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Many social innovations, have often as not originated in France. Take cross-dressing for instance. In the 1930's a singer created quite a sensation when her fabulous show became the toast of Paris. She traveled throughout Europe and remained a novelty for years. Her success was due to the fact that she was not a woman after all. She was a man. This fact became the inspiration for the film "Victoria/Victoria." In the movie, a talented female singer (Julie Andrews) named Victoria Grant (aka Count Victor Grezhinski) schemes with an out of work cabaret singer, Carroll 'Toddy' Todd (Robert Preston, who is fantastic in this role) to create a female impersonation act. With the help of Andre Cassell, (John Rhys Davies) a night club owner they hope to get rich with the unusual act. Complications arise however, the least of which is a visiting gangster named King Marchand (James Garner) who takes a liking for Victoria. His Chicago girlfriend Norma Cassady (Lesley Ann Warren) become jealous and informs other hoodlums to come to Paris. Alex Karras, plays Mr. Bernstein, Garners' bodyguard). The film is a solid hit for the cast and lays the foundation of it become a classic. ****

The first time I saw it, I thought it was "pretty good." Amusing, but I didn't expect to find myself watching it again.

It's unpretentious. It doesn't have Big Ideas or profound themes that you have to watch it twice to get.

But it's got lovable characters and a kickin' plot, and I happen to have a huge crush on the 1930s. I love the friendship between Victoria and Toddy because it feels so genuine and it's rare to see a friendship (particularly between men and women) portrayed so well in movies. I love the romance between Victoria and King, because they're well-matched, but at the same time the problems in their relationship are so realistic. Fundamental inability to compromise? I think everyone knows what that's like.

Okay, well, its not really a classic love story, but its your classic boy meets girl pretending to be a boy pretending to be a girl story, and probably the best one of those thats ever been made. Julie Andrews plays Victoria(and Victor) quite well, but sometimes its hard believing that people would believe that she is a man. There are some great scenes in this movie that are derived from this concept though. James Garner and Robert Preston are both excellent in their roles, Preston as Andrews gay friend, and Garner, the manliest man around. Actually, all of the performances are excellent, but a lot of this movies success has to go to Blake Edwards. There is classic Edwards comedy in this movie, and a very intelligent script that never insults its audiences intelligence. I won't give specifics, but I will say the there is a show stopping number at the end of the movie that is hilarious. Most of the music is excellent, and if its bad, its intended to be that way. Really though, I only have one question. Having seen "The Party", and now this movie, one has to wonder, what does Blake Edwards have against waiters? 9 out of 10.

Despite all of its gender-bending commentary on sexuality, both hetero- and homo-, "Victor/Victoria" looked and sounded in 1982 (year of "ET" and "The Road Warrior") as if it were made in 1962 -- and that was a good thing. Blake Edwards' trademark ability to combine lush romanticism with immitable slapstick comedy was here matched by a wonderful score by his longtime collaborator Henry Mancini, "Voila!" -- we're back in the early sixties again. (It didn't hurt that stars Julie Andrews and James Garner were hottest in the sixties, and had acted together in 1964's "The Americanization of Emily.")

Robert Preston, "The Music Man" of late fifties Broadway and 1962 screen fame, further added an element of early sixties nostalgia -- with the twist that he here used his booming vocal tones in the service of a delightfully out and comfortable gay man. Preston was one of two hot contenders for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar that year. The winner was Lou Gossett, Jr. for his Drill Instructor in "An Officer And A Gentleman."

Rounding out the great cast are Lesley Ann Warren (sexy and very funny) in an Oscar-nominated role as Garner's mob moll floozie, and Alex Karras, continually funny as Garner's softhearted ox of a bodyguard. (Karras gets a classic Blake Edwards slapstick routine trapped in the freezing snow outside a Paris hotel, getting big laughs out of the simple line: "You've got heat? That's good.")

And be sure to keep a lookout for "Sherloque Tanney" as the French private detective on Victor/Victoria's trail. Tanney was Blake Edwards dentist, and appeared in almost every Blake Edwards film from "Darling Lili" (1970) on. Other than his corpse in "SOB," (1981), the French detective is possibly Dr. Tanney's greatest role on the screen. Tanney, too, gets to anchor several great trademark Blake Edwards slapstick routines.

Oh, and there's music, too. Enough music for a Broadway musical (which is what "Victor/Victoria" became), and with a sad and wistful Mancini title tune (reprised in the film by Andrews) that reminds one a bit of "Moon River" and "Days of Wine and Roses." Just like in the early sixties.

"Victor/Victoria" was the film where Blake Edwards finally managed to deliver his valentine to his wife, Julie Andrews, and convince the public to join in. Maybe because of that, it's one of his most heartfelt movies, and the enormous love between the director and his star do as much to warm up this movie as the careful colour composition of Dick Bush's fantastic - and underrated - photography.

This is a film where everything works perfectly. The acting ranges from the impeccable (the leads) through the touching (Alex Karras) right to the truly sublime (Robert Preston and Lesley Ann-Warren). The musical numbers are lovingly staged and shot and, possibly because this is a pre-MTV film, we actually get to see dancers dancing, as opposed to machine-gun assemblies of body parts performing details of not necessarily connected movements. The directorial touch is assured, proficient but never showy: the many complicated set-ups are executed with elegance, economy - not a frivolous camera movement to be seen - and discretion. (The circular pan around Julie as she sings "Crazy World" is a lovely example of how camera movement can create emotion without drawing attention to itself.) The sets and costumes are lavish but, again, do not distract. The screenplay is witty, full of deft touches, and Edwards treats his rather daring (for 1982) theme without blinking, and with great lucidity. (The other drag film of the year was "Tootsie", which stuck to the romance and stayed away from uncomfortable homosexual touches as much as it managed to.) The timing never falters. And the score is priceless.

All in all, a flawless entertainment, which, like the best movies from the studio system's heyday of which "Victor / Victoria" is a proud and worthy descendant, rewards the attentive (and interested) viewer with far more substance - and style - than might appear at first. I do not have the space to analyse this film at the length it deserves; but I can recommend it, which I do wholeheartedly.

Dazzling art direction, lavish costumes, funny dialogue, a fabulous soundtrack, and Robert Preston make "Victor/Victoria" one of filmdom's most entertaining musicals of all time. Set in 1934 Paris, and filmed in luscious color, the film tells the story of two down and out friends who carry out an ingenious plan to get rich. Toddy (Robert Preston), a gay performer, persuades Victoria (Julie Andrews), a struggling singer, to change her appearance to that of a man so that she can pose on stage as a female impersonator. Blake Edwards converts the film's clever concept into a film of true cinematic flair and panache.

The film's music alone is enough to make "Victor/Victoria" a winner. With consummate verve, Andrews sings the lively "Le Jazz Hot", a stage performance that has been mimicked by, it seems, one in ten talent competitors in the Miss America Pageant for the last twenty years. The colorful song "The Shady Dame From Seville" is memorable as a cultural classic. Even the restrained "You And Me" is satisfying, with its old fashioned charm. And Henry Mancini's wistful and slightly melancholy original score adds melodic balance to the flashy stage numbers.

The casting is perfect. I cannot imagine anyone other than Julie Andrews as Victoria. James Garner is fine as King Marchand. And in support roles, Lesley Ann Warren adds sexy spunk as Norma, and Alex Karras is surprisingly effective as Marchand's bodyguard. But it is music man Robert Preston who leads this top notch Hollywood talent parade. Preston is likable throughout, and is a hoot in the film's finale.

If the film has a flaw, it might be in the editing. The plot in Act Two slows down. Or, to say it a little differently, it ... drags (so to speak). The 132 minute runtime is a tad long maybe, and so a few scene deletions here and there might have rendered a slight improvement in the pace. But, this is a minor issue, one that I raise only in my grasping-at-straws attempt to find something to complain about.

"Victor/Victoria" is an expressive, fun, one-of-a-kind musical garden party that easily makes my list of top fifty films ever made.

Paris in the '30s is the setting for this screwball sex comedy wherein JULIE ANDREWS, for the sake of being employed, takes a job as a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman--figure that one out. Then we have a great moment when ROBERT PRESTON does an imitation of Julie singing "The Shady Dame from Seville" in drag--yes drag--the actor who played such sturdy romantic leads in the '40s and '50s is hilarious as a gay blade who hooks up with Julie during a restaurant scene in which she plants a cockroach in her plate to avoid paying for dinner.

That's the kind of romp this is. And it's extremely witty, with JAMES GARNER as Julie's romantic interest who hasn't figured out why he's so attracted to "the shady dame" when she's supposed to be a man.

First-rate sets and cinematography in color, and while none of it really makes any sense, the song and dance routines are fabulous with some great tunes by Henry Mancini. LESLEY ANN WARREN gives a priceless performance as a bird brained vamp in her Oscar nominated supporting role.

I'm watching this film tonight 37 years after seeing it for the first time. I've seen this film maybe 30/40 times and each time I watch it, I fall in love with it all over again. It's funny heart warming and the music is just amazing. Definitely one of my all time favourite films....

Victor/Victoria is one of my all-time favorite films. I just totally love the whole woman/man/woman storyline and the way that Blake Edwards chose to deal with the very hard subject matter of homosexuality, especially in the early 1930's was very well done and extremely humorous.

The acting is superb. Julie Andrews is a supreme actress and for once, Edwards doesn't waste his wife's talents as both a actress and a singer, as he has done in some of his other films. Robert Preston is the best thing about this film. His characterization of Toddy, the happy-go lucky gay guy was superb. He made Toddy a very real and human character by displaying both a touching and vulnerable side. He was nominated for an Oscar, too bad he didn't win because he definitely deserved it! James Garner and Lesley Ann Warren add a nice touch with their supporting roles of King Marchand and Norma, the Marilyn-Monroeish floozy girlfriend. The musical numbers are outstanding. Even if you don't like the rest of the film, you will love the music, guaranteed! Wonderful score by Henry Mancini & Leslie Bricusse.

Great score, incredible art/set design, wonderful performances - - Lesley Ann Warren should have won the Oscar!! This is a film I never get tired of watching.

Me thinks several semi-homophobic comments need to look in-their-mirrors!?! This classic, Blake Edwards musical/comedy is still-a-treasure after ALL-these-years! Pure Hollywood entertainment! Reviewed Julie Andrews' Vegas debut for "Billboard Magazine" at Caesars Palace in the late '70s & was dazzled by her amazing talent. She was so gracious at the after-show dinner party, personally meeting each press member at their tables! A classy lady! - Had seen Robert Preston with Mary Martin in the musical/comedy "I Do! I Do!" on Broadway in '66. This was his best movie role ever, way better than "The Music Man." & Leslie Ann Warren nearly stole-the-movie with her dead-on portrayal of the dippy gun moll!?! & Henry "Hank" Mancini's amazing score proves-the-vital element-of-music in film. It's wonderful!!!

Blake Edwards and Julie Andrews had been married for several years by the time that they made "Victor Victoria". It's entertaining enough. I especially liked the scenes in the hotel rooms, as well as Lesley Ann Warren's exaggerated performance as James Garner's moll.

Being the sort of person that I am, what most caught my eye was the cast. Julie Andrews is of course best known as Mary Poppins, and Robert Preston is best known as the Music Man. But aside from those two and Garner - best known as Maverick - there's also Alex Karras (Mongo in "Blazing Saddles") and John Rhys-Davies (Sallah in the Indiana Jones movies and Gimli in the Lord of the Rings franchise). And all of this is under the direction of the man who gave us Inspector Clouseau!

The movie is good for the stage performances. The funnier gender-bending movie from 1982 was "Tootsie", which had essentially the reverse plot. Still, this one's worth seeing. As to the issue of whether or not it stereotypes gays, it's hard to say.

Mongo only pawn in game of life!

Victor/Victoria is a reasonably entertaining film that unfortunately lacks pacing and originality, and preaches to the audience. The cast all have their moments with Warren and Preston being standouts. And like Blake Edwards' The Great Race (1965) it relies too heavily on over-extended slapstick with everything in sight being smashed which becomes tiresome and repetitive. The sets remain sets, and all of the actors except for Andrews are and remain American. Europe in the 30s is not convincingly evoked. The film is too talky and does come off as homosexual propaganda with Andrews lecturing James Garner as well as the audience. Overall, the film feels more like a comedy from the early 60s which was the most prolific period for Edwards, Andrews and Garner. The musical numbers are fine and there is fun to be had, but it's somewhat overrated, overlong and rather forgettable. The film became a Broadway musical directed by Edwards and starring Andrews and it worked better on stage than it does on film.

My God, the reviewer before me MUST be mad!!! Either that, or he/she must be struggling with their own sexuality! THIS is one of my favorite movies of ALL time. Julie Andrews is in fine musical form; James Garner gives one of his greatest comedic performances since "The Americanization of Emily" (also with Julie Andrews) and Lesley Ann Warren just about steals the picture! This movie scores a solid "10" for comedy, a sterling "10" for music and a rousing "10" for romance! ANYONE that DOESN'T like this movie should suck an egg! HOW did Lesley Ann Warren NOT win an Oscar? Ditto, Robert Preston? I consider myself a guy's guy, but I confess I tear up every time I hear the opening refrains of Julie singing "Crazy World," the film's theme song. Bravo, Blake Edwards!!!

First of all, let me just say that I am slightly obsessed with Julie Andrews and her work. With that out of the way... I love her in this movie because it's not your typical Julie Andrews movie. Most people see her in The Sound of Music or Mary Poppins or (if you know this far back in her career) Cinderella. However, she delivers a flawless performance as Victor/Victoria. The only skepticism I have about this movie is seeing her as a man. She's so feminine (in her mannerisms, voice, appearance, etc.) that it's almost impossible to think that she's a man. Robert Preston is wonderfully funny, and I always love James Garner. The movie probably could have done without Lesley Ann Warren's song and dance number (why ruin Julie and Robert's wonderful score?)... On a side note, Warren's character reminded me a bit of Jean Hagen's Lina Lamont in Singin' in the Rain; they each had their characters down perfectly, and you got just annoyed with them enough to hate them but like them at the same time...

Of course, Andrews does a beautiful job with all the songs- my favorite being her first jazz number. All in all, an impossibly wonderful performance by all involved.

DEFINITELY ten out of ten!

Ever since I heard about "Victor Victoria", I tried to visualize how a movie from Blake Edwards, "The Pink Panther" director, about cross-dressing in 1930s "Gay Paris" would look. My intuition was that the film would either be a period version of French comedy hit "La Cage aux Folles" (or its American remake "The Birdcage") or something in the more realistic vein of Bob Fosse's "Cabaret". Where does "Victor Victoria" stand between these classics?

In fact, these comparisons though valid (a hilarious gag involving a popping champagne seems to have been borrowed from the French classic) are marginal when confronted to the musical's satirical edge and the way it handles an important subject like gender roles, so fitting from the same year that provided "Tootsie" or "The World According to Garp". In "Tootsie", an Oscar-nominated Dustin Hoffman played a man who learned the ordeal of being a woman trying to fit in a male-driven world, and in the latter, John Littgow was Oscar-nominated for playing an ex-football athlete who became Roberta, the sweetest and most complex character of the film.

So, the 1982 Oscar wasn't a "drag-race" but an interesting year that questioned for the first time the kind of stuff that was usually taken for granted: men and women were different... as if they were supposed to be identical within their respective gender.

This is why you can't cover issues like men and woman's relationship or feminism without inevitably spreading it to homosexuality, gender identity and stuff that are compacted today into initials. While the notion of LGBTQ etc. wasn't as socially preeminent in 1982, there was a Gay culture nonetheless dating back to history and that found a "micro-Golden Age" in the interwar period (they weren't called "Les Années Folles" for nothing) as if Europe, worn down by endless battles down the mud, wanted jazz, swing, love and a little "je ne sais quoi" of eccentricity, living life like a cabaret in Berlin, puttin' on the Ritz in Paris or putting the "Chic" in Chicago! "Victor Victoria" takes this context into consideration, respects its audience's maturity and portray homosexuality in the most straightforward way.

So Blake Edwards lays the cards with the first shot where we see Toddy (Robert Preston) sleeping, face in profile, and then a man's head rises behind him. We understand the relationship is purely sexual, neither of them is pulling a "birdcage" and the thought that the film would indulge to such portrayals vanished instantly. Edwards finds the perfect way to put the viewers at ease, even those who can be 'bothered', he just shows from the start without sugarcoating or overplaying it. I don't mean he's "throwing" it at our faces so we're "done with it", in fact, just like heterosexual love, homosexuality is displayed within numerous layers: physical, emotional, platonic etc. In fact, sometimes, you feel like both loves are intertwined.

Take that scene for instance where King Marchand, James Garner as a charming but roguish American business, gets smitten by the new sensation of Gay Paris, look at how his jaw slowly drop when "Victoria" (Julie Andrews) puts off her apparel revealing short hair, which means that she's "Victor", which means a transvestite. At the same moment, Norma, Marchand's ditzy moll, played by a scene-stealing Lesley Ann Warren goes from bitter jealousy to ecstatic cheerfulness. That simple scene seems to show how truly insecure gender issues made 'average' persons feel ... maybe was it a nod to the audience?

Or maybe the bottom-line is that only someone with the true sensitivity of an artist would be able to question the way laws of attractions function for him or her. Look at the transvestite numbers, they're sophisticated, elegant, they do involve men but they actually put femininity into a true pedestal, the approach is equally in adoration of the woman figure than any proud macho. And once again, this 'relativeness' goes the same way around, when Julie Andrews plays the man and asks herself how she can be credible, Toddy reassures her, there's no proper way to be a man, she's just got to pretend to be some Polish count so the suspicion won't dig further than that lie (pretty smart actually).

It turns out that the best way to be a man is just not to be too feminine enough to never give up the illusion entirely, one must know it's a man for the sake of the show's own "reason-to-be". Interestingly, the notion of man is less sexualized than the woman, if you compare it to the overly sexy "Chicago" song performed by Norma. The exhilaration of being a man is played outside the realm of show-business, like a reverse "Tootsie", the way Victoria finds all door opens once she becomes a man. But see how once again King Marchand gets so obsessed by her impersonation and defensive about his manhood, many of his actions are less guided by love than his macho pride, which is saying a lot.

I might have been too analytical for a film that is essentially an entertaining, moderately eccentric, but ultimately fun story about fun-loving and sympathetic people... but I was surprised by how enjoyable it was. And just when I tried to predict some situation, something funnier or smarter or more touching came all the way, like that bit involving Marchand's bodyguard Squash (Alex Karras) that I didn't see coming.

Now, to say that "Victor Victoria" has a message would be too far-fetched but it does say something about gender and life in general: we take ourselves too seriously and anyone should be free to do whatever he loves... the film embraces its own approach by injecting a fair dose of slapstick (well, I think there was one or two brawls too many) but the Edwards' touch, the 'atmosphere', the casting (especially Preston and Warren) not to mention the musical, contribute to a spectacular and solid entertainment, that aged up very well like some good Parisian wine.

Blake Edwards has a roller coaster filmography. He made some really good movies and some not so hot ones. "Victor/Victoria" might be his best. There are more than a few moments in this movie that achieve a level of comedic brilliance. The sets, costumes, colors and music are also top-notch. The cast is all around great with Robert Preston and Lesley Ann Warren as the two stand outs. Preston and Warren are a joy to watch. They're terrific. I saw "Victor/Victoria" in the theater (Bellerose, NY) and many times since. It's a piece of top-shelf entertainment that only Blake Edwards could have made. He's in my Hall of Fame.

1982 was a gender-bending year for Hollywood. Dustin Hoffman dressed up as a woman; Julie Andrews dressed up as a man. How fitting that the very next year Linda Hunt would win the first Oscar ever given for playing a member of the opposite sex.

"Victor Victoria" is a solidly-crafted, old-fashioned musical that finds Andrews pretending to be a male female impersonator (got that?) so that she can hold a job in a nightclub in Depression-era Paris. James Garner is the man's man who begins to doubt his manliness when he finds himself having some strange feelings for this "guy." It's a very gay-friendly movie that's really squeaky clean, though it might have been racy at the time when homosexuality wasn't as accepted as it is now (if you want to call it "accepted" even now).

There are lots of production numbers, but this doesn't feel like a musical, as all of the numbers are presented in context of a show and they don't propel the plot or develop characters. Lesley Ann Warren is fairly obnoxious as a bawdy American, but Robert Preston steals the show as a fellow drag performer.

As far as Blake Edwards projects go, this is one of the strongest.

Grade: B+

I'm writing this in May 2019, long after this movie came out. I've seen this movie well over 25 times and I still love it. There is not a bad thing to say about it. Julie Andrews is sublime as usual, and that voice...so sad we'll never hear it live like that again. I've been in love with Robert Preston since Music Man & Lesley Ann Warren was my girl crush when I was a kid watching Cinderella.

BUT, my absolute favorite thing about this movie besides the music is the incredible dancing and choreography. So sad it wasn't recognized with Ny award.

What's even sadder is that kind of amazing dancing is never seen anymore. That's real dancing! I enjoy a lot of the current dancing and enjoy the TV dance shows, but this movie harkens back to the days of a real musical-the total package!

This is one fun movie! Everybody is at their top game, playing it for all it's worth including Blake Edwards.and Henry Mancini. But the person who stole the movie right out of left field is Lesley Ann Warren. With all that acting power, playing it for all it's worth, Lesley Ann kills it! In playing. Norma Cassidy to a "T", she delivers a line better than anybody. The best was when "Victor" starts to strip to prove to Norma that she's really a woman.to keep King from being killed or at the least losing all his money. As Victoria is taking off his/her tie, Norman yells "STOP" and then whispers "lock the dooah". PERFECT! As well as her talking to herself while walking through a train on the way to being sent home, then opening her coat, exposing herself in her lingerie, causing a passenger to fall onto the train tracks, then saying "Oh, are you OK?" She absolutely stole this movie.

I always had a struggle with VICTOR VICTORIA and only recently saw the 1935 Brit original FIRST A BOY with Jesse Matthews which itself was a remake of the identical German version called VIKTOR VIKTORIA from 1933. It is the German version that now in 2011 might just be the most fascinating of the two originals... however 30 years on from 1982, I possibly can appreciate VICTOR VICTORIA for the hilarious MGM musical farce others claim it is and see it up there with SINGIN IN THE RAIN and MY FAVOURITE YEAR. What I dislike about VV is that it is too long and too ramshackle in plot. Also I just get tired of it. Yes sacrilege I know but if it was tighter and not as meandering (it is half an hour longer than SINGIN IN THE RAIN and most other glorious musicals equally applauded) I would find it a better film. the ending just runs on and on with Robert Preston doing his lady Of Seville number. Every component of VV is terrific, Julie Andrews is as gorgeous as she was in STAR! (which I love yes even at 3 hours) and the sets and costumes are terrific. There is a lot of Pink Panther gag humor from director Blake Edwards and a perfect supporting cast. Robert Preston has had an incredible career and I equally admire him in MAME as in MUSIC MAN and here ... three massive musicals hits in the 60s 70s and 80s... almost a match for Julie! I love the parts of VV but I just don't love the film as a whole.

Not unlike many men my age,I developed a huge crush on Julie Andrews as a kid somewhere between Mary Poppins and Maria Von Trapp.Over the years,Ms.Andrews has made it plain that she while she did enjoy working on the two films that produced these characters,she has not enjoyed the stereotyped image it produced for her.So,she set out to prove that she was indeed not the goody two shoes type that she has often been perceived to be.If that was her quest,she more than conquered it with her performance in this film.While I understand her position,I'm not one of those people that needed to see a film like this in order to understand that she isn't at all like those first two characters she played.It's all fantasy and I get that.All of that being said,I still prefer Mary and Maria vs. what she gives us here.