Friday with Fred Astaire
Friday with Fred Astaire
“Easter Parade” (1948)
Billed as Irving Berlin’s Easter Parade, this 1948 movie pairs Judy Garland with Fred Astaire for the first, last and only time on screen. It’s fabulous in every frame, whether watching on Easter Sunday, springtime or anytime. There’s not a whiff of religion. The plot—thin as ever, as in most Fred Astaire pictures—begins in earnest when Judy Garland’s ingenue character, a chorus girl, auditions for Fred Astaire‘s show-stopping act on Easter Sunday. The joie de vivre of a secular Easter ethos of joy, fertility and springtime comes through. It’s right there in the first line of dialogue. Fred Astaire’s character, Don (originally conceived for Gene Kelly, who injured an ankle during rehearsal), cheerfully walks along an avenue in New York City, greeting a stranger with: “Happy Easter.” Soon, everyone’s exchanging the simple greeting in the city.
Such is the spirit of this delightful movie with wonderful songs and dances. Colorful, extravagant hats and costumes, a silly pantomime describing the Salad François, Ziegfield’s follies, incomparable Ann Miller tap dancing to Irving Berlin’s “Shakin’ the Blues Away” and exquisite Fred Astaire coming out of retirement to help MGM and step in for Kelly—Easter Parade packs everything with panache.
I could watch this film over and over—and I have—and still feel lighter than air. Its’ romantic quartet premise revolves around an unspoken, budding love between the leads. Director Walters, a dancer and choreographer, which makes a distinct difference, accentuates only what’s elegant, beautiful and enchanting to watch.
For example, when Judy Garland sings to Fred Astaire, Walters puts a crackling fireplace in the shot, moves the camera around her while Fred Astaire plays piano, and frames a candelabra at an angle that fills the scene with meaning and dimension. Co-written by Sidney Sheldon, Easter Parade showcases, models and embeds a stunning audio-visual feast. Fred Astaire performs with props again in one of his drum dances—for a pouty little boy in a toy store—and, as always, he’s in top form. With Garland’s Hannah replacing Ann Miller’s villainous Nadine—Miller relishes playing the stuck-up female—Fred Astaire relaxes in numbers with a true professional. Watch Fred and Judy as two toothless, black-haired bums—Judy Garland in drag—and, of course, dolled up for the title song.
Try and catch Judy Garland’s callback to The Wizard of Oz. Marvel at Fred Astaire dancing in slow motion—enjoy a sequence depicting magazine covers come to life—and you, too, can lighten your load. It’s almost enough to make you forget that Peter Lawford’s singing voice is awful. For Fred Astaire, the hit picture proved a point. As he wrote with his arch sense of humor about filming Easter Parade in 1959:
Not having danced for nearly two years, with the exception of my ballroom teaching activities in connection with the [Fred Astaire] dance schools, I became aware of the big job ahead. Suddenly I wondered if I could still do what was what was expected of me. Maybe the old joints would stiffen up in reaction to a strenuous workout. I had read so much in the papers about my approaching 50, which seemed to be practically too late for the torso to take it, according to them.
Here I was 48 and I wondered if it was safe for me to kick forcibly without having a leg leave the body. I took it easy for a few days and crept back into shape. Everything was all right. I couldn’t find anything different from before. Nothing cracked or hurt any more than usual.”
Fred Astaire also noted that Irving Berlin wrote many of these songs, such as “Steppin’ Out with My Baby,” just for him,. Here, his singing and dancing, equaled if not topped and framed by 25 year-old Judy Garland as an entertainer in love, awes in every scene. Judy Garland, Ann Miller, director Walters with his careful rhyming, rhythm and pacing—even bland Peter Lawford in one of his better turns—enhance Easter Parade. “Why didn’t you tell me I was in love with you?” someone asks in a line which captures the essence of this New York City-themed Easter movie. Sit back and have a jolt of its brightly colored refreshment, entertainment and surprise.
I am nothing if not about my own comfort, at all times :-)
Scott,
I never go as deep as you do on any of these movies, which is one reason I like your reviews so much. I always learn something new. I have been accumulating lots of old movies on my DVR through TCM, and just watch one or another a couple times a week depending on my mood. Most of them I have seen before though often not for many years. For some reason 'Easter Parade' never appealed to me, probably because I figured it would be religious, and would just be another bland musical. I have never liked musicals much, but have gained a greater appreciation for really good ones as I have gotten older. And our discussions of Astaire and Garland lately made me want to give it a try. I watched it on our TV while sitting in my La-z-Boy one afternoon about three weeks ago and really enjoyed it. I think your review is spot on. I just wanted to put in my two cents worth about how it struck my sense of life emotionally more than anything it did for me intellectually or artistically. In particular, the first thing that struck my mind when I read the title of your review was just how colorful, fabulous and bright all the women and dresses were in the scenes where they were walking down the street in their finery.