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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Kelly dances again in ‘An American in Paris’

Dan Webster

Hollywood has produced any number of great dancers. Few, though, have matched the talents of the great Gene Kelly.

In films such as "On the Town" and "Singing' in the Rain," Kelly and his co-stars danced their way into movie history. And one of Kelly's major achievements, which was directed by Vincente Minnelli, will screen at two area theaters on Sunday and the following Wednesday.

"An American in Paris," which won six Academy Awards (including Best Picture), will screen at 1 and 4 p.m. on Sunday at the Regal Cinemas theaters at Northtown Mall and Coeur d'Alene's Riverstone Stadium. Wednesday's screening at both theaters will be at 7 p.m.

The movie's story involves a trio of friends struggling to live and work in Paris. Things get complicated when romance (with Leslie Caron) comes between them.

As the late Roger Ebert once wrote, "The real reasons to see An American in Paris are for the Kelly dance sequences, the closing ballet, the Gershwin songs, the bright locations, and a few moments of the ineffable, always curiously sad charm of Oscar Levant."

And Ebert, while not always right, is seldom wrong.