AN AMERICAN IN PARIS
TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
Tonight, TCM is presenting 1951’s movie musical An American in Paris as one of “The Essentials,” and of course it is. Gene Kelly managed to make an even more perfect movie musical the following year with 1952’s Singin’ in the Rain – but the extended ballet that ends An American in Paris, taking Kelly and the audience on a panoramic tour through a piece of art history, is breathtakingly imaginative. Leslie Caron co-stars. And co-dances.