wonderful score?)...
On a side note, Warren's character reminded me a bit of Jean Hagen's Lina Lamont in Singin' in the Rain; they each had their characters down perfectly, and you got just annoyed with them enough to hate them but like them at the same time...Of course, Andrews does a beautiful job with all the songs- my favorite being her first jazz number.
Blake Edwards's best, this musical comedy features Julie Andrews and James Garner.
Directed, co-produced, with a screenplay co-written by Blake Edwards (for which he received his only Academy Award nomination), this hilarious Musical Comedy features Julie Andrews in the title role (both characters) as a woman, masquerading as a man pretending to be a woman (e.g. as a female impersonator).
However, it doesn't detract from the incredibly clever script, nor the film's other terrific performances by James Garner, Robert Preston, and Lesley Anne Warren.
Football player-turned actor Alex Karras, John Rhys-Davies, and Graham Stark (playing a waiter, naturally), among others, also appear.Preston plays Andrews's agent, who comes up with the idea (that of her pretending to be a man who's a female impersonator) to help his struggling client find work.
A down on her luck singer (Julie Andrews) in 1930s Paris suddenly hits the big time when she is advised by a gay cabaret performer (Robert Preston) to become a female impersonator.
However, then having to also be a man pretending to be a woman adds its own set of complications, especially as she starts being wooed by night club owner King Marchand (James Garner), himself on the run from the Chicago mob.Funny, catchy and even a little portent-giving, Edwards' LGBT musical comedy is a true treat, and one of the man's finest hours as a director and writer.
Leading the charge is an absolutely magnetic lead in Andrews, who reminds us why she was one of the great talents of her generation, deftly balancing comedy and drama while proving her singing chops, having to adopt a slightly masculine bass a number of times.That in turn brings us to the cheeky yet peppy songs by maestro Henry Mancini, which cover a nice variety of different styles with the highlight being the flamenco-spired 'Shady Dame From Seville' and often squeeze a good chuckle or nine in for good measure.
Of course, the film's biggest ace is its smart and witty script, which offered a far more balanced look at homosexuality years than was considered even an acceptable thought at the time (especially given how close this was to things like the AIDS scare), as well as rather compelling gender satire that pokes fun at our constructs of what is masculine versus feminine and milks them for all they're worth.
In 1964 Blake Edwards had directed his wife Julie Andrews in her film debut The Americanization Of Emily which James Garner costars with her and Henry Mancini wrote a fine title song for the film.
The film was sort of a trial run before Andrews was launched full blast by Walt Disney in Mary Poppins.This fine team reunited 18 years later for the gender defying comedy Victor Victoria and Mancini wrote a few songs for Julie Andrews and Robert Preston and Lesley Ann Warren to do.
But the questions about sexual identity and gender attraction were never so provocatively raised before until Victor Victoria.Andrews and Preston were both in Blake Edwards immediately preceding film SOB and both had a pair of outrageous parts in that one also which I highly recommend.
How fitting that the very next year Linda Hunt would win the first Oscar ever given for playing a member of the opposite sex."Victor Victoria" is a solidly-crafted, old-fashioned musical that finds Andrews pretending to be a male female impersonator (got that?) so that she can hold a job in a nightclub in Depression-era Paris.
James Garner is the man's man who begins to doubt his manliness when he finds himself having some strange feelings for this "guy." It's a very gay-friendly movie that's really squeaky clean, though it might have been racy at the time when homosexuality wasn't as accepted as it is now (if you want to call it "accepted" even now).There are lots of production numbers, but this doesn't feel like a musical, as all of the numbers are presented in context of a show and they don't propel the plot or develop characters.
Julie Andrews stars in the title role delivering one of her finest performances (cannot imagine anyone else play the part), along with James Garner (brilliant), Robert Preston (superb), Lesley Ann-Warren (hilarious) and Alex Karras (funny).
Andrew's song and dance numbers, Garner doubting his own sexuality, Karras coming to terms with his identity, Warren's scenes with Garner and Andrews, when Preston and Andrews have dinner at the restaurant for the first time and Andrews pretending to be a man.The film though exceeds the traditional 2 hour length, it's time well spent as you'll find yourself amused by this witty and cleverly made heartfelt piece of entertainment.
Julie Andrews wins the heart of the man she loves with music...Robert Preston as a musical con man out to hoodwink a city...Lesley Ann Warren's life is changed when she meets her fairy.....well, fairy!
The thing that made Victor/Victoria such a gem (and I concur with fellow reviewers that this was Blake Edward's best movie) was that everyone, EVERYONE, was clicking on all cylinders for this one; Edwards, Mancini, Andrews, Preston, Warren, and the rest...but most of all for the snappy editing of Ralph E.
The supporting cast is brilliant too:Lesley Ann Warren as a somewhat trashy vamp(in sharp contrast to Andrews' part),burlesque,noisy and vulgar in every scene,James Garner as the heterosexual gangster eventually falling for Victoria(a whole range of complications and comical situations being derived from that,everyone believing that Victoria is a man and therefore Mr.though guy being queer,which is unacceptable according to the mob's moral rules),then a bunch of typical Blake Edwards comical faces familiar to us from the Pink Panther series in extremely funny episodic appearances,like screaming:"Cockroach!".
Well, kiddies, here's Victor/Victoria for you in all of its gender-deception glory.Containing plenty of bitchy remarks, sarcastic banter, and some very choice moments of zany, slapstick comedy, Victor/Victoria is a sexual charade of sorts that, for the most part, held up fairly well considering its subject matter.Set in Gay Paree (Paris) in 1934, a couple of this film's absolute highlights were - (1) Watching Lesley Ann Warren chew up the scenery as the gold-digging, blond bimbo, Norma Cassady - and - (2) Julie Andrews, as the gay deceiver, Victoria Grant, really belting it out in the "Le Jazz Hot!" musical number.On the down side - This Comedy/Farce ran on for far too long at 2 hours and 13 minutes.
Ever since I heard about "Victor Victoria", I tried to visualize how a movie from Blake Edwards, "The Pink Panther" director, about cross-dressing in 1930s "Gay Paris" would look.
"Victor Victoria" takes this context into consideration, respects its audience's maturity and portray homosexuality in the most straightforward way.So Blake Edwards lays the cards with the first shot where we see Toddy (Robert Preston) sleeping, face in profile, and then a man's head rises behind him.
In fact, sometimes, you feel like both loves are intertwined.Take that scene for instance where King Marchand, James Garner as a charming but roguish American business, gets smitten by the new sensation of Gay Paris, look at how his jaw slowly drop when "Victoria" (Julie Andrews) puts off her apparel revealing short hair, which means that she's "Victor", which means a transvestite.
the film embraces its own approach by injecting a fair dose of slapstick (well, I think there was one or two brawls too many) but the Edwards' touch, the 'atmosphere', the casting (especially Preston and Warren) not to mention the musical, contribute to a spectacular and solid entertainment, that aged up very well like some good Parisian wine..
Easily one of the greatest musicals ever made, and by far Julie Andrews best performance (although I have really enjoyed her other movies), Victor/Victoria centers around the character of young Victoria Grant, a poverty stricken singer trying to make it in 1930's Paris.Carole Todd meanwhile, is an aging gay cabaret performer who, after a disturbance, gets fired from his job at the Chez Louis, and is sitting at a restaurant drinking coffee when he meets Victoria, who is determined to get a decent meal...even if it means rotting in jail for being unable to pay her bill.These two down on their luck entertainers, finding they have a lot in common, quickly develop a friendship, and Todd (Robert Preston), who's financial situation is almost as bad as Victoria's gets an inspiration:To pass Victoria off as Count Grazinski, the world's greatest female impersonator.As he himself puts it:"With your voice, and my connections, you will be the toast of Paris, and we will both be very rich."With the help of prestigious agent Andre Cassel (John Rhys-Davies), the plan takes off like a rocket, and soon Todd's prediction comes true.But when handsome, dashing, business tycoon King Marchan (James Garner) visits Paris in the company of his girlfriend Norma (Lesley Ann Warren), and his bodyguard 'Squash' Bernstein (Alex Karras), and falls in love with Victoria in spite of the fact that he thinks she's a man, things begin to get complicated.The entire cast is great in this movie, the music and the script are outstanding, and the last scene is one the greatest in the history of musical comedies.A real triumph by director Blake Edwards.Originally, Review #134Posted On:
Blake Edwards and Julie Andrews had been married for several years by the time that they made "Victor Victoria".
Julie Andrews is of course best known as Mary Poppins, and Robert Preston is best known as the Music Man. But aside from those two and Garner - best known as Maverick - there's also Alex Karras (Mongo in "Blazing Saddles") and John Rhys-Davies (Sallah in the Indiana Jones movies and Gimli in the Lord of the Rings franchise).
Set in Paris in 1934, a starving singer named Victoria (Julie Andrews) meets a gay club entertainer named Toddy (Robert Preston) at a restaurant.
It's too old fashioned and not refreshing enough, for a late musical made in completely '40's style.Plus the concept of the movie is in my opinion a flawed one because of the simple reason that there is no way that Julie Andrews looks believable enough as a woman who is impersonating a man playing a woman.
All of the characters in this movie are really fun one's and portrayed by some good actors, such as Julie Andrews but also James Garner and Robert Preston among others.You'll mostly get a blast out of this movie if you're familiar with the old musical genre, from a time long since gone, even in 1982 already.6/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/.
Victor/Victoria is a 1982 British-American musical comedy film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and starring Julie Andrews, James Garner, Robert Preston, Lesley Ann Warren, Alex Karras, and John Rhys-Davies.
Julie Andrews vocal and comedic talents put to use, Leslie Ann Warren in an amazing performance as the ultimate Depression-era floozie and Robert Preston in what is probably his best film performance after The Music Man. All this flows perfectly for about an hour and then the second half, how shall I put this, stinks.
Robert Preston is also outrageously camp but in a good way- Shady Dame from Seville is hilarious-, while Lesley Ann Warren(very funny and very sexy), John Rhys Davies and especially Alex Karras give stellar supporting turns as well.The songs are just great, especially the moving Crazy World.
The story and romance is interesting with very rare a false or dull note even with the lengthy length.All in all, a delightful movie and a must see for fans of Julie Andrews, Blake Edwards, musicals or James Garner.
Obviously a labor of love for those involved, this tale of 1930s "Gay" Paris is Julie Andrews, James Garner, Robert Preston, and Lesley Ann Warren at their best.
I've always been a Blake Edwards fan, and this is probably his second best film, after "The Great Race."  Henry Mancini's music is let down a bit by Leslie Bricusse's flatfooted lyrics, but the production numbers are terrific, and the leading actors are all at their considerable best (particularly Robert Preston, who was apparently incapable of giving a dull performance)..
Great songs and production numbers, costumes to die for, and a dream cast all at their career best.Victoria (Julie Andrews), so down and out she is ready to compromise her virtue for a meatball, meets Toddy (Robert Preston), an old queen with a head cold.
What ensues is a string of delightful Andrews cabarets (and a great number by Warren) and a love interest with James Garner who's never quite sure if he might be falling for a man, or is it a woman?Lesley Ann Warren and Alex Karras round out the cast as part of Garner's entourage.
When it's over, we know that it wasn't just the laughs that we appreciate but the movie's view of people generally, when we look beyond the sexual stereotypes.Robert Preston (a actor in musicals from the 1950's) is a mentor for the talented Julie Andrews, who plays a man pretending to be a woman.
With Blake Edwards at his mid-80's, Julie Andrews 70, Lesley Ann Warren now 60, James Garner nearing 80, and Robert Preston now gone nearly 20 years - it is also a pleasure to view this earlier offering from this cast, and to recall that they had many years' entertaining performances (and Edwards productions) long prior to this film.
VICTOR/VICTORIA is a thoroughly entertaining and, at times, raucously funny musical about a down and out singer (Julie Andrews) who becomes a great star as a female impersonator.
I've read that Victor/Victoria is director Blake Edwards' cinematic "love song" to its star, Julie Andrews, his wife of 13 years at the completion of this film.
Julie Andrews, James Garner, Lesley Ann Warren, Robert Preston and cast are just brilliant.
Everyone in this: Julie Andrews, James Garner, Robert Preston, Leslie Ann Warren, Alex Karras, and John Rhys Davies- is terrific.
With an idea from Mr. Todd ("Toddy" to everyone), Victoria becomes "a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman." (Try to say that five times fast.) She lands her first gig without a problem and comes across King Marchand (the late great James Garner), his bodyguard (the late Alex Karras), and King's girlfriend Norma Cassidy (the ever-funny Lesley Ann Warren) during the opening performance.