Moulin Rouge (1952)

Moulin Rouge is a British film first released in 1952, directed by John Huston.  The film is based on a novel by Pierre La Mure and stars José Ferrer, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Suzanne Flon, Colette Marchand and Claude Nollier.  Our overall rating for this film is: good.


In late 1800s, Henri Toulose-Lautrec gives up his aristocratic birthright to live a Bohemian lifestyle in the popular haunts of Paris, which include the Moulin Rouge, home of the French cancan.  Lautrec craves love but an accident in childhood has stunted his growth and now he is regarded as a figure of fun.  He takes a prostitute Marie Charlet under his wing, but she repays him with insults and abandons him.  Lautrec’s mania for drink and hard work propels him ever faster towards a premature death...

John Huston’s lavish portrayal of the life and loves of the post-impressionist painter Henri de Toulose-Lautrec falls into the pitfall of many a biopic – elaborating popular myth rather than recounting the known facts and favouring spectacle over substance.  As a celebration of the work of Lautrec, the film has much to commend it – the gaudy costumes and sets, together with the smoky colour-saturated cinematography, perfectly evoke the vibrant work of the great artist.  However, as a serious account of the life of Laurec, the film leaves a great deal to be desired.

José Ferrer was an all-too obvious casting choice for the part of Lautrec.  He had already cornered the market in playing grotesques, notably the title role in Michael Gordon’s Cyrano de Bergerac (1950).  Unfortunately, in a performance that can best be described as wooden, Ferrer fails to go much beyond the stereotypical image of Lautrec and gives what is largely a slightly sick caricature, exaggerating his short stature by a good twelve inches whilst failing to convey any warmth or humanity.  Having Ferrer play both Lautrec (on his knees) and his father is an extraordinarily bad piece of casting judgement and merely shows the limits of Ferrer’s range as an actor.

Ferrer is not a particularly bad actor but his failings are exacerbated by what has to be one of John Huston’s worst screenplays.  The banal self-referential observations on art are irritating to anyone who knows something about the subject, but these are nowhere near as off-putting as the lack of characterisation and clumsy attempts to evoke sympathy for the protagonists.  

Although immensely popular when it was first released, presumably on account of its stunning visuals, the film now feels dated and shallow.  It was nominated for seven Oscars (including Best Picture and Best Director), but won only two – for Best Art Direction (Color) and Best Costume Design (Color).  It would be easy to dismiss the film completely were it not for its remarkable opening sequence in the Moulin Rouge, which succeeds in catapulting the audience into the superficially glitzy world which lured and fascinated Toulose-Lautrec, like a moth drawn to the flame.

© James Travers 2008

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