The Unfinished Dance

This was a 1947 film featuring Margaret O'Brien and Cyd Charisse. It also showcased Danny Thomas in his first film role. I initially recorded this film because I was intrigued by the synopsis in the Dish guide: "A ballerina arranges an accident to cripple her mentor's foreign rival." It sounded very dark, especially for a movie with Margaret O'Brien and Cyd Charisse. I thought the film was pretty good, even if the film didn't follow through with the plot described in the synopsis.

While O'Brien did plot to sabotage her mentor's rival's performance, she wasn't trying to cripple or injure her. What was interesting about this film was the way it framed O'Brien's struggle with her conscience versus her reality. While the film was so-so, I thought that O'Brien's was the standout performance in the film. It's a shame that she wasn't able to make the transition between child and adult performer. She may have been able to achieve a Patty Duke type career as I believe that O'Brien had the chops. I also thought that O'Brien executed her ballet steps very well.

I am a grandma now, but as a five year old, I viewed this movie in a very small town theater. After I saw this movie with a five year old's eyes, I not only wanted to be a ballerina, but I wanted to be Margaret O'Brien. Not being able to have dance lessons, I danced on my own. My aunt made me a beautiful outfit, and I was in heaven. Now, move ahead 20 years. I have a daughter who wanted to dance, and of course I sent her for lessons. She is now a very successful, and talented dance teacher. I would love for her to see this movie, but I don't know where, or how to get it. This movie has not only been an influence on one generation, but on two. I wish there were more movies of this calaber. Simple, but oh so good.

Oh, I was so thrilled when I saw a Margaret O'Brien film on the TCM slate for today!!! And then when it came on in COLOR!!! My daughters were in dance lessons most of their lives and one continued to dance even after becoming a mom and a teacher. They would love to see this old movie. Since I am watching the movie currently, I can't comment on the overall, but I am thrilled to see such a young Danny Thomas! He looks a little like Mandy Patinkin. Just watching makes me smile and think of my own childhood, dancing, dreaming. Just know out there, that you can still find this movie on TCM. The Technicolor is vibrant and the values are old-fashioned and lovely. The blacker elements are still to come -- hang in there and watch it with me...all the way to the end!!!

Even if it had turned out very badly, "The Unfinished Dance" would have been an extraordinary film. Back in the late 1940's, making a large budget film was actually a more corporate decision than it is today. Which makes you wonder how something that is a weird mix of "The Red Shoes" and a pre-teen "Crime & Punishment" was ever approved for production.

Fortunately things turned out very well and for today's viewers the film's uniqueness is not the only reason to watch it. Most likely it was intended as a vehicle to showcase nine year old Margaret O'Brien's acting and dancing talents. O'Brien was an extremely hard working and motivated child actress, and "The Unfinished Dance" is the most accomplished of her many solid performances. She really gets to demonstrate her range, moving between her standard self-parodying cuteness and a convincing demonic side that should be quite a nice surprise to first-time viewers.

There are some extremely slick ballet scenes, with Cyd Charisse and Karin Booth (if it is not Booth's actual dancing they did a seamless job of matching close-ups and master shots). The Swan Lake scene is especially effective with the stage floor covered in mirrors to simulate the surface of the lake.

Little Meg Merlin (O'Brien) worships the featured dancer Ariane Bouchet (Charisse) at her ballet school. When guest dancer La Daria (Booth) displaces her for the season, Meg and her friend Josie (a very young Elinor Donahue) conspire to sabotage her performance by turning off the stage lights in mid-dance. Things go horribly wrong when Meg throws the wrong switch. La Daria suffers a career ending injury. Meg and Josie promise to keep Meg's involvement a secret.

This gives O'Brien the whole second half of the film to play the Raskolnikov role, as she is torn between satisfaction that her idol has reclaimed the top spot in the company and guilt because of the unintended consequences of her actions. The guilt becomes too much to bear when La Daria becomes her instructor and demonstrates far more interest in Meg's dancing than her idol Bouchet ever did.

"The Unfinished Dance" has a more contemporary shot selection than the standard 1940's-50's film. The story benefits from many close-ups of O'Brien's face, with the use of reaction shots more frequently than I can recall in any other film from this time period. O'Brien's expressiveness is nicely showcased and she is certainly up to the challenge.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

The genius of this movie is how it deconstructs backstabbing, bribery and alliances-making by portraying adorable little girls in tutus enacting an all out war among the pre-teen chorus of a New York Ballet. The object they're leveraging around? Sabotage of a prima ballerina by one girl who desperately supports a rival. It may sound cute, but the outcomes are very serious. When you see an 8 year-old child leaning on a roommate and angling bribes, it really takes all of the "honor" out of strong-arm tactics.

On the other hand, the most adorable scene is when a 3 year-old performs an audition for a tiny tot solo. You'll giggle out loud (even my grandfather did).

For anyone who would like to catch this movie, it's on rotation on TMC, a basic cable channel (I think that's Turner Movie Channel, but correct me if I'm wrong please).