Lili

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Lili

G,

1953,

1h 21m,

Musical/

Romance

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Watchlist

Watchlist

75%

8 Reviews

Tomatometer

82%

1,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

75%

Tomatometer

8 Reviews

82%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

Traveling with little more than her naïveté, sunny teenager Lili (Leslie Caron) arrives in a new town and is befriended by a circus troupe. Though she becomes infatuated with the dashing magician, Marcus the Magnificent (Jean-Pierre Aumont), Lili forms a more significant bond with puppeteer Paul (Mel Ferrer) and his four puppets, which she treats as real people. Together, Lili, Paul and the puppets prove to be a popular act, but their success and happiness are threatened by Paul's gruffness.

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Dec 25, 2010

4/5

Classic love story of an orphan and the carnival.

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Nick Rogers

Midwest Film Journal

May 19, 2025

2.5/5

A perfectly amiable if rather aimless fantasy rooted in pleasant dance choreography, an admittedly appealing candy-colored aesthetic & the good sense to wrap it up in 80 minutes rather than tilt toward 180 as most such stories from the era tended to do.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

May 17, 2025

2/4

Its widespread popularity is amusing when one considers that it’s basically a story about jailbait caught between a shallow, 42-year-old womanizer and a self-pitying, 36-year-old grouch, with the latter even smacking the hell out of Lili at one point.

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Clyde Gilmour

Maclean's Magazine

Nov 14, 2019

This is an astonishingly fragile and lovely film and is hereby highly recommended.

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Jul 2, 2011

B

A vehicle for MGM's new star Leslie Caron to shine.

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Steve Crum

Video-Reviewmaster.com

Mar 19, 2009

4/5

Fine score, Caron performance in MGM musical fantasy.

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Feb 1, 2019

The best movie song ever sung: Hi-Lilli, Hi-Lo!

Albus W

Feb 14, 2018

Wonderful children's tale about coming of age among show-folk. Excellent cast, editing, camera work, with decent choreography, props, & staging.

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Dec 22, 2017

I've watched this movie several times and it's always delightful and entertaining. Leslie Caron is amazingly believable as the naïve sweet Lili

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Luke W

Sep 22, 2017

Such a cute movie! Leslie Caron is amazing in her role as "Lili"

Leia S

May 24, 2012

MGM's Little-Engine-That-Could, a small, one-song musical that turned into a big hit for the studio; still thought of as a children's film, although the movie has many serious overtones, it also ingeniously works in several dance numbers for Caron, as well as introducing the song standard "Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo." A delight from start to finish.

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Charles Walters

Director

Leslie Caron

Lili Daurier

Mel Ferrer

Paul Berthalet

Jean-Pierre Aumont

Marc

Zsa Zsa Gabor

Rosalie

Kurt Kasznar

Jacquot

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Synopsis

Traveling with little more than her naïveté, sunny teenager Lili (Leslie Caron) arrives in a new town and is befriended by a circus troupe. Though she becomes infatuated with the dashing magician, Marcus the Magnificent (Jean-Pierre Aumont), Lili forms a more significant bond with puppeteer Paul (Mel Ferrer) and his four puppets, which she treats as real people. Together, Lili, Paul and the puppets prove to be a popular act, but their success and happiness are threatened by Paul's gruffness.

Director: Charles Walters
Producer: Edwin H. Knopf
Screenwriter: Helen Deutsch, Paul Gallico
Distributor: MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc.
Production Co: Loew's Inc., Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Rating: G
Genre: Musical, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 10, 1953, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 28, 2016
Runtime: 1h 21m
Sound Mix: Mono

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