Moulin Rouge (1952) follows artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in 19th-century Paris's bohemian subculture in and around the Moulin Rouge, a burlesque palace. Not the musical!

The film stars José Ferrer, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Suzanne Flon, Eric Pohlmann, Colette Marchand, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Katherine Kath, Theodore Bikel, and Muriel Smith.

Toulouse Lautrec was a French artist, who broke both his legs around the time of his adolescence. Due to a rare condition, it stunted his growth and he had undersized legs. HIs parents were first cousins and his congenital health conditions were attributed to a family history of inbreeding.

When the Moulin Rouge cabaret opened in 1889, Toulouse-Lautrec was commissioned to produce a series of posters. Other artists looked down on the work, but he ignored them. The cabaret reserved a seat for him and displayed his paintings.

Toulouse-Lautrec was mocked for his short stature and physical appearance, which may have contributed to his abuse of alcohol. In addition to his alcoholism, he developed an affinity for brothels and prostitutes that directed the subject matter for many of his works recording many details of the late-19th-century bohemian lifestyle in Paris.

He died from complications due to alcoholism and syphilis at the age of 36 in 1901.