The Great Movie Re-Watch
Director:
Charles Walters
Writers:
Sidney Sheldon
Francis Goodrich
Albert Hackett
Starring:
Judy Garland
Fred Astaire
Peter Lawford
Ann Miller
Blurb:
A nightclub performer hires a naive chorus girl to become his new dance partner to make his former partner jealous and to prove he can make any partner a star.
Thoughts:
Easter Parade suffered from following Meet Me in St. Louis, and It’s a Wonderful Life. On its own, Easter Parade is an enjoyable movie, with lots of good songs and dancing. However, it isn’t on the same tier as those two. There were a couple of dance routines that ended up slowing the movie down. This is only going to get worse in the coming musicals. For whatever reason, musical numbers that do nothing other than showing off dance skills are shoved into many musicals. It’s pretty to look at it, but a lot of times, they drag on too long for my taste.
All that being said, I love Judy Garland. Fred Astaire is nice too, though I didn’t believe he was in love with Judy’s character. His character was too slick and full of himself to believe he loved anyone but himself.
Unlike the previous movies, there isn’t much history or anything interesting about the making of this movie. A scene was cut because it was felt to be too risqué, but cutting scenes for various reasons is pretty standard. What gives this movie staying power is the quality of the songs and performances.
Here’s a link to my review of the movie from five years ago.
Dynamite Review 