Ver, Gostar e Amar

In Fred Astairs autobiography "Steps In Time" he admits that he had been avoiding making this film for years. He had retired from the movies, but came back to replace Gene Kelly in "Easter Parade" because, so the excuse goes, that he broke his ankle playing touch-football, but the fact was that Kelly just didn't want to do the film, so the broken ankle was just was it was - a ply to get out of making the movie! So, back on the M.G.M. lot, once again, Fred finally came to grips with the fact that he would have to, once and for all, make the film he was dreading to make, and if he had not come out of retirement, he would never have had the attempt making it.

So, what's wrong with Belle of New York? Acutually nothing. It was a fantasy and Astaire didn't feel to good about making a fantasy film. He admits in his autobiography that he believed that the film would play very well today. It was just the wrong timing, and here we go with the films that flop, like a bottle of wine, age with time and finally become the hit they should have in their initial release.

But, there are good songs and dance numbers. Once again, Anita Ellis ghost sings for Vera Ellen in "Naughty Butg Nice". Majorie Main is, well, Marjorie Main, but the dancing in the air over the city is a little much even for Fred Astair and at the end when he and Vera Ellen finally fall in love and dance over the city in the air, Astaire stated that he knew where they stood with this one when he and Vera Ellen are dancing in the air at the end and some woman watching the end said in earshot of Astaire, "Well, how silly can you get!" And Astaire said, "We then knew where we stood with this one!" But, he also said that even if the movie is a flop or not, at least you get paid, and how much did he admit to, "Once again, for making the film, I got a fortune!" It one of the That's Entertainment movies, Debbie Reynolds had us see how much of a perfectionist Astaire was by screening the different versions of "I Wanna Be A Dancin' Man" side by side, and in another That's Entertainment movie, Gene Kelly asked Fred Astaire, "Is it true that you once said that all you wanted to do was be a dancin' man, and Astaire said, "That's not true at all! I never said that!" And immediately, they played the number from "The Belle of New York"! But, Fred was right about one thing, the movie DOES play very well today, and is very entertaining. Once again, it was just too far ahead of its time and needed to age like a good bottle of wine! Guess what? It aged beautifully!

The Belle of New York is not one of Fred Astaire's best movies but it is nowhere near his worst. Everything about the movie is sweet, charming and light. Vera Ellen is one of the best dancers in Hollywood and a great partner for Fred. The color is beautiful. The sets and the costumes are fantastic, and while it is true it is not one of the strongest stories, there are some good laughs along the way. The music is charming. The dancing is excellent. And the movie just glides along, mostly due to the very plentiful musical numbers. If you want some dramatic tension, look elsewhere. This movie has none. If you like musicals, if you like good dancing, in particular if you like Vera Ellen, this movie is a must see. The quality of the DVD release is excellent.

This was not the best movie ever made. If it were much longer than 82 minutes it might have been much less interesting. But it was entertaining and amusing at that length. I also think that Fred Astaire proves once again that the seemingly effortless grace and style and rhythm and yes, even charm, that he displays in "I wanna be a dancing man" places him in the very top echelon of modern day dancers. Bojangles. Fred Astaire. Bob Fosse. And perhaps a dancer who has not yet been discovered. For 82 minutes of inconsequential entertainment you could do much worse than this. And did anyone else notice that the effects presage Mary Poppins some ten years later? I love to laugh.....lol...

Fred Astaire wrote in his autobiography that he was personally hurt by the critical and box-office failure of this Freed Unit musical, adapted very loosely from a turn-of-the-century stage success. You can see why audiences rejected it, but you can also see he was right to be proud. The story is trite even for a musical, and nothing can liven up the dead space between numbers -- not Marjorie Main playing to the gallery, not Alice Pearce frumping about predictably, and most certainly not the central conceit of the central romance, which is that love makes our young sweethearts (the script keeps referring to Astaire as "young man," which he plainly is not at this point) literally walk, and dance, on air.

The gimmickry gets in the way of a couple of numbers, too: Astaire and Ellen dance on a hapless horse's back, and Astaire cavorts atop the Washington Square arch. Still, the Warren-Mercer score, though it contains no hits, is tuneful, clever, and well suited to the meager plot; the MGM Orchestra is irresistibly lush; and the Technicolor gorgeously shows off the handsome production. In short, the film may be a triumph of studio engineering over inspiration, but as long as the stars are dancing, it's a delight.

Vera-Ellen partners Astaire charmingly, even if she's not the world's most dynamic actress, and she has a fun solo, "Naughy But Nice." As for Astaire, he's his usual self, and we'd want it no other way. His best number is the one least dependent on special effects, "I Wanna Be a Dancin' Man." "Gonna leave my footsteps on the sands of time," he sings. You surely did, Mr. A.

The Belle of New York is a romantic musical comedy about a rich playboy Charlie Hill, played by the legendary Fred Astaire, who very much falls in love with a girl called Angela Bonfils (Vera Ellen) and he does everything to get this girl to himself. No time and they're getting married.Fred Astaire was a great performer.He could sing, he could dance, he could jump to the sky and fly.In this movie love really makes him fly in the air. The Belle of New York is a nice musical.