Easter Parade (1948)

Easter Parade is less a story than it is a roughly sketched premise filled out with musical numbers. Astaire loses his dance partner and decides he can turn anyone into a new partner, then conveniently stumbles upon Garland. He's demanding and rather sour, so of course she falls for him. Meanwhile, Peter Lawford floats through the movie to no real purpose, and Anne Miller is unsympathetic but really knows how to tap.

The movie shouldn't really work as well as it does. Astaire is much too old for Garland (the part was originally set for Gene Kelly, who was injured) and she's not as comfortable a fit for him as previous partners like Ginger Rogers. She's also no more than serviceable as a dancer. And once again, Lawford is an entirely extraneous character whose only purpose seems to be to make clear that no one cares about the story.

And yet, Astaire has his usual debonair charm and his dancing, shown off particularly well in a solo dance near the beginning, and Garland is all vulnerability and amazing singing.

Even the weak chemistry works, because the whole idea is Garland is random, not someone Astaire would choose, making their mismatch a feature rather than a bug (until the inevitable romance, which seems forced).

It's a weird movie, in that almost everything about it is problematic and yet it completely works. It's a classic that shouldn't be, and you should watch it.

Fmovies: EASTER PARADE doesn't tell the typical tale of a love triangle; in fact, it's more like a love square. Even though it's Easter and he's just told her that 'It Only Happens When I Dance With You', Don Hewes (Fred Astaire) is most unceremoniously dumped by his dancing partner Nadine Hale (Ann Miller) for a high-prestige solo job headlining the Ziegfeld Follies. Bitter at being dumped both professionally *and* personally, Don swears that he'll pick any girl off the street and turn her into a dancer to rival Nadine (hard to imagine considering who was playing her!). Although he first tries to model her in Nadine's image (naming her, of all things, Juanita), he soon realises that the girl with the heartbreaking voice that he's picked up, Hannah Brown (Judy Garland), must remain Hannah Brown. They come up with new routines that suit 'Hannah & Hewes', while Hannah falls for Don as Don's buddy Johnny (Peter Lawford) falls for her. Things get a little messy for a while when Don can't seem to get over Nadine, Nadine has a lascivious eye out for Johnny, Johnny carries a torch for Hannah, and Hannah pines for Don. Still, the square doesn't remain a square for long.

In a lot of movie musicals, one tends to get the feeling that the writers are struggling to pad the plot with songs. There appears to be no such pretense in this film: from the very beginning, with Astaire singing 'Easter Parade' to open the film, one gets the impression that EASTER PARADE sets out to be a showcase for songs and a stage for dances--this is further emphasised when 'Easter Parade' segues immediately into Astaire's famous solo 'Drum Crazy' (with no intervening dialogue), which, while enchanting, has next to nothing to do with the story. The plot is skimpy, but not worriedly pushed to the side as in some other musicals... in fact, it quite happily moves over of its own accord to make way for the Irving Berlin tunes. Most of which are, no offense to the immeasurable Berlin, pleasant but not particularly memorable. There are exceptions, of course, particularly the fantastic 'A Couple Of Swells' (with enchanting dance accompaniment--Garland mugs and Astaire parodies his own 'top hat, white tie and tails' image to excellent effect). I'm also partial to the recurring love theme, 'It Only Happens When I Dance With You' and 'Better Luck Next Time'.

And of course, there's nothing really wrong with being all about the singing and the dancing when it's *such* incredible singing and dancing. It almost goes without saying that Garland, with that slightly off-kilter but heartbreakingly beautiful voice of hers, lights up the screen in all her scenes. (It's a credit to Peter Lawford that he manages to hold his own in their one number together 'A Fella With An Umbrella'!) There are also very few dancers better than Fred Astaire and Ann Miller; Astaire in all the scenes that has him tapping away as he was born to do, and Miller particularly in her rousing, beat-perfect 'Shakin' The Blues Away'. It will always be a mystery to me why Miller wasn't given more choice roles and more opportunities to show off her dancing skills (and legs!), since she always acquits herself wonderfully in any film I've seen her in (particularly ON THE TOWN and YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU) with the little screen time she almost inevitably gets.

In the late 1940s, one couldn't really be blamed for getting the impressio

I just saw "Easter Parade" on the big screen for the first time, earlier this evening, and have to say that it's definitely one of the best musicals ever produced by the Arthur Freed Unit at MGM, especially out of the ones from the 1940's.

I really enjoyed the movie even though I've already seen it several times on video. It features all of the halmarks of a Freed production including an amazing cast with Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, and Ann Miller, lush technicolor photography, incredible dancing, and a great score that features over 16 songs by Irving Berlin. It actually had a pretty good story too, rather just a bunch of songs with a plot that basically exists to get from one song to the next, like in some lesser musicals.

The story is about a famous dancer, played by Fred Astaire, who tries to build a new act with an inexperienced chorus girl whom he discovers (Garland), after his former partner (Miller) leaves him to pursue a solo career. Of course, the requisite romantic complications and personal and professional jealousies also figure into the mix.

Since all three principles play performers, there are plenty of opportunities for each of them to show off their singing and dancing in almost iconic numbers like "Steppin' Out with My Baby", "Shakin' the Blues Away", and "A Couple of Swells", which have all come to be heavily identified with Astaire, Miller, and Garland respectively throughout their careers.

I definitely enjoyed this film and think it's a must-see for anyone who enjoys musicals or are fans of Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, and Ann Miller. (Peter Lawford's in this one too, but I'm not a huge fan of his.) Too bad there's no DVD version.

Easter Parade fmovies. From start to finish this film ranks highly with the best of the best movie musicals like "Singin' In The Rain" does. The way Fred handles the pesky little kid in the toy shop is precious. Notice the wary shop help in the background keep eye. Look for Fred trying to cajole Ann on to the terrace to dance and she refuses due to the cold then warms herself by the fire, so realistic. Fast forward to the "Girl On The Magazine Cover" in a Zigfeld Roof production number. How glamorous to see a beautiful woman who can dance with a chorus of handsome men in tuxedos. When was that last done in the 21st Century? I highly recommend this picture if you never have seen it. I guarantee you'll want to see it again and again.

This is one of those movies to watch when you're having a lousy day. From the opening notes, you get a big grin on your face. By the time you get to the 2nd number "Drum Crazy", you're positively smiling ear-to-ear (if not banging on the furniture yourself, like I was. Sorry, mom).

Being a (failed) drummer myself, I absolutely loved this piece. A few weeks ago I saw "Daddy Long Legs" in which Fred also does a drum solo & dance. Folks, this cat really knows how to bang the tom toms. Rhythm is the foundation of dance, and Fred really shows his mastery of it, alongside his comedic antics.

Everything is colourful. Everything is graceful (camera work included). The sets (recreating 1912) are faithfully and magnificently done, particularly the scenes of New York City with horses, buggies, old storefronts and hundreds of extras dressed impeccably in Victorian attire. This movie will truly sweep you off your feet.

I can't wait to have another lousy day so that I can pop this bad boy in the DVD player.

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!