RECIPE INSPIRED BY JULIA CHILD. PHOTOGRAPH: ALEX LUCK. FOOD STYLING: SOPHIE AUSTEN-SMITH. STYLING: VICTORIA ELDRIDGE
THE PLOT DIGESTED
The movie is adapted from an early 1930s German film made in those louche Weimar days depicted in Cabaret. Impoverished singer Victoria Grant (Julie Andrews) cooks up a scheme with the equally broke cabaret star Toddy (Robert Preston) – Victoria will become Count Victor, a Polish drag queen new to the Paris scene. All goes swimmingly until King Marchand (James Garner) turns up to book acts for his Chicago nightclub, and gender becomes a bit of an issue.
WHY KAY LOVES THIS FILM
There’s so much to enjoy: Andrews’ display of Garbo-esque cheekbones; Garner learning tolerance of others’ sexuality; some typical wordplay comedy from director Blake Edwards. But the star turn belongs to Robert Preston’s Toddy. In a role originally conceived for Peter Sellers, he shines with world-weary tenderness and wry wit in a performance for the ages.