Moulin Rouge (1952)

Academy Awards, USA 1953

Won Oscar	Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color Paul Sheriff Marcel Vertès
	Best Costume Design, Color Marcel Vertès
Nominated Oscar	Best Picture John Huston
	Best Actor in a Leading Role José Ferrer
	Best Actress in a Supporting Role Colette Marchand
	Best Director John Huston
	Best Film Editing Ralph Kemplen

United Artists
Directed by John Huston
My rating: 3.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, MGM)

Jose Ferrer plays the Parisian artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, whose legs stopped growing after a childhood accident. As an adult, he hangs out in the famous Paris nightclub sketching the floor show dancers while downing bottles of cognac. He falls in love with a prostitute, but his culture and her crudeness doom it. He turns to his art and to alcohol to dull the pain, even refusing the love of another woman. Ferrer gives a memorable performance, with camera angles and other tricks convincingly portraying his lack of stature. A sad, melancholy story, vividly recreating the atmosphere of late 19th century Paris, with many of the characters from Toulouse-Lautrec's paintings coming to life.