Yes, the shocking pink hair of Pierrette is a little strange, but I do like this particular Gene doll. I thought that in her outfit, she would look perfect with a few scenes from the 1952 Gene Kelly classic “An American in Paris” in the background. These scenes are from the Black & White Ball sequence; naturally Gene needs a little pink to help her standout from the rest! From the storycard:
It was a romantic classic; a Cinderella story for modern times.
It was Gene's film, Lover in Disguise,-and even though there was no glass slipper to try on, Gene got her Prince Charming in the last reel (played by everyone's favorite leading man, Trent Osborn).
In “Lover in Disguise,” Gene stars as a hardworking shop girl at a dress shop run by a society woman (Madra Lord at her haughtiest).
The shopgirl becomes enamoured of one of the shop's regular customers, a dashing (and apparently well-to-do) older man. Even though they're at a distance in social standing, the two click, and just as the shopgirl thinks she has a chance at happiness, into the picture walks her Prince Charming's fiancée-none other than the haughty store owner.
What to do? Should the shopgirl sit back and let her Prince Charming get away? Or should she take matters into her own hands? No time to wait for a fairy godmother-knowing that the man of her dreams will be attending a charity masquerade ball that evening, she spies a perfect costume in the shop's window display: a pretty Pierrette.
Leaving behind a now naked mannequin, our Pierrette dashes off in disguise to the ball and to the arms of her lover.
Will he recognize her? Will he admit to his true feelings? Even though they were sure of the outcome, audiences held their breath, as Pierrette made her way down the ballroom stairs.
To round out the post, here are a few other scenes from the MGM Musical:
And a painting I did a few years ago commemorating the same sequence, which is the trigger for Gene Kelly’s legendary ballet:
To see more Gene Marshall photos, visit my regular website.
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