Easter Parade

Yes, this movie, arguably one of Garland's best at M-G-M, is certainly something to look at. Cute story, excellent cast, gorgeous costumes (Ann's breathtaking white and red gown from the Magazine Cover number and Judy's marvelous emerald-coloured dress at the Ziegfeld Follies after opening night), and have I mentiond the SWELL songs? Drum Crazy is awfully entertaining, Shakin' the Blues Away is classic Miller (in other words fast and superb), Better Luck Next Time is heartbreaking, and so many others are just plain GOOD. A must see for any fans of Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Ann Miller, Peter Lawford, Jules Munshin (in a funny bit as a waiter), or just great fun.

Don't you just love those old 40's musicals? Easter Parade is certainly one of the best, with Fred Astaire doing his amazing flashy but precise dancing, Judy Garland using her legendary voice to sing right from her heart into yours, and Ann Miller doing her own unique style of dancing and tapping while belting out great songs. And of course, everybody in the film uses any excuse to sing yet another song, usually dancing to it as well.

One of the special sequences has Fred Astaire dancing in slow motion while the rest of the cast dance at normal speed behind him! Sure, we can do that these days with computers, but remember this film was made in 1948!!

Of course there's the usual plot - Boy meets girl, they fall in love, have a misunderstanding, but get together again just in time for the big finishing number. That used to really get the audiences in, in those days, and they repeated that theme in every musical that ever was.

Any weak spots? Several of the film's routines seem a little amateurish by today's standards. For example, the waiter tossing his invisible salad just to do a bit of clowning seems a little contrived. Also, the film is supposedly set in 1912, so all the 1948 fashions and hairstyles are completely anachronistic - but what does that matter, after all, it's just an enjoyable romp.

I've given this film eight out of ten, but if I could just vote on Judy Garland's singing and Fred Astaire's dancing, I'd certainly give them ten out of ten. This is definitely a "must-see" film, just for those two incredible talents!

For the only teaming of Fred Astaire and Judy Garland, Gene Kelly had to break an ankle playing touch football although he told the studio it was in rehearsal. So Fred Astaire who after another Irving Berlin musical extravaganza, Blue Skies at Paramount, got pulled out of retirement for this film. It was a happy accident for film fans.

Easter Parade by this time had become the national anthem for Easter and enjoys a grand seasonal popularity as Irving Berlin's White Christmas also. It was originally written for the musical revue As Thousands Cheer in 1933 and sung as a duet by Clifton Webb and Marilyn Miller. Bing Crosby reprised it in Holiday Inn in a very nice number driving a horsedrawn sleigh from church Easter services. But usually when it is presented visually, the clip of Judy Garland singing it in the finale is the one always shown.

By the way the melody originally was for a lyric entitled Smile and Show Your Dimple which bombed for Irving Berlin. Berlin was quoted as saying that popular songs are a perfect marriage between words and music and in this case the melody got divorced and married a second lyric successfully.

Easter Parade is a good mixture of old Irving Berlin material and new songs written for this film. Fred Astaire shines with one of the new ones in Stepping Out With My Baby which is a good followup to Putting On the Ritz which Astaire sang and danced to in Blue Skies. And Judy just shines in Better Luck Next Time.

The plot is a pretty simple one and for the MGM opulence that their musicals were known for their are very few actual speaking roles in this film. It's a romantic quadrangle with Fred Astaire being dumped by his erstwhile partner Ann Miller and then taking on Judy Garland in one of those 'I'll show her' moments of bravado. Peter Lawford's around to get whoever Astaire doesn't.

The acting honors in Easter Parade go to Judy. For all that talent Judy Garland was a most insecure person in life and she drew from that in bringing Hannah Brown to the screen.

Ann Miller's big number is Shaking the Blues Away which Ruth Etting introduced in 1927. Doris Day in fact does it in Love Me or Leave Me. Still Ann makes it more of a dance number than Doris did which is what Irving Berlin originally intended it to be.

The thing about Easter Parade and so many other films like it is that all that talent was contracted to that studio. You can't make a film like Easter Parade today because you'd have to pay full market price for the talent, even as Irving Berlin's numbers slip year after year into public domain.

The Easter parade with women dressed in their finest most tasteful frock is still a New York tradition on Easter Sunday. So is this film.

There's an incredible backstory behind Easter Parade. Fred Astaire had announced his retirement from movies, and Gene Kelly was attached to the new Judy Garland musical set at Eastertime. Then, Gene experienced every dancer's nightmare and broke his leg. He called Fred up and asked if he'd take his place. And now we have Easter Parade!

Now that you know Gene Kelly was supposed to play the lead, it's understandable that he was supposed to sing the seductive "It Only Happens When I Dance with You" to Ann Miller. How would Fred Astaire handle it? He's not usually marketed as having much sex appeal. Well, move over Gene Kelly; Fred's just fine. In fact, although there are plenty of great numbers in Easter Parade, that one's my favorite because of the different tone Fred takes with himself.

There are quite a few famous songs from this movie, most notably the performance Fred and Judy give dressed like bums: "A Couple of Swells". Peter Lawford plays the other man in both love triangles-although who would ever pick him over Fred Astaire?-and he gets to sing the cute "A Fella with an Umbrella" when he meets Judy Garland. "Steppin' Out with My Baby" is another performance on the stage-Fred's character is a performer looking for a new partner-that utilizes groundbreaking camerawork that's still fantastic to watch. Fred dances in slow motion while the chorus girls behind him move in regular time, and the layered look is jaw-droppingly innovative for 1948.

I've praised several of Irving Berlin's songs from the movie, but they're not all fantastic. "I was born in Michigan, and I wish and wish again. . ." is a lyric from one of the silly songs Judy has to sing. So, while there will be a few scenes that will make you cringe and leave the room for more popcorn, most of the movie is pretty fun to watch. I own a copy, and we watch it every few years on Easter when we want a break from our usual Ben-Hur. I always like Fred Astaire's movies, so it has to be really stinky for me to not recommend it. I mean, who else but Fred can walk into a toy store and turn the toys into a dance number? Watch his dance "Drum Crazy" in Easter Parade and ask him through the television why he bothered trying to retire.

Perhaps not quite reaching the heights that the talent involved suggests it should, Easter Parade is still none the less a delightful musical full of skill, vigour and heart warming attributes. The story sees Fred Astaire's Don Hewes getting dumped by his dance partner Nadine Hale {Ann Miller}. Vowing revenge, he boasts that he could get any basic lady performer and make her a star alongside him. Enter Judy Garland as chorus girl Hannah Brown…… But for a volleyball accident, Don Hewes would have been played by Gene Kelly, who suggested that since he was out of the picture, the makers should try and get Astaire on board. Astaire had retired from Hollywood but jumped at the chance to replace the then present incumbent of the role, Mickey Rooney. Worked out OK in the end, because, as was normally the way, Astaire gave another masterful song and dance performance. Garland on the other hand had to dig deep to enthuse the role with some quality. In a rut with the formula of the films she was making, and nearing exhaustion because of the hectic schedules, it took a guiding hand from Astaire to see her thru the production. The end result? Garland still managing to enchant and whisk the viewer to a nice place where troubles don't exist.

The piece contains 17 of Irving Berlin's tunes, with Steppin' Out with My Baby and A Couple of Swells particularly standing out, with the latter expertly played out on a moving floor. While admirably supporting the principals is Peter Lawford as Jonathan Harrow III. It's a foot tapper to warm the cockles on a blustery winters day, never mind only at easter! 7/10