Funny Face

Funny Face is an American musical film released in 1957, based on the 1927 broadway version by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin. It stars Audrey Hepburn as Jo, a shy, bookshop clerk-cum-amateur philosopher, who is discovered by a famous fashion photographer (played by Fred Astaire) and finds herself at a major fashion event in Paris, where romance blossoms. The plot for the film version is dramatically different than that of the Broadway musical, although many of the songs remain. Astaire also starred in the stage version alongside his sister, Adele. The movie plot is actually adapted from another Broadway musical Wedding Bells by Leonard Gershe. The original title for the film was "Wedding Day".

Related Topics:
American - Musical - 1957 - 1927 - Broadway - George Gershwin - Ira Gershwin - Audrey Hepburn - Fred Astaire - Paris - Adele - Wedding Bells - Leonard Gershe

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Unlike her later film, My Fair Lady, Hepburn sings in her own voice in this, her first musical. Astaire, meanwhile, was approaching the end of his musical film career; several songs in the film, including the title song, date back to his earliest musicals in the 1930s. Kay Thompson makes a rare appearance on camera as well, as Maggie Prescott, a fashion magazine editor.

Related Topics:
My Fair Lady - Kay Thompson

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Astaire's character was loosely based upon the career of Richard Avedon, who provided a number of the photographs seen in the film.

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