No, not the Baz Lurhman one. This is more like a biopic of artist Henri Toulouse-Latrec than it is about the venerable Montmarte establishment.Toulouse-Latrec (played by Jose Ferrer) was the son of an extremely wealthy count (also Jose Ferrer) whose legs didn't heal correctly after a childhood accident. The Comte leaves his family rather than suffer the shame of a deformed heir, and Henri moves to Paris to paint. He is a frequent guest at the Moulin Rouge, a favorite of all the staff, especially singer Avril (Zsa Zsa Gabor) but he's really searching for love. After giving his heart to prostitute Marie Charlet (Colette Marchand) and being rejected, he attempts suicide, but is saved by his love of painting. He achieves some success with a poster for the eponymous dance hall, raising the ire of his father, who believes Henri is bringing down the family name. Later, he meets Myriamme (Suzanne Flon), a model, but finds himself unable to believe she could love him.
Ok, I know it's not cool to admit it but I seriously did not know that Jose Ferrer played two characters in this movie. When I saw it on IMDb, I seriously had to replay the entire movie in my head to see if it could be true. The two characters are never in the same shot. It didn't even occur to me that they were the same dude. That's how in-character Ferrer was to me.
Latrec was a prolific artist and a number of his works are featured in the film itself, and also in a more general set direction kind of way, lending a hyper-colorful feel. Zsa Zsa Gabor is effervescent and steals every scene she's in, although her singing was obviously dubbed in afterwards. You'll also recognize a young, but still creepy, Peter Cushing in a small role.
And with this, I am off to the Bahamas! I will try and update tomorrow but no guarantees. See you next week!
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