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Movie dance sequences

Recently came across tap scene "Lullaby of Broadway" from "Gold Diggers of 1935."

Blown away by it and it seems they don't make them like they used to. I've shown it to my small nephews and nieces who thoroughly enjoyed it.

Care to post your favourite dance sequences?

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by Anonymousreply 600May 7, 2019 5:53 AM

The barn raising dance sequence from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Hot, hot guys, some gay, some straight but all of them gorgeous and very athletic dancing.

by Anonymousreply 1April 21, 2019 8:35 AM

I love this one!

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by Anonymousreply 2April 21, 2019 8:47 AM

Ann Miller in Easter Parade.

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by Anonymousreply 3April 21, 2019 8:53 AM

Oscar winner for "Best Use of Bananas"

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by Anonymousreply 4April 21, 2019 3:39 PM

Vera-Ellen tap dancing on pointe, doing the fastest nerve taps while smiling as if it's nothing, twirling, cartwheeling, showing off jazz, ballet, acrobatic and other styles of dance while exhibiting the absolute joy of dancing. Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor all longed to dance with her after this brilliant debut in "Wonder Man".

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by Anonymousreply 5April 21, 2019 4:06 PM

My personal favorite...

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by Anonymousreply 6April 21, 2019 6:44 PM

No one tops Busby.

by Anonymousreply 7April 21, 2019 7:10 PM

Do we have to limit it to movies? I like SYTYCD Season 4 Top 10 Bollywood routine, which included my favorite Armenian-American dancer, adorable Gev Manoukian.

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by Anonymousreply 8April 21, 2019 8:15 PM

I love that Lullaby of Broadway number, too.....especially the trio of guys down front at the end! And how one dances on glass with no taps on his shoes so that can get that shot.....

A lot of the sequences start the tap sounds before the pictures switches because of the way the sound has to synch up....so you hear the taps and then the shot comes on....I guess the sound is always a several frames ahead or behind the picture so it was easier to edit that way....

Yup Busby was a film genius.....and almost always full body so we could see the arms, legs, and feet!

by Anonymousreply 9April 21, 2019 8:31 PM

Pure, unadulterated Fosse, featuring the fabulous Carol Haney.

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by Anonymousreply 10April 21, 2019 8:45 PM

I've only seen the Milford Plaza commercial version of Lullaby of Broadway.

by Anonymousreply 11April 21, 2019 8:51 PM

R10 Shirley MacLaine got herself noticed on Broadway when she dropped the hat during that number and was heard to mutter "Shit!" which pretty much not said on stage back then.

by Anonymousreply 12April 21, 2019 9:09 PM

That was when she went on as understudy to Haney who had broken her foot.

by Anonymousreply 13April 21, 2019 9:10 PM

R10, that's a nice addition to this thread. Watching it, one can see why Fosse's choreography was so exciting, surprising and possibly controversial. He kept the body so constrained and yet so expressive. He incorporates such jerky motions that in context have a flow and gracefulness.

I can't imagine that the writers of "Steam Heat" imagined that dance for the number when they wrote the song.

by Anonymousreply 14April 21, 2019 9:18 PM

[quote]And how one dances on glass with no taps on his shoes so that can get that shot.....

R9 I noticed that, too. Did they think showing the taps screwed into the shoe bottoms was somehow inelegant or gave away the illusion that people were just hoofing it in their evening clothes?

by Anonymousreply 15April 22, 2019 1:17 AM

Gene and Judy ballin' the jack...

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by Anonymousreply 16April 22, 2019 1:23 AM

From “The Fastest Gun Alive”

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by Anonymousreply 17April 22, 2019 1:30 AM

She was amazingly nimble. Just the embodiment of musicality. There's a great "Embraceable You" that she does in "Girl Crazy " And George Sidney. "The Harvey Girls" director, said that she just had to see the blocking of Santa Fe once, before doing it perfectly.

by Anonymousreply 18April 22, 2019 1:31 AM

Vera-Ellen and John Brascia from "White Christmas".

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by Anonymousreply 19April 22, 2019 1:40 AM

Do yourself a favor and watch all the Busby Berkeley movies.

by Anonymousreply 20April 22, 2019 1:40 AM

This mash-up of 83 famous dance clips from 66 films includes many of our favorites...

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by Anonymousreply 21April 22, 2019 1:41 AM

It never happens when I'm stuck in traffic...

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by Anonymousreply 22April 22, 2019 1:48 AM

Does this count as a dance sequence?

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by Anonymousreply 23April 22, 2019 1:56 AM

PBS Dance in America doco on Bob Fosse (1990)...

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by Anonymousreply 24April 22, 2019 1:56 AM

A-M slays this and she wasn't a trained dancer

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by Anonymousreply 25April 22, 2019 1:57 AM

Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell dance "Begin the Beguine" from "Broadway Melody of 1940". He never worked with that bitch again.

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by Anonymousreply 26April 22, 2019 1:58 AM

R19 I just fairly recently "discovered" Brascia. Great dancer and sizzling. He did a Frankie and Johnny with Charisse in Meet Me in Las Vegas.

by Anonymousreply 27April 22, 2019 2:07 AM

R23 Just when you think it can't get any pornier, it does.

by Anonymousreply 28April 22, 2019 2:08 AM

"Let's Misbehave" from Pennies from Heaven, 1981

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by Anonymousreply 29April 22, 2019 2:09 AM

[italic]You don't need pills, you need thrills"[/italic]

"Love is Good For Anything That Ails You" from Pennies From Heaven,

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by Anonymousreply 30April 22, 2019 2:13 AM

I don't care if this doesn't count......

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by Anonymousreply 31April 22, 2019 2:18 AM

Channing Tatum smashes this homoerotic AF dance sequence from "Hail Caesar!"...

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by Anonymousreply 32April 22, 2019 2:23 AM

Since folks are discovering Joan McCracken, thanks to "Fosse/Verdon", here's her movie-stealing number from "Good News":

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by Anonymousreply 33April 22, 2019 2:23 AM

Charles "Honi" Coles and Cholly Atkins - two geniuses at work

"Swing is Really the Thing"

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by Anonymousreply 34April 22, 2019 2:24 AM

The original Varsity Drag.....

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by Anonymousreply 35April 22, 2019 2:29 AM

Thanks a Lot But No Thanks

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by Anonymousreply 36April 22, 2019 2:29 AM

The Pan Pacifics

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by Anonymousreply 37April 22, 2019 2:29 AM

The "Mandy" number from White Christmas is one number I could watch over and over. Vera Ellen is just incredible!

by Anonymousreply 38April 22, 2019 2:30 AM

Ann-Margret was so fun

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by Anonymousreply 39April 22, 2019 2:42 AM

Jimmy Cagney and Bob Hope from "The Seven Little Foys"

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by Anonymousreply 40April 22, 2019 2:45 AM

R40, great choice. Very entertaining.

by Anonymousreply 41April 22, 2019 2:47 AM

Cell Block Tango from Chicago

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by Anonymousreply 42April 22, 2019 2:51 AM

R36 I'll bet Jack Cole was involved in that. I've been learning more about him lately. A genius.

by Anonymousreply 43April 22, 2019 3:21 AM

More Powell! Eleanor Powell!

BTW did she make the "Doesn't get enough respect" list?

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by Anonymousreply 44April 22, 2019 3:39 AM

Well she was married to Glenn Ford when he was young and hot.

by Anonymousreply 45April 22, 2019 3:42 AM

Ok, I was trying to remember some knockout apache number Joan Davis did, but forgot her dance partner. I found this one of the "I Married Joan" star with a young Buddy Ebsen and it's both funny and very charming. Never saw it before, but I think you might like it.

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by Anonymousreply 46April 22, 2019 3:46 AM

R44 She was more about pure technique than pedaling sex appeal.

by Anonymousreply 47April 22, 2019 3:46 AM

Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor

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by Anonymousreply 48April 22, 2019 3:49 AM

R23, I was prepared to make fun of your clip based on the title and still, but it was too much fun. Very charming.

by Anonymousreply 49April 22, 2019 3:51 AM

"Cool" from West Side Story

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by Anonymousreply 50April 22, 2019 3:55 AM

R23 the mind reels... thx!

by Anonymousreply 51April 22, 2019 4:03 AM

[quote]The "Mandy" number from White Christmas is one number I could watch over and over. Vera Ellen is just incredible!

She sure is! Here's another great number, with Donald O'Connor, from "Call Me Madam."

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by Anonymousreply 52April 22, 2019 4:15 AM

This is the other dance between Vera and Donald from "Call Me Madam" and it is up there with the Astaire-Rogers dances. Vera's dress is absolutely gorgeous. A shame Donald got sick before they were to be reunited in "White Christmas", and he was replaced with Danny Kaye. That's why Vera was partnered in that film with John Brescia, who could keep up with Vera like Donald and unlike Danny.

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by Anonymousreply 53April 22, 2019 4:21 AM

I've seen Donald as a kid actor in 30s films and he was very effective. He had a drinking problem for a while and I think of him as maybe not being tough in the way that Kelly was. A great talent and better singer than Kelly.

by Anonymousreply 54April 22, 2019 4:27 AM

O'Connor had an easy charm and was an all-around terrific dancer. He said Vera-Ellen and his partner at Universal Peggy Ryan were probably the two best female dancers. Ryan was a hoot and a fabulous dancer. A shame they don't show too many of her pictures these days.

My favorite female dancers are Vera-Ellen and Gwen Verdon. Here's Gwen at about the 1:00 doing the can-can so you can get some idea of what she was like in her star-making role in "Can-Can" on Broadway. She's pretty amazing here leading the can-can girls in the Lana Turner MGM version of "The Merry Widow".

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by Anonymousreply 55April 22, 2019 4:30 AM

That clip was from 1952; Gwen became a star the following year on Broadway in "Can-Can" stealing the show from Lilo, the French female lead.

by Anonymousreply 56April 22, 2019 4:34 AM

Cyd Charisse, John Brascia, and Liliane Montevecchi, "Frankie & Johnny" number

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by Anonymousreply 57April 22, 2019 4:36 AM

Great thread, Op. I love all the videos and will come back to keep watching.

by Anonymousreply 58April 22, 2019 4:37 AM

I've been looking at Verdon clips and being reminded of how superlative she was. A knockout. In connection with the recent TV bio, the director was on WNYC radio, and a number of people who had worked with her called in and all said she was a wonderful person.

by Anonymousreply 59April 22, 2019 4:38 AM

Here's Fred Astaire and Vera-Ellen in "Mr. and Mrs. Hoofer at Home" from "Three Little Words", a very funny dance number based on the premise of two dancers married, though I think what they do with the "baby" would qualify for a visit from Child Protective Services! Enjoy! Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly appeared in two pictures each opposite Vera, and she also partnered Donald O'Connor as you can see above.

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by Anonymousreply 60April 22, 2019 4:39 AM

This number from Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire gives me joy.

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by Anonymousreply 61April 22, 2019 4:40 AM

Only on DL

by Anonymousreply 62April 22, 2019 4:41 AM

Sometimes sitting here posting in DL, without the folks who post rudely, but with people interested in movie musicals and Broadway like myself, makes me think of the times as a kid I could have used some more gay friends to talk about these things. Big thanks.

by Anonymousreply 63April 22, 2019 4:56 AM

It's Madison Time!

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by Anonymousreply 64April 22, 2019 5:00 AM

Ann-Margret again, years later. She still had it. (part 1)

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by Anonymousreply 65April 22, 2019 5:22 AM

A-M, part 2

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by Anonymousreply 66April 22, 2019 5:23 AM

I love Peter Sellers in this dance sequence from Lolita (1962).

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by Anonymousreply 67April 22, 2019 5:27 AM

McCracken's Ballet in Jive. The country hick goes to a dance contest in a ritzy hall, only to get her drink spiked and outdances everyone. Almost Lucy Ricardo like, McCracken pulls out all the stops and she's just brilliant, and totally tells a story through movement and brilliant facial expressions. Watch for the subtext of the gay sailors.

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by Anonymousreply 68April 22, 2019 5:35 AM

Hines and Baryshnikov duet from "White Nights" (1985)...

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by Anonymousreply 69April 22, 2019 5:41 AM

Chorus boys don't show up until the end, not on a par with the clips posted here on a dancing level, but it is such great fun.

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by Anonymousreply 70April 22, 2019 5:48 AM

R69 Fun dance sequence from such a bad movie. What were they thinking? Thank you for posting.

by Anonymousreply 71April 22, 2019 5:52 AM

R68 what a treat. So there's so little of her work on film. I've watched Peace Pipe from Good News innumerable times (with cute Ray McDonald). Ideally, there would have been fewer cuts and less visual business that distracts somewhat, but I'll take what I can get. At the very end, that girl with Dane Clark is Janis Paige, now 95, and who wrote a letter to the editor of the L.A.Times a year ago about her MeToo moment 70 years ago, with Alfred Bloomingdale.

by Anonymousreply 72April 22, 2019 6:04 AM

R72, I love the sequence after she gets caught in the revolving door and emerges woozy. Just brilliant physical comedy but then she tries to act all sophisticated and ends up falling, I guess similar to what she did in "Oklahoma". What a talent she was.

by Anonymousreply 73April 22, 2019 6:09 AM

Her bio "The Girl Who Fell Down" was pretty good. Died at about 43, from diabetes. IIRC, she was married to Fosse and helped convince him to become a choreographer.

by Anonymousreply 74April 22, 2019 6:15 AM

I never tire of this clever Judy & Gene number "The Portland Fancy" from "Summer Stock". I love how it starts realistically before the "musical number" kicks in. It's surprising how Judy is such a good dancer in it. You hardly look at Gene, but he's good too, of course.

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by Anonymousreply 75April 22, 2019 7:31 AM

I wonder if they ever screwed.

by Anonymousreply 76April 22, 2019 7:34 AM

Possibly my all-time favorite movie dance sequence. Is it great dancing? Not especially. But I just love it!

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by Anonymousreply 77April 22, 2019 7:37 AM

Joan McCracken died of a heart attack in her sleep age 43 in 1961. The result of diabetes. How sad. She was apparently a wild child. Wikipedia says that in a rehearsal with Kay Thompson, she once took off her blouse and bra to be more "comfortable"

by Anonymousreply 78April 22, 2019 8:01 AM

R43- that choreography is by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen. But if you like Jack Cole there is a good biography on him by Glenn Loney called Unsung Genius. It was released in 1984 so you will probably have to find a second-hand copy.

by Anonymousreply 79April 22, 2019 8:16 AM

Thx!

by Anonymousreply 80April 22, 2019 8:19 AM

Here's Mitzi Gaynor doing one of my fave Jack Cole numbers.

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by Anonymousreply 81April 22, 2019 8:19 AM

R23: Hubba hubba! Solid, Jackson.

by Anonymousreply 82April 22, 2019 8:30 AM

When I was a little kid I saw this on TV and I thought it was the funniest thing I’d ever seen. This thread reminded me about it so I just watched it again. Still funny; and though not conventional, it is a dance sequence.

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by Anonymousreply 83April 22, 2019 8:32 AM

R83 Nowadays that number would be seen as "problematic" because they are dressed as babies planning on killing eachother. Such humourless people we are now.

by Anonymousreply 84April 22, 2019 10:00 AM

Nanette Fabray, who was in very few movies, was in one of the greatest musicals ever made. IIRC, someone upthread didn't care for her Louisiana Hayride number. I think it's terrific.

by Anonymousreply 85April 22, 2019 10:18 AM

This is one of my favorite dance sequences... possibly because I didn't know Danny Kaye was a dancer (and go graceful, honestly, he's just moves so smoothly) "The Best Things Happen When You're Dancing" - love it! Plus the long camera slides with them - that lack of editing, just lovely.

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by Anonymousreply 86April 22, 2019 10:21 AM

BTW - there's this humorous sequence also from White Christmas... "Choreography" - always makes me giggle. The hand adjustment Danny makes at :50 in is perfect.

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by Anonymousreply 87April 22, 2019 10:30 AM

absolutely best thread ever. thank you!!

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by Anonymousreply 88April 22, 2019 10:33 AM

so many great ones in this movie.....

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by Anonymousreply 89April 22, 2019 10:41 AM

R87 and it's always good to encounter Mr. Brascia!

by Anonymousreply 90April 22, 2019 10:43 AM

Wonder how many people notice the chorus boy switch in r39

by Anonymousreply 91April 22, 2019 11:08 AM

Rita Hayworth in Affair in Trinidad.

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by Anonymousreply 92April 22, 2019 11:56 AM

r22, this made me want to walk out of the theater. I hated this so much.

by Anonymousreply 93April 22, 2019 12:21 PM

The coordination of so many different departments to make one of those song and dance sequences work is amazing. I love watching and re-watching them... there's always something I missed the first or second time... costumes for the chorus, the movement of a camera (think of how large and heavy they were!), dance steps that just seem to happen but have been rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed.

by Anonymousreply 94April 22, 2019 1:26 PM

I hate it when the idiot directors cut away from stage performers to show an audience reaction or some plot contrivance elsewhere. An example is Fanny Brice singing My Man in The Great Ziegfeld.

by Anonymousreply 95April 22, 2019 1:33 PM

Eleanor Powell and pooch

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by Anonymousreply 96April 22, 2019 1:41 PM

Can never have too much Eleanor Powell

by Anonymousreply 97April 22, 2019 1:43 PM

Let's try that again, Eleanor

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by Anonymousreply 98April 22, 2019 1:44 PM

We'll be watching for the 21 year-old Mr. John Brascia next time we give the DVD of TORCH SONG (53) a spin.

(Thanks to Wikipedia for his complete film appearances).

by Anonymousreply 99April 22, 2019 2:16 PM

[quote]The coordination of so many different departments to make one of those song and dance sequences work is amazing. I love watching and re-watching them... there's always something I missed the first or second time... costumes for the chorus, the movement of a camera (think of how large and heavy they were!), dance steps that just seem to happen but have been rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed.

Here’s a look behind the scenes at how the Eleanor Powell "Fascinatin' Rhythm" number was shot.

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by Anonymousreply 100April 22, 2019 2:31 PM

R15 I would guess the taps would scratch the glass so they were removed for the shot.

Here are The Jack & Jills the teen dance group that included Donald O'Conner and Peggy Ryan.....my favorite is Roland Dupree who is the second guy with drum and the top of the number.....

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by Anonymousreply 101April 22, 2019 3:26 PM

Bravo! I posted Lullaby on another thread about movie dance sequences and I'm glad it's getting the proper recognition with a thread of its own.

by Anonymousreply 102April 22, 2019 3:29 PM

One more Jivin' Jacks & Jills.....Donald and Peggy at the beginning....and Roland in his checked jacket....

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by Anonymousreply 103April 22, 2019 3:30 PM

Has someone already posted Eleanor Powell's Drum Dance from Rosalie 1937? I feel this is a musical, dance and cinematic masterpiece. After you just die watching it, try listening to it and hear the perfection.

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by Anonymousreply 104April 22, 2019 3:34 PM

I wish the youtube clip had been longer. The "Come and dance - My sweetie may not let me" part is spectacular.

by Anonymousreply 105April 22, 2019 3:35 PM

Can you imagine being a 19 year old gay dancer in Hollywood and IN THE MOVIES during the war? All those servicemen....all that fun.....

by Anonymousreply 106April 22, 2019 3:35 PM

How the hell did they mark their steps on this floor?

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by Anonymousreply 107April 22, 2019 3:47 PM

And the glorious Miss Powell with her Hula Tap Number from HONOLULU.

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by Anonymousreply 108April 22, 2019 3:47 PM

Ugh.....that clip cut off AT the tap number.....here's the rest!

Eleanor was not a skinny stick like Ginger, she had curves!

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by Anonymousreply 109April 22, 2019 3:53 PM

I've always been charmed by this number.....

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by Anonymousreply 110April 22, 2019 3:56 PM

r93, I DID walk out after that. That was such a clumsy, charmless sequence, I knew the movie was not going to get any better so I left. Every clip I've ever seen from the rest of it confirms my choice.

by Anonymousreply 111April 22, 2019 4:09 PM

The "Mandy" number from White Christmas has both John Brascia and future Oscar winner, George Chakiris, in the chorus.

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by Anonymousreply 112April 22, 2019 4:15 PM
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by Anonymousreply 113April 22, 2019 4:27 PM

I've always loved the Meglio Stasera scene, R70. I often walk around pretending it's my theme song. BOOM bah BOOM, BOOM BOOM bah BOOM.

The Japanese "Shall We Dance" is an underrated dance movie.

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by Anonymousreply 114April 22, 2019 4:55 PM

Don your flats and capris!

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by Anonymousreply 115April 22, 2019 5:06 PM
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by Anonymousreply 116April 22, 2019 5:08 PM

I can't see why DLers keep posting about Eleanor Powell. She was probably the blandest movie star ever with no personality. She had a son with Glenn Ford who made a soft soft soft core picture called "Wilbur and the Baby Factory." Damn good looking, but I don't think he took off more than his tie in the whole movie!

by Anonymousreply 117April 22, 2019 5:44 PM

[quote] I've shown it to my small nephews and nieces who thoroughly enjoyed it.

Were your small nephews sitting on your lap?

by Anonymousreply 118April 22, 2019 5:48 PM

She had mega-personality when she danced, r117. Given this thread is about dance......

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by Anonymousreply 119April 22, 2019 5:57 PM

There are many of my favorites above (Begin the Beguine, Le Jazz Hot, Triplets) these are some of my all-time favorites that I watch time and again.

The Black Bottom ("I don't know if I ought!") from "Roxie Hart," 1942. The inspiration for "Chicago." And check out George Montgomery!

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by Anonymousreply 120April 22, 2019 6:13 PM

Ann Miller in "Small Town Girl," 1953.

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by Anonymousreply 121April 22, 2019 6:15 PM

Gene Kelly, Phil Silvers, and the breathtakingly lovely Rita Hayworth in "Cover Girl," 1944.

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by Anonymousreply 122April 22, 2019 6:17 PM

And Bobby Van in "Small Town Girl," 1953. It's fairly obvious that he did this in two takes. I read that he suffered nervous exhaustion from performing this number.

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by Anonymousreply 123April 22, 2019 6:19 PM

That's Bobby and his old nose.

by Anonymousreply 124April 22, 2019 7:01 PM

If anyone saw the original staging of "Chicago" with Verdon, Rivera, and Orbach which of course featured Fosse's choreography, you'd see the parallels to The Black Bottom.

Wow. Thanks for adding that.

by Anonymousreply 125April 22, 2019 7:51 PM

You’re romanticizing being gay in the 1940s? What’s next? Wishing you had been black as well?

by Anonymousreply 126April 22, 2019 8:20 PM

I couldn't pick just one favorite, there are too many brilliant performances to do that. But one of my favorites is "The Codfish Ball" featuring Buddy Ebsen and Shirley Temple. They made a charming, adorable dance team. And although I loved "Let's Misbehave" from "Pennies from Heaven", my favorite number from that film was "Pennies From Heaven" featuring Vernel Bagneris. It's gorgeously staged and Bagneris does a languid dance that's hypnotizing, while golden pennies shower all around him. It's stunning.

by Anonymousreply 127April 22, 2019 8:42 PM

Not a movie, but go to 15:30 to see how well Maureen cuts a rug!

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by Anonymousreply 128April 22, 2019 8:45 PM
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by Anonymousreply 129April 22, 2019 8:47 PM

R126 I'm sure it was a sad and dreary life with all kinds of pitfalls and downturns....but there must have been a moment or two of fun......that's what I was talking about.

by Anonymousreply 130April 22, 2019 9:18 PM

[quote]Watch for the subtext of the gay sailors.

Correction: There were no gay people in 1944.

by Anonymousreply 131April 22, 2019 9:34 PM

No one's mentioned this?

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by Anonymousreply 132April 22, 2019 9:35 PM

FUN!

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by Anonymousreply 133April 22, 2019 10:22 PM

These are all so great, what a terrific thread.

I'll add "Rich Man's Frug" from SWEET CHARITY. In his bio of Fosse (which is what Fosse/Verdon is based on), Sam Wasson says it was perhaps Fosse's greatest achievement. I love it so, so, so, so much.

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by Anonymousreply 134April 22, 2019 10:27 PM

"Mandy" from White Christmas is the kind of number that I just can't stand in these movies. It's the same complaint I have with Gene Kelly's dance extravaganza in Singing in the Rain.

Don't think I can't go along with the fantasy of people stopping to sing and dance in a movie. I can. I've contributed to this thread.

But how the hell did that "Mandy" number fit into the barn/restaurant that Crosby and Kaye were going to use? I just don't get it.

And R100, thank you for the clip showing some of what went into creating the magic of a movie dance sequence. I'd love to see more clips like that.

by Anonymousreply 135April 22, 2019 10:38 PM

Climax's (2018) ten-minute opening dance sequence, done in one continuous shot.

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by Anonymousreply 136April 22, 2019 11:10 PM

R135 its one of the thinks I get a kick out of. Dance numbers in elegant "nightclubs" or "cabarets" that evolve into VAST DEEP stages with elaborate Deus ex machina, lighting, orchestras, revolving dancing fountains, you name it!

by Anonymousreply 137April 22, 2019 11:15 PM

R118 No you goddamned perv-they were dancing all over the place.

I've reserved the next grease fire for you.

by Anonymousreply 138April 22, 2019 11:16 PM
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by Anonymousreply 139April 22, 2019 11:19 PM

Love this number....

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by Anonymousreply 140April 22, 2019 11:28 PM

R136 Find that more whipping than dancing

by Anonymousreply 141April 22, 2019 11:37 PM

Ignore - same troll keeps posting that dreadful Climax and no-one is having it!

by Anonymousreply 142April 22, 2019 11:39 PM

R141 oooooh

by Anonymousreply 143April 22, 2019 11:44 PM

The 3rd big number from Sweet Charity is There’s Gotta Be Something Better Than This.

It has rather too much ‘America’ running through it, but it’s still exciting and shows Fosse in the midst of getting his movie style pulled together.

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by Anonymousreply 144April 22, 2019 11:50 PM

Sublime.

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by Anonymousreply 145April 23, 2019 12:14 AM

Lily Savage, Cilla Black, and Barbara Windsor's rendition of "You Gotta Have A Gimmick" from Gypsy (London Palladium)

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by Anonymousreply 146April 23, 2019 12:26 AM

Anything Goes performance on the 2011 Tony Awards

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by Anonymousreply 147April 23, 2019 12:41 AM
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by Anonymousreply 148April 23, 2019 12:42 AM

Can we show a little love for DL fave Bobby Banas?

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by Anonymousreply 149April 23, 2019 12:43 AM

Loving this thread!

by Anonymousreply 150April 23, 2019 12:45 AM

Gene Nelson dancing on the staircase from "Tea for Two". This is the same staircase that appears (in various guises) in Roz Russell's "Auntie Mame" apartment, among many other movies and TV shows. The dance starts at 1:45. Note the great camera work.

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by Anonymousreply 151April 23, 2019 12:52 AM

I always liked the dance sequence in this.

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by Anonymousreply 152April 23, 2019 12:54 AM

R145 - I’ve just scrolled through the entire thread thinking ‘I can’t believe nobody’s posted Dancing in the Dark’ yet.’ And I’m in complete agreement - completely and utterly sublime, and how the scene gently evolves into and out of the dance is gorgeous.

What a great thread. Thanks, OP!

by Anonymousreply 153April 23, 2019 12:58 AM

"Hallelujah" from "Hit The Deck" 1955

Russ Tamblyn, Vice Damone, Tony Martin, Debbie Reynolds, Jane Powell, and Miss Ann Miller

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by Anonymousreply 154April 23, 2019 1:01 AM

You beat me to it R154! Lots of fine sailors in this number!

by Anonymousreply 155April 23, 2019 1:08 AM

"I've Just Begun to Live"

George Burns, Gracie Allen, and Fred Astaire

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by Anonymousreply 156April 23, 2019 1:12 AM

"The Inquisition" from Mel Brooks' History of the World Part 1

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by Anonymousreply 157April 23, 2019 1:14 AM

The Pirate ballet sequence - Gene Kelly

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by Anonymousreply 158April 23, 2019 1:23 AM

"Nowadays" (finale from the film) "Chicago"

Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta Jones

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by Anonymousreply 159April 23, 2019 1:27 AM

Georges Guétary - I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise (from Vincente Minnelli's "An American In Paris")

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by Anonymousreply 160April 23, 2019 1:33 AM

Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend

How did we get to 160 without this?

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by Anonymousreply 161April 23, 2019 1:36 AM

Kiss Me Kate- From This Moment On Ann Miller, Tommy Rall, Jeanne Coyne, Bobby Van, Carol Haney and Bob Fosse. I love them all but Fosse/Haney are the standouts.

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by Anonymousreply 162April 23, 2019 1:41 AM

Opening Sequence "A Chorus Line"

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by Anonymousreply 163April 23, 2019 1:46 AM

Jerry Lewis Cinderfella

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by Anonymousreply 164April 23, 2019 1:49 AM
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by Anonymousreply 165April 23, 2019 1:49 AM

R161, because it's barely a dance sequence.

by Anonymousreply 166April 23, 2019 1:53 AM

What about me bitches?

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by Anonymousreply 167April 23, 2019 1:55 AM

Shanghai Lil from Footlight Parade, 1933 (pre-code)

Jimmy Cagney and Joan Blondell

Dance at about 3:20

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by Anonymousreply 168April 23, 2019 1:58 AM

Balloon Dance from "Give a Girl a Break"

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by Anonymousreply 169April 23, 2019 2:02 AM

The rooftop dance to "America" from West Side Story (and the fantastic opening sequence in the soon to be destroyed West Side tenements to make way for Lincoln Center).

The July 4th "firecracker" number from Holiday Inn with Astaire

The often overlooked but beautiful "Love Look Away" ballet with Yuriko from Flower Drum Song

And along those lines, the beautiful dream sequence from Oklahoma choreographed by Agnes de Mille with Bambi Lynn.

Another R&H special - the sequence on the beach from Carousel with the unhappy teenaged daughter of ulie and Billy Bigelow and the carnival barker (who just happened to be Jacques D'Amboise).

by Anonymousreply 170April 23, 2019 2:02 AM

I keep coming back to Astaire and Rogers. There was something about their partnership that was magical. This number from "Carefree" might be my personal favorite, and I'm not sure why. The story of the plot is nonsense, of course, and somehow Astaire has hypnotized into dancing with him. The number starts around 1:59. Ginger knew how to work that dress! I love to watch it swirl every time she stops moving. And the end lift is beautiful.

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by Anonymousreply 171April 23, 2019 2:04 AM

r141 You've never heard about modern dance, have you?

r142 I posted it once, eldergay cunt. Now stop obsessively posting in this thread and get some fresh air.

by Anonymousreply 172April 23, 2019 2:05 AM

R161 - I don't know but thankfully you were there.

"Men grow cold/As girls grow old/And we all lose our charms in the end . . . (boop boop a doop) . . .

But square-shaped or pear-shaped these rocks don't lose their shape . . . "

by Anonymousreply 173April 23, 2019 2:05 AM

DL fave June Allyson, "When."

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by Anonymousreply 174April 23, 2019 2:05 AM
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by Anonymousreply 175April 23, 2019 2:06 AM

[R69]

Loved Gregory Hines in "White Nights". I like his solo number even better

So talented. It's hard to believe he passed away so young.

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by Anonymousreply 176April 23, 2019 2:06 AM

R172 'Whipping' is modern dance? Bet you call yourself queer.

by Anonymousreply 177April 23, 2019 2:06 AM

"Applause, Applause," finale from "Give a Girl a Break"

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by Anonymousreply 178April 23, 2019 2:07 AM

Well, it's not strictly speaking "dancing" but . . .

Ya Gotta Have A Gimmick from the ill-starred film version of Gypsy

"Once I was a schlepper/Now I'm Miss Mazeppa . . ."

by Anonymousreply 179April 23, 2019 2:07 AM

"Row, Row, Row" from "Two Weeks With Love

Debbie Reynolds and Carleton Carpenter

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by Anonymousreply 180April 23, 2019 2:09 AM

Neither one is a good dancer and, in fact, Holden is downright atrocious but it is one of my fav dance scenes because of the score, the lighting and it’s just so sexy.

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by Anonymousreply 181April 23, 2019 2:10 AM

Mein Herr, with chair.

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by Anonymousreply 182April 23, 2019 2:15 AM

"Les Girls" from "Les Girls"

Gene Kelly, Mitzi Gaynor, Tania Elg and Kay Kendall

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by Anonymousreply 183April 23, 2019 2:17 AM

Also this one from All That Jazz.

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by Anonymousreply 184April 23, 2019 2:20 AM

I guess you had to be there, but the first time you saw this, in a movie theater back in the 70's, it was electric.

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by Anonymousreply 185April 23, 2019 2:20 AM

"The Lady From the Bayou" from "Hit the Deck"

Ann Miller (who isn't doing tap)

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by Anonymousreply 186April 23, 2019 2:21 AM

To follow r146 Gypsy strip tease, I give you Guys and Dolls strip tease...

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by Anonymousreply 187April 23, 2019 2:22 AM

R181 The story behind that dance sequence in Picnic...

[quote]The other issue for Holden was having to dance during the film’s “Moonglow” scene. After being forced to dance with Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina, he went on a three-day drunk to handle the ordeal. This time Holden demanded stunt pay and Columbia wrote him a check for $8,000. To help ease him into the idea, Logan had choreographer Miriam Nelson take Holden to the local roadhouses, where he could get drunk while dancing to the jukeboxes. It didn’t appear to help for when Logan, as he later wrote, finally got some footage, “They [Holden and Novak] bobbed about awkwardly like grade-schoolers.” The problem was eventually solved by cinematographer James Wong Howe having the lights and camera do the dancing. The camera was placed on a dolly that allowed it to circle the stars while also swaying up and down and 50 small, brightly colored spotlights were set-up so that the smallest movements changed the colors on the stars. The resulting scene would go on to become an iconographic film moment.

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by Anonymousreply 188April 23, 2019 2:22 AM

"You're the One That I Want" from "Grease"

Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta

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by Anonymousreply 189April 23, 2019 2:23 AM

"Sing, Sing, Sing," Benny Goodman and the Orchestra from "Swing Kids" (1993)

Robert Sean Leonard and Christian Bale

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by Anonymousreply 190April 23, 2019 2:30 AM

"Nowadays" (finale from the film) "Chicago"

That was nothing but substanceless movie flash. All those cutaways...where was the dancing? If you look at the dance routines in old movies you see the dancer's bodies the ENTIRE time. The camera doesn't keep cutting away every few seconds. I guess the reason for all the cutaways is that the dancers really aren't doing much dancing.

by Anonymousreply 191April 23, 2019 2:30 AM

This classic routine with Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson and little Shirley Temple never gets old...

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by Anonymousreply 192April 23, 2019 2:38 AM

R154 what am I? Chopped liver?

by Anonymousreply 193April 23, 2019 2:52 AM

Good Morning

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by Anonymousreply 194April 23, 2019 2:52 AM

I love this number "The Swing Trot" from the opening credit sequence of "The Barkleys of Broadway". Imagine reunited Fred and Ginger after a decade just stuck under the credits. It's fresh and wonderful.

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by Anonymousreply 195April 23, 2019 2:56 AM

Watch Your Footwork, with Paul Petersen

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by Anonymousreply 196April 23, 2019 2:57 AM

R158 starring Gene Kelly and Gene Kelly's Ass.

by Anonymousreply 197April 23, 2019 2:57 AM

"Ice Cold Katie" from "Thank Your Lucky Stars" 1943

Hattie McDaniel and Willie Best

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by Anonymousreply 198April 23, 2019 3:01 AM

He's My Friend. Energetic.

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by Anonymousreply 199April 23, 2019 3:06 AM

To place La La Land in this august company is a joke...

Not when you have this...

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by Anonymousreply 200April 23, 2019 3:09 AM

Or this...

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by Anonymousreply 201April 23, 2019 3:11 AM

"How'd You Like to Spoon With Me?" from Till The Clouds Roll By, 1946

Angela Lansbury

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by Anonymousreply 202April 23, 2019 3:12 AM

Or this...

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by Anonymousreply 203April 23, 2019 3:13 AM

'Shake a Tail Feather' from The Blues Brothers (1980)

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by Anonymousreply 204April 23, 2019 3:14 AM

So Close

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by Anonymousreply 205April 23, 2019 3:14 AM

Marge and Gower from "Showboat"

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by Anonymousreply 206April 23, 2019 3:16 AM

Hellzapoppin'

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by Anonymousreply 207April 23, 2019 3:18 AM

If it's virtuosity you want...

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by Anonymousreply 208April 23, 2019 3:20 AM

Darby O'Gill and the Little People. The actor Albert Sharpe had to be careful during the filming of the dance sequence not to step on any of them.

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by Anonymousreply 209April 23, 2019 3:22 AM

"Sing Before Breakfast" from "The Big Broadcast of 1936"

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by Anonymousreply 210April 23, 2019 3:23 AM

R191 absolutely. I think the current fad for many cuts can make for visual excitement, but it's not dance and can become a gimmick. Somehow Fosse's use of cuts in Cabaret's numbers didn't bother me, maybe because he was one of the first to do it and so effectively, with a dancer's eye.

by Anonymousreply 211April 23, 2019 3:23 AM

Judy Garland and Charles Walters "Broadway Rhythm"

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by Anonymousreply 212April 23, 2019 3:27 AM

A Bollywood dance - May He Poop?

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by Anonymousreply 213April 23, 2019 3:28 AM

"The Continental Polka" from Easy to Wed, 1946

Lucille Ball and Van Johnson

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by Anonymousreply 214April 23, 2019 3:33 AM

On skis.

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by Anonymousreply 215April 23, 2019 3:33 AM

I Am Woman, featuring shirtless men, in the dance scene from Trick

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by Anonymousreply 216April 23, 2019 3:33 AM

"On Your Toes" from "Words and Music" 1948

Cyd Charisse, Dee Turnell and Eileen Wilson

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by Anonymousreply 217April 23, 2019 3:37 AM

Audrey in Givenchy and Fred in a cardigan as Richard Avedon in Funny Face. And that beautiful melody by George Gershwin and those heavenly lyrics by Ira, his lovely wife.

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by Anonymousreply 218April 23, 2019 3:42 AM

George and his lovely wife...

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by Anonymousreply 219April 23, 2019 3:45 AM

[quote] Jimmy Cagney and Bob Hope from "The Seven Little Foys"

All the more impressive when you consider both men were in their 50s when they did this dance

The music is terrible but Busby's number here is again mesmerizing

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by Anonymousreply 220April 23, 2019 3:45 AM

Are you kidding? The music is enchanting! Harry Warren was one of Hollywood's greatest songwriters!

by Anonymousreply 221April 23, 2019 3:48 AM

Ohhhh R25, I was gonna post that. One of my favorites since I was a kid. Ann-Margret is an underappreciated dancer. What a fun movie, pure joy.

by Anonymousreply 222April 23, 2019 3:52 AM

R218, Fred was 58, Audrey 28, btw.

by Anonymousreply 223April 23, 2019 3:59 AM

Not only does Ms Olsson trip the light fantastic, r222, but Mr Rydell holds his own as well.

by Anonymousreply 224April 23, 2019 4:00 AM

I wouldn't have minded holding his own.

I have a friend whose cousin was in that number The blond kid on whose lap A-M sits.

by Anonymousreply 225April 23, 2019 5:35 AM

of the Astaire and Rogers' dances I like the one from Swing Time. I think the song is Pick Yourself Up. I like the way her dress compliments the dance.

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by Anonymousreply 226April 23, 2019 8:15 AM

A Chorus Line - Broadway 3,389th performance finale

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by Anonymousreply 227April 23, 2019 9:27 AM

Channing Tatum performing No Dames” in the movie Hail Caesar!” What a fun scene.

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by Anonymousreply 228April 23, 2019 10:23 AM

A reminder to all and sundry that the thread is about MOVIE scenes.

by Anonymousreply 229April 23, 2019 10:29 AM

R211, the tendency in modern musicals to be edited with a Cuisinart is due to the bad influence of music videos with their constant cutting to create fake energy around performers who don't generally register well in a visual medium.

In CHICAGO, as in some other musicals, the constant cutting is there to "cover" for actors who can't dance well, though CZJ actually can dance and when there's a number where you have a group of real dancers (like Cell Block Tango), the editing winds up hiding the talent.

by Anonymousreply 230April 23, 2019 10:48 AM

R228, that scene with Tatum from "Hail, Caesar!" is just a very, very pale comparison to what has been posted to this thread. For me, the choreography is basic, the routine disjointed. It never 'sails' away... it's simply a pastiche put forth by the Coen brothers and (of course) automatically praised.

by Anonymousreply 231April 23, 2019 10:50 AM

Begging permission to violate the thread rule just this once for the homoerotic Miike Snow/Gengis Khan video of a fantasy James Bond falling in love with his captor (a.k.a. Stock-'homo' Syndrome) and joining him in a graceful pas de deux...

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by Anonymousreply 232April 23, 2019 11:00 AM

How Does She Know? from Enchanted.

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by Anonymousreply 233April 23, 2019 11:13 AM

The Alley Dance from My Sister Eileen.

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by Anonymousreply 234April 23, 2019 11:14 AM

I dont think anyone actually posted the Barn-Raising Dance did they?

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by Anonymousreply 235April 23, 2019 11:16 AM

I know we are supposed to hate Finian's Rainbow, but I think this dance sequence is glorious.

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by Anonymousreply 236April 23, 2019 11:21 AM

Sidney Poitier rocks out in "To Sir With Love" (1967)

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by Anonymousreply 237April 23, 2019 11:30 AM

Don't know about great, but Dominic West's dance in "Pride" is very "stimulating."

by Anonymousreply 238April 23, 2019 11:40 AM

Let's do the Time Warp again...

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by Anonymousreply 239April 23, 2019 11:55 AM

Rita Hayworth's "Let's Stay Young Forever' in "Down to Earth" is absolute sensuality. Red hair, green dress, and moves by Jack Cole. Well she does play Terpsichore, Muse of Dance...

by Anonymousreply 240April 23, 2019 12:04 PM

Jennifer Beals in "Flashdance"

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by Anonymousreply 241April 23, 2019 12:18 PM

Once a Year Day from The Pajama Game. One of the greatest dance numbers ever recorded on film. Thank you Bob Fosse.

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by Anonymousreply 242April 23, 2019 12:33 PM

Thank you for the Russ Tamblyn dance. I'd never seen that before. Hard to believe the guy from Twin Peaks was ever that cute.

by Anonymousreply 243April 23, 2019 12:47 PM

R188 - Howe may have picked up that trick from Victor Fleming, who had to do the same thing for the scene in which Rhett Butler waltzes with the newly widowed Scarlett O'Hara at the fundraising ball in the early days of the Civil War. Gable just couldn't manage the waltz steps convincingly let alone whilst talkingg to Leigh, and a camera on a swaying dolly for the closeup shots created the illusion of the two moving smoothly together across the floor as they danced and recited their lines.

by Anonymousreply 244April 23, 2019 1:26 PM

SWOON!

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by Anonymousreply 245April 23, 2019 1:56 PM

Charm

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by Anonymousreply 246April 23, 2019 2:23 PM

And this Bollywood craziness.....from the 1960's.....

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by Anonymousreply 247April 23, 2019 2:48 PM

Ugh.....I guess you have to click the YouTube link to see it.....sorry.

by Anonymousreply 248April 23, 2019 2:51 PM

R48 That's so much fun. I like how the dancers make use of the old guy as if he were a human prop.

by Anonymousreply 249April 23, 2019 3:22 PM

Gable just couldn't manage the waltz steps convincingly let alone whilst talkingg to Leigh, and a camera on a swaying dolly for the closeup shots created the illusion of the two moving smoothly together

That was the first scene Gable filmed for the movie. It's been described that he was thoroughly humiliated, plus Viven Leigh was disgusted by the his dentures' bad breath. Off to a great start.

[quote] Jennifer Beals in "Flashdance"

Well, Marine Jahan in "Flashdance" anyway.

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by Anonymousreply 250April 23, 2019 3:56 PM

r236 I remember one review of "Finian's" describing the choreography as "running-jumping-falling down."

by Anonymousreply 251April 23, 2019 4:26 PM

[quote]I like the way her dress compliments the dance.

Oh, dear. Can dresses talk now?

by Anonymousreply 252April 23, 2019 4:27 PM

Cute.

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by Anonymousreply 253April 23, 2019 4:28 PM

More Janie....

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by Anonymousreply 254April 23, 2019 4:29 PM

Ben Vereen, "Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie" from Funny Lady

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by Anonymousreply 255April 23, 2019 4:42 PM

OMG, you must see this one.....

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by Anonymousreply 256April 23, 2019 4:53 PM

That was not Victor Fleming who directed that it was Cukor.

That Finian number is very charming. I hated the movie as a kid but I loved the lp. Much like Star! and Dr. Dolittle lps which still hold up but the films are as bad as ever.

by Anonymousreply 257April 23, 2019 4:54 PM

"That's Dancing!" The best of the MGM musicals

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by Anonymousreply 258April 23, 2019 4:55 PM

Great Ethel Merman clip!

I think that's the movie with this exchange:

Ethel's Co-Hort reading the paper: "Hey, remember that guy who pretended to be your husband in Atlantic City? He's dead."

Ethel: I coulda told you that in Atlantic City.

by Anonymousreply 259April 23, 2019 4:58 PM

"All of You" from Silk Stockings, 1957

Cyd Charisse and Fred Astaire

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by Anonymousreply 260April 23, 2019 5:00 PM
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by Anonymousreply 261April 23, 2019 5:02 PM

"Saturday Afternoon Before the Game" from I Love Melvin

With Debbie Reynolds as the football!

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by Anonymousreply 262April 23, 2019 5:06 PM

Judy Garland's version (cut from the film after she collapsed filming) of "I'm an Indian Too" from Annie Get Your Gun

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by Anonymousreply 263April 23, 2019 5:10 PM

"Swanee" from A Star is Born

Judy Garland

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by Anonymousreply 264April 23, 2019 5:12 PM

"Lose That Long Face" from A Star is Born (1954)

Judy Garland

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by Anonymousreply 265April 23, 2019 5:15 PM

I sometimes wish people would just break out in dance in real life. Lack of a musical score to accompany them probably prevents that from happening though.

by Anonymousreply 266April 23, 2019 5:16 PM

That's Fated to Be Mated and as instrumental dance music it becomes Paris Loves Lovers as a bolero and then All of You done by jazz combo. It is one of my all time favorite musical numbers on film.

Also All of You is danced 'straight' in the first part of the film and I prefer it to Dancing in the Dark.

Too Bad is a great number as well. A terrific cha cha danced by 3 sensational female dancers with the beautiful Barrie Chase(who Freed literally could not keep his hands off of.) And those Helen Rose costumes!

by Anonymousreply 267April 23, 2019 5:17 PM

"Black Bottom" from A Star is Born, 1954

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by Anonymousreply 268April 23, 2019 5:18 PM

"All I Do is Think of You" from Singin' in the Rain

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by Anonymousreply 269April 23, 2019 5:22 PM

Before there was Busby Berkley, Erich Von Stroheim was the king of musical production numbers.

The Great Gabbo (1929) had the gayest looking chorus boys I've ever seen in a movie.

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by Anonymousreply 270April 23, 2019 5:23 PM

R270 You're right - what a twink-fest !

by Anonymousreply 271April 23, 2019 6:08 PM

Alice Faye as a hooker (serious) and the Ritz Brothers (parodying Alice Faye) both from "On the Avenue" 1937

"Slumming on Park Avenue"

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by Anonymousreply 272April 23, 2019 6:50 PM

R257 - I thought Cukor was fired early on in the filming, replaced by Fleming as Gable refused to work with Cukor who was gay and alleged to be much more sympathetic to his actresses than his actors. I don't know the sequences in which scenes were shot, but Fleming is always given the directorial credit for GWTS and is credited with saving the production.

by Anonymousreply 273April 23, 2019 6:53 PM

^*GWTW

by Anonymousreply 274April 23, 2019 6:53 PM

R208 - Thanks for remembering the wonderful Gene Nelson, who had some of the most gorgeous legs of any hoofer in the biz, and as Will Parker did the marvellous "Everything's Up to Date in Kansas City" number in "Oklahoma".

And I'd like to give a nod to the hilarious "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" shuffle in "Kiss Me Kate" by James Whitmore & Keenan Wynn. Factoid: the two thought the number silly, failed to rehearse it adequately, and made lots of mistakes in filming. But the director thought the mistakes were charming bits of "business" and, thankfully, left it as it.

by Anonymousreply 275April 23, 2019 7:01 PM

^*as is.

by Anonymousreply 276April 23, 2019 7:01 PM

"Leave It to Jane" and "Cleopatterer" from Till The Clouds Roll By, 1946

June Allyson and Ray McDonald

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by Anonymousreply 277April 23, 2019 7:02 PM

[quote]"All I Do is Think of You" from Singin' in the Rain

Dream, not Think.

by Anonymousreply 278April 23, 2019 7:04 PM

"I Won't Dance" from "Lovely to Look At"

Marge, Gower, a tailor's dummy and a dress rack

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by Anonymousreply 279April 23, 2019 7:07 PM

Till the Cloud Roll By has a number of Robert Alton's sensational numbers. Thank god for DVDs so you don't have to sit through the entire film more than once.

by Anonymousreply 280April 23, 2019 7:12 PM

La Carioca - La cité de la peur - 1994

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by Anonymousreply 281April 23, 2019 7:12 PM

"Thou Swell," with June Allyson and the cute Blackburn Twins.

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by Anonymousreply 282April 23, 2019 7:18 PM

This is a heavily flawed number from Busby Berkeley's "In Caliente". It builds slowly until he introduces a comic bit with Judy Canova which kills it, then it picks up again after that. You can skip Judy from 4:27-5:30 when the De Marcos come on and Wini Shaw sings at the end.

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by Anonymousreply 283April 23, 2019 7:20 PM

"He Ain't Got Rhythm" from "On the Avenue 1937

The Ritz Brothers

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by Anonymousreply 284April 23, 2019 7:28 PM

"Lucky Number" from "The Black Network" 1936

Harold and Fayard Nicholas

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by Anonymousreply 285April 23, 2019 7:33 PM

"Railroad Station Dance" from "The Great American Broadcast," 1941

The Nicholas Brothers.

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by Anonymousreply 286April 23, 2019 7:39 PM

[quote] La Carioca - La cité de la peur - 1994

If you are going to do the Carioca, go to the source. The very first Fred and Ginger dance.

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by Anonymousreply 287April 23, 2019 7:39 PM

THe Pas de Deux from Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake

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by Anonymousreply 288April 23, 2019 7:41 PM

42nd Street which really gives the dark side of the street. The sequence where the girl jumps from the second story to get away from a rapist still scares me. You have to get past Ruby Keeler's klutzy dancing first.

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by Anonymousreply 289April 23, 2019 7:43 PM

"I've Got A Gal in Kalamazoo" from "Orchestra Wives" 1942

Glenn Miller (slide trombone), Tex Beneke (saxophone), The Modernaires (vocals), The Nicholas Brothers (dance)

Check out Jackie Gleason on the base.

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by Anonymousreply 290April 23, 2019 7:45 PM

[quote] You have to get past Ruby Keeler's klutzy dancing first.

Klutzy? She went out a youngster, and came back a 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓.

by Anonymousreply 291April 23, 2019 7:47 PM

The Carioca is from Flying Down to Rio. It was the first movie to play Radio City as its Christmas movie. It also received a C rating from the Catholic church. All the families going to Rockefeller Center for the holiday were going to see a dirty picture.

by Anonymousreply 292April 23, 2019 7:47 PM

I guess it's blasphemy but this clip of Mame is really good. Before the frantic dancing, it's very charming and how could it not be with Robert Preston handling the singing. Even Lucy does well. Watch them keep trying to put Kirby Furlong into the action in the back @ 2:15 to remind everyone that the story is a love story between Mame and Patrick.

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by Anonymousreply 293April 23, 2019 7:53 PM

I guess I should specify that C stands for Condemned which means not only was it not fit for children it was not fit for adults as well. We are talking beyond triple x here.

by Anonymousreply 294April 23, 2019 7:54 PM

Drunk Dance - "Gotta Have Me Go With You" - from A Star Is Born (1954)

Judy Garland & James Mason

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by Anonymousreply 295April 23, 2019 7:56 PM

[quote] C stands for Condemned which means not only was it not fit for children it was not fit for adults as well.

Probably mostly for this scene with all the barely dressed American girls doing a scandalous airborne burlesque show they hope their mothers never find out about.

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by Anonymousreply 296April 23, 2019 8:03 PM

My dad took me to see this at one of the revival houses in Manhattan when I was about 8, and I thought I'd died and gone to heaven when this number began.

by Anonymousreply 297April 23, 2019 8:20 PM

Just dont watch George Chakiris fake lipsynch the French.

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by Anonymousreply 298April 23, 2019 9:19 PM

We've omitted one of the great film dance-fests of all time: "The Turning Point". My personal favourite from the film was the rehearsal of the Balcony Scene from the Profofiev-MacMillan Royal Ballet production of "Romeo and Juliet". My least favourite was the Don Q. pas de deux for whose sharp bravura technical prowess Browne's lyrical, soft technique was totally unsuited (not so, though, Baryshnikov's!).

by Anonymousreply 299April 23, 2019 9:20 PM

Hi R252, that is me that you are "oh, dear"-ing. Sorry, I had a brain injury when I was younger, and I also have dyslexia (what a great combination!) and especially when I am tired, spelling just goes out the window. You made me laugh, though.

by Anonymousreply 300April 23, 2019 9:49 PM

Onna White's Oscar-receiving choreography "Consider Yourself" from "Oliver!"

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by Anonymousreply 301April 23, 2019 10:14 PM

And its brilliant parody from Monty Python's "The Meaning of Life" (choreography by Arlene Phillips)

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by Anonymousreply 302April 23, 2019 10:17 PM

Isn't there a legendary routine with the naughty Carmen Miranda in which it becomes clear in a series of kicks that she left her knickers in the dressing-room? I could swear I've seen a photo but can't seem to find it.

by Anonymousreply 303April 23, 2019 10:26 PM
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by Anonymousreply 304April 23, 2019 10:33 PM

Princess Tam Tam and Zouzou. I wonder if I'm allowed to like them, nowadays!

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by Anonymousreply 305April 23, 2019 10:39 PM

Ken Russell's hommage to r296...

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by Anonymousreply 306April 23, 2019 10:41 PM

R304 - Oh, kudos to you for finding it!

Jesus, didn't it chafe?!

by Anonymousreply 307April 23, 2019 10:42 PM

Charlotte Greenwood

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by Anonymousreply 308April 23, 2019 10:51 PM

r304, totally wasted on Cesar Romero.

by Anonymousreply 309April 23, 2019 10:51 PM

R309 - "totally wasted on Cesar Romero." Perhaps that's why they got away with it, she knew he'd just laugh and carry on.

Good lord, those thunder thighs!

In my salad days, I met a young woman who was Romero's niece, daughter of his brother (Don?). Had I been other than what I am (he said delicately), I would have thrown her to the floor in a heartbeat. She was startlingly beautiful. Have no idea what became of her, it was a chance meeting in America.

by Anonymousreply 310April 23, 2019 10:54 PM

I think there were years Cesar stuck his fat Butifarra Cubana Americano into any thing.

by Anonymousreply 311April 23, 2019 11:00 PM

I saw this at a film festival over 30 years ago but was never able to find out much about it till YouTube came to the rescue--it's the story of a group of Argentine exiles in Paris in the 1970s, told in dance and has the opening sequence that LAlaLand tried for and failed. Apologies in advance for the non-Spanish/French speakers.

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by Anonymousreply 312April 23, 2019 11:03 PM

Continuation of the above.

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by Anonymousreply 313April 23, 2019 11:05 PM

Miss Sylvia Lewis on the big screen....

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by Anonymousreply 314April 23, 2019 11:17 PM

Not a movie musical exactly, but one of the most tremendously exciting dance numbers ever committed to celluloid...

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by Anonymousreply 315April 23, 2019 11:18 PM

Miss Sylvia Lewis on the little screen....

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by Anonymousreply 316April 23, 2019 11:18 PM

"Judy Garland's version (cut from the film after she collapsed filming) of "I'm an Indian Too" from Annie Get Your Gun."

She was terrible in that. She was drugged and mentally ill at the time.

by Anonymousreply 317April 23, 2019 11:52 PM

R314 well Bravo that's a lot of fun.

by Anonymousreply 318April 23, 2019 11:56 PM

R317 whatever

by Anonymousreply 319April 24, 2019 12:44 AM

This thread has kept me up past my bedtime, but I have enjoyed it all immensely. Thank you to all who posted, especially the more obscure videos that I have never seen before. Bravo!

by Anonymousreply 320April 24, 2019 1:17 AM

Not movie, but directed by Stanley Donen. Big Man on Mulberry Street from Moonlighting. Maddie learns David is divorced and his ex-wife is coming to town. Sandahl Bergman plays the ex in the dream sequence and she's spectacular. Willis obviously wasn't a dancer but he does a good job. Bergman sort of resembles the not Peggy Bundy Katey Sagal. Billy Joel was a fan of the show and wrote this specifically for the episode.

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by Anonymousreply 321April 24, 2019 1:21 AM

Two that spring to mind:

Do-Re-Mi from The Sound Of Music. In a strange way, I think of it as the first song/dance with quick cuts ala MTV.

Someone has to post the scene from Boys In The Band where everyone gets up to dance to "Heat Wave".

by Anonymousreply 322April 24, 2019 1:23 AM

Choreographer Onna White is represented at least three times, Oliver, Mame and Bye Bye Birdie

by Anonymousreply 323April 24, 2019 1:28 AM

The wonderful Jessie Matthews in a fabulous number.....

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by Anonymousreply 324April 24, 2019 1:37 AM

This was the highlight of the movie ACL, a low bar, but still a thrilling sequence. Although you had to believe Gregg Burge had sex with a woman, he was clearly one of the three best male show dancers of his generation along with Hinton Battle and Don Correia. Personally, I'd put him ahead of both of those two because I thought his style was more versatile. Surprise, Surprise shows him at his apex.

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by Anonymousreply 325April 24, 2019 1:49 AM

"Oh You Kid" from The Harvey Girls (1946)

Angela Lansbury

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by Anonymousreply 326April 24, 2019 2:04 AM

"We're a Couple of Swells" from Easter Parade

Judy Garland and Fred Astaire

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by Anonymousreply 327April 24, 2019 2:07 AM

I never heard of Gene Nelson until I watched his videos on this thread. Wow. He's incredible -- more attractive than Gene Kelly, and certainly sexier than Fred Astaire. More of an athletic gymnastic approach, but man, he's good!!

by Anonymousreply 328April 24, 2019 2:08 AM

I haven't seen that in years, r326. So funny not to hear Angie's singing voice.

by Anonymousreply 329April 24, 2019 2:08 AM

"Shine On Your Shoes" from The Band Wagon

Fred Astaire and Leroy Daniels

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by Anonymousreply 330April 24, 2019 2:20 AM

Patty Duke tries to dance in the dykey movie, Billie. Watch for Donna McKechnie who ironically does her best onscreen dancing in this bomb. Watch her get dropped in the wings at 1:30. In the chorus are Robert Banas and Clive Clerk and they're both swoon worthy.

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by Anonymousreply 331April 24, 2019 2:21 AM

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, “Finally.”

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by Anonymousreply 332April 24, 2019 3:25 AM

Le can-can! (Skip to 48 seconds.) Juliet Prowse and Shirley MacLaine. High kicks, splits and cartwheels galore and face sitting too. And all danced to Cole's marvelous tune. "If in Cannes every tanned courtesan can, Baby, you can can-can too."

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by Anonymousreply 333April 24, 2019 3:32 AM

"In my salad days, I met...Romero's niece...had I been other than what I am..."

R310 would you have preferred a Cesar Salad?

by Anonymousreply 334April 24, 2019 3:36 AM

I love every brilliant and scintillating word of CAN-CAN, with its assonant wordplay in chorus after chorus.

by Anonymousreply 335April 24, 2019 3:44 AM

'If a Jap with a flap of her fan can'

Would that now be cut?

by Anonymousreply 336April 24, 2019 3:48 AM

If in Lesbos, a pure Lesbian can, Baby you can can-can too.

by Anonymousreply 337April 24, 2019 3:50 AM

Jeff Harnar does Cole's Can-Can brilliantly. Only Steve Ross does it better.

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by Anonymousreply 338April 24, 2019 3:57 AM

I think Steve's is the only recording that contains the entire song.

by Anonymousreply 339April 24, 2019 3:59 AM

Re The Garland version of I'm an Indian Too in Annie Get Your Gun I prefer the original choreography of Robert Alton. He simplify it for the Betty Hutton version.

by Anonymousreply 340April 24, 2019 5:15 AM

Ah, this thread is in very capable hands. Thanks for the many enjoyable posts since yesterday and whoever posted more of the fabulous Nicholas brothers. Here they are showing skin from Tin Pan Alley...

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by Anonymousreply 341April 24, 2019 5:43 AM

In her day Marilu Henner had really great gams.

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by Anonymousreply 342April 24, 2019 5:52 AM

Here's a rarity: Deanna Durbin Dancing. From the rare film "Spring Parade", i have to explain since I think this clip is in Russian -- Deanna's character bets Mischa Auer for her goat that she can stay upright while dancing with him over the length of the song. But he keeps telling the orchestra leader to speed up, though Deanna gets wise to it. It's funny, and shows that had Universal done more full musicals for Deanna instead of what were usually comedies with songs for her to sing, she'd have been up to performing more dance numbers.

by Anonymousreply 343April 24, 2019 6:08 AM

oops, here's the clip.

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by Anonymousreply 344April 24, 2019 6:08 AM

Crapshooters Ballet from Guys and Dolls. Choreographed by Michael Kidd.

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by Anonymousreply 345April 24, 2019 6:21 AM

Here's triple threat British star Jessie Matthews singing and dancing to Rodgers & Hart's classic "Dancing on the Ceiling" from the musical "Evergreen".

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by Anonymousreply 346April 24, 2019 6:33 AM

R343 that is really fun. I love the fact that Deanna was sane enough to get out of Dodge early.

Mischa had a nice ass on him.

by Anonymousreply 347April 24, 2019 8:29 AM

R343 sixth-billed in that is Anne Gwynne, the grandmother of Chris Pine.

by Anonymousreply 348April 24, 2019 8:40 AM

"We're a Couple of Swells" from Easter Parade is a delight from start to finish. It's a great number Fred's character who is no longer looking to force Judy to be his Ann Miller replacement; but for the two actors, their enjoyment of the piece is infectious... Judy's delightful (she was a natural comedienne) and the number gives Astaire that opportunity to show how versatile he could be - dancing when not dressed in a tux or suit.

E.P. has never been a favorite... I just can't believe Judy falls for Fred... he's too old and Peter Lawford's actually a nice catch... but "We're a Couple of Swells" should always be in any list of great movie dance sequences.

by Anonymousreply 349April 24, 2019 9:33 AM

Fred Astaire & Leslie Caron, "Sluefoot"

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by Anonymousreply 350April 24, 2019 10:47 AM

R334 - LOL. Cesar not quite my type but appreciate the humour!

by Anonymousreply 351April 24, 2019 1:07 PM

Misha (and his maximus) are hilarious in MY MAN GODFREY.

by Anonymousreply 352April 24, 2019 1:24 PM

MIsCha, dammit!

by Anonymousreply 353April 24, 2019 1:25 PM

Sluefoot is sensational with the back up dancers. I was watching Too Darn Hot from the current revival of KMK. How in the world are choreographers today so frantically busily horrible?

by Anonymousreply 354April 24, 2019 1:27 PM

R23, R28

Every one a virgin, too!

by Anonymousreply 355April 24, 2019 3:10 PM

THE RED SHOES BALLET

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by Anonymousreply 356April 24, 2019 3:11 PM

"Chattanooga Choo-Choo" from "Sun Valley Serenade" 1941

Dorothy Dandridge, The Nicholas Brothers, and the Glenn Miller Orchestra.

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by Anonymousreply 357April 24, 2019 3:18 PM

Dance sequence from "Down Argentine Way"

The Nicholas Brothers

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by Anonymousreply 358April 24, 2019 3:24 PM

[quote]Choreographer Onna White is represented at least three times, Oliver, Mame and Bye Bye Birdie

The Music Man, too.

by Anonymousreply 359April 24, 2019 3:59 PM

There have been several fine clips of the Nicholas Brothers but I think this one best shows what these men could do.

These splits and recoveries impress the hell out of me. Any one of them would have sent me to a hospital.

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by Anonymousreply 360April 24, 2019 4:32 PM

I'm too young to remember them in real time, but back in the 90's I observed a master class in tap Fayard gave at Harvard, part of a day-long celebration of his life and work and followed by a dinner and showing a collection of some of he and his brother's greatest filmed dance numbers by the Harvard Film Archive. Harold was still alive then but couldn't attend.

Fayard was in his 80's then and while he obviously couldn't do what he'd done in the movies, you could see what a great teacher he still was working with the students.

by Anonymousreply 361April 24, 2019 4:54 PM

R361 Such a lovely family and amazing backstory. His parents went to college, rare for people of color in those days. Here's a A & E special on the Nicholas Brothers done in the early 90's with guest appearances from Donald O'Connor and Gregory Hines, among others.

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by Anonymousreply 362April 24, 2019 5:02 PM

Harold did an off-Broadway show in the 80s or 90s on Theatre Row - he could still dance up a storm

by Anonymousreply 363April 24, 2019 5:40 PM

The story behind the Carmen Miranda crotch shot is that she usually wore a thong like garment under her costume. She had finished filming a scene and was undressing when they called her out for some newspaper photos with Romero. She didn't bother putting her underwear back on, but the photographers insisted that Romero do some steps and lift her....and one photographer got down on the floor to get a shot.....and he did!

The guy who is Leslie Caron's partner at the beginning of the Slue Foot dance is Kelly Brown who was one of the suitors in 7 Brides for 7 Brothers....and also the father of Leslie Browne one of the stars of The Turning Point - and allegedly the inspiration for the character of the father in the movie.

Billie had another fun number.......

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by Anonymousreply 364April 24, 2019 6:08 PM

Yes, I did my own dancing in this, no body double for me.

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by Anonymousreply 365April 24, 2019 6:55 PM

Not quite as much choreography as in your....distant...youth, Helen.

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by Anonymousreply 366April 24, 2019 7:14 PM

Sammy Davis Jr. and Gregory Hines in Tap (1989)

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by Anonymousreply 367April 24, 2019 7:19 PM

Roz #1

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by Anonymousreply 368April 24, 2019 9:38 PM

Roz #2

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by Anonymousreply 369April 24, 2019 9:39 PM

Bobby Banas became a rosarian.

by Anonymousreply 370April 24, 2019 9:47 PM

DL fave Val Harper (and some hot guys) in "Li'l Abner."

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by Anonymousreply 371April 24, 2019 9:48 PM

Listening to Roz sing I was suddenly wondered how she would have done if given the song "I'm Still Here" from Sondheim's Follies... I think she had the acting chops to pull it off. Thoughts?

by Anonymousreply 372April 24, 2019 10:32 PM

Must return to R&H again to mention the beautiful dance adaptation of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" arranged by the slave-girl Tuptim (played by Rita Moreno) ostensibly to entertain the British Ambassador on his visit to Siam, but also to send a message to the King of Siam.

by Anonymousreply 373April 24, 2019 10:58 PM

"Ain't There Anyone Here For Love" from "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes"

Jane Russell and the US team onboard the Liberté en route to Europe

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by Anonymousreply 374April 25, 2019 12:24 AM

Betty, Gwen, and boys.....

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by Anonymousreply 375April 25, 2019 12:27 AM

R374 - If Russell had just taken a good look at the men in the number, she'd have known why there was nobody there for love.

I always split a couple of ribs watching that number.

A bit OT but I once read a story about a press call for some movie Russell and Robert Mitchum did together (Macao?), and as Russell was known as an observant Christian, one of the reporters inctuously asked Russell how she squared her Christian morals with the constant exposure of her bosom. Mitchum was about to slug the man, but Russell replied smoothly, 'Christians got tits too, Mister," and MItchum fell over laughing.

by Anonymousreply 376April 25, 2019 12:35 AM

Did somebody say Technicolor?

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by Anonymousreply 377April 25, 2019 12:36 AM

"The Saga Of Jenny" for "Star"

Julie Andrews

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by Anonymousreply 378April 25, 2019 12:38 AM

"The Saga of Jenny" from Lady in the Dark, 1944

Ginger Rogers

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by Anonymousreply 379April 25, 2019 12:44 AM

That costume was ever so 1968, r378. I do wonder, though, if it was perhaps inspired by this one of Jessie's. Jessie was Gertie's understudy/replacement in the Charlot Revue if I recall correctly.

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by Anonymousreply 380April 25, 2019 12:55 AM

Victor/Victoria should have recreated this number.....

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by Anonymousreply 381April 25, 2019 1:05 AM
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by Anonymousreply 382April 25, 2019 9:35 PM

I was stunned when I first saw that number. It really is beyond belief.

by Anonymousreply 383April 25, 2019 9:47 PM

She's a fabulous dancer, but she has zero sex appeal.

by Anonymousreply 384April 25, 2019 9:51 PM

Like Astaire.

by Anonymousreply 385April 25, 2019 9:57 PM

But, R384, at least SHE can dance...

by Anonymousreply 386April 25, 2019 9:58 PM

I wouldn't have minded snagging a young Glen Ford. If not on screen then clearly off she was hot stuff.

by Anonymousreply 387April 25, 2019 10:00 PM

'Glenn'

by Anonymousreply 388April 25, 2019 10:01 PM

Ellie and Glenn.....

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by Anonymousreply 389April 25, 2019 10:04 PM

Higher and wider, r387.....

by Anonymousreply 390April 25, 2019 10:06 PM

Barbara Stanwyck is no Ginger Rogers, but backed by Gene Krupa she has a certain charm

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by Anonymousreply 391April 25, 2019 10:10 PM

You should seek her "Put It on the G-string " in " Lady of Burlesque."

by Anonymousreply 392April 25, 2019 10:14 PM
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by Anonymousreply 393April 25, 2019 10:22 PM
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by Anonymousreply 394April 25, 2019 10:23 PM

Jitterbug at 3:30........

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by Anonymousreply 395April 25, 2019 10:30 PM

I think this should count....

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by Anonymousreply 396April 25, 2019 10:37 PM

More acrobatics than dance......

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by Anonymousreply 397April 25, 2019 10:44 PM

I can't find the whole scene, but I've always liked this combination of song and dance.

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by Anonymousreply 398April 25, 2019 11:19 PM

Jesus, how many times did Sondheim watch that scene with Julie Andrews in order to write "Lucy and Jessie" for Follies?

by Anonymousreply 399April 25, 2019 11:26 PM

When giants walked the earth, r383...

'Jesus, how many times did Sondheim watch that scene with Julie Andrews in order to write "Lucy and Jessie" for Follies?"

He didn't have to-- he would have known the song since 1941.

I always found Glenn Ford the dullest of film actors. But maybe Eleanor knew something I didn't...

by Anonymousreply 400April 25, 2019 11:29 PM
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by Anonymousreply 401April 25, 2019 11:38 PM
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by Anonymousreply 402April 26, 2019 12:37 AM

"Rock-A-Hula" from Blue Hawaii

Elvis Presley and Angela Lansbury (with a terrible accent) as his mother.

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by Anonymousreply 403April 26, 2019 12:43 AM

There was a great little routine on "I Love Lucy", where Lucy tried to be in Ricky's show ( a shock, I know), doing a jitterbug routine. Of course she gets drops in her eyes that screw up the whole thing, but when she originally does the routine, it's pretty good.

Man, Glenn Ford got around. Wasn't he also married to the actress who played Kim Hughes on As The World Turns?

Could someone with more technical prowess than me post the "Boys In The Band " scene where they all dance to Martha and the Vandellas' "Heat Wave"? (By the way, what is a vandella?)

by Anonymousreply 404April 26, 2019 12:46 AM

A female vandal

by Anonymousreply 405April 26, 2019 12:47 AM

That makes me want to post this one again, r404.....

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by Anonymousreply 406April 26, 2019 12:48 AM

No dancing here but this musical medley never fails to bring tears to my eyes.

Susan Hayward as Jane Froman in With a Song in My Heart. This is the spectacular finale, also (briefly) featuring Thelma Ritter and Rory Calhoun.

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by Anonymousreply 407April 26, 2019 3:34 AM

A history lesson including Valerie Harper and Donna Douglas.

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by Anonymousreply 408April 26, 2019 3:58 AM

Not movies but since the Nicholas Brothers are so well represented, Gregg Burge and Hinton Battle do their Nicholas Brothers tribute in Sophisticated Ladies on It Don't Mean A Thing. Especially watch Burge's taps during the "Doo Wah, Doo Wah" finale of his solo. His feet are right on the beat and it doesn't seem quite humanly possible. The number is sung by the incomparable Phyllis Hyman.

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by Anonymousreply 409April 26, 2019 4:48 AM

Vera-Ellen and Fred Astaire in the final part of the Currier and Ives segment of "The Belle of New York" is a rather sophisticated tap partner dance with lots of pirouettes that many of his other partners probably couldn't have pulled off as well as Vera-Ellen. Her back and stomach muscles must have been extremely strong when he pulls her back and takes his arms away from her at one point. Their partner work is dazzling. This is considered actually one of the more difficult dances Astaire did in terms of choreography, looking deceptively simple, but it's really not -- it's great artistry between the both of them.

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by Anonymousreply 410April 26, 2019 5:21 AM

The deleted Scarecrow dance from the Wizard of Oz...

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by Anonymousreply 411April 26, 2019 5:30 AM

Better still is Bolger's gay-ish number from "The Harvey Girls":

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by Anonymousreply 412April 26, 2019 6:35 AM

R30. I've always loved this!

by Anonymousreply 413April 26, 2019 7:08 AM

I've always wondered why Victor Fleming's extended Scarecrow dance survived but not The Jitterbug nor the extended Emerald City musical sequences.

Trivia: watch how Judy's hair length goes back and forth in that scene, in both the deleted footage and even in the finished film.

Thanks to r411 and indeed to everyone who's posted in this wonderful thread. Here's my first contribution, the fantastic swing number from 1941's Hellzapoppin. performed by Whitey's Lindy Hoppers. I found it while searching for a different swing number which I'll post when I can find it.

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by Anonymousreply 414April 26, 2019 8:37 AM

For you, R137

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by Anonymousreply 415April 26, 2019 11:23 AM

[quote]I always found Glenn Ford the dullest of film actors.

He had amazing charisma with the right partner.

by Anonymousreply 416April 26, 2019 12:06 PM

No wonder I can't get through "Gilda" even though Rita Hayworth is so gorgeous otherwise.

by Anonymousreply 417April 26, 2019 3:51 PM

R417 Same here. Glenn Ford has zero charisma. Zilch. Negative. The original 3:10 to Yuma suffers for it, too.

by Anonymousreply 418April 26, 2019 4:29 PM

Wow. I love Gilda. And I find Glenn very smoldering cute. It's a terrific film. 'Sure, I'm decent.' Kills me every time.

John Hodiak. Another hottie. What's he doing in a MGM musical? Well, what's Robert Walker doing in a MGM musical?

by Anonymousreply 419April 26, 2019 11:12 PM

From Carlos Saura's "Carmen" - the rehearsal of the number where the factory girls' face off - it's a fabulous film and although it has lots of great dance moments, this number stands out. Performers were Laura del Sol and the great Cristina Hoyos. The real deal for you flamenco aficionados out there.

by Anonymousreply 420April 27, 2019 12:00 AM

Travolta and Thurman go retro in this dance scene from Pulp Fiction (1994) (starts @ 1:20)...

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by Anonymousreply 421April 27, 2019 4:59 AM

I hated that fucking dance scene (if you can call it that) with Uma Thurman and Travolta in "Pulp Fiction." Actually, I hated that entire overrated piece of shit movie.

by Anonymousreply 422April 27, 2019 5:09 AM

Rita and Fred, The Shorty George

by Anonymousreply 423April 27, 2019 7:07 AM

That film 'You Were Never Lovelier' also has the sublime 'I'm Old Fashioned.' It inspired Jerome Robbins to create a ballet about it at the NYCB. It was done often at the time but it wasn't very good. He had lost his musical comedy chops by then. And he never really had ballet chops to begin with. Which is why Mr B had him there. He could pad the rep without being any threat.

by Anonymousreply 424April 27, 2019 10:04 AM

Ann Miller in her film dancing debut.

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by Anonymousreply 425April 27, 2019 11:07 AM

R422 - Second that on all points re "Pulp Fiction".

by Anonymousreply 426April 27, 2019 2:05 PM

This is the opening of a silly movie called GET OVER IT from 2001. I wish the rest of the movie had been as much fun.

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by Anonymousreply 427April 27, 2019 2:08 PM

That "I'm Old Fashioned" sequence is about as romantic and lush as ballroom dance can get. I think Hayworth partnered Astaire as well as Ginger did.

by Anonymousreply 428April 27, 2019 2:25 PM

[quote] Ann Miller in her film dancing debut.

At age 14 for god's sake.

And I love Uma's Pulp Fiction dance.

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by Anonymousreply 429April 27, 2019 3:01 PM

Except for the bouffant hair, Ann Miller looked about the same at 14 as she did at 60. My god, what a dancer, though!

by Anonymousreply 430April 27, 2019 3:03 PM

Was Ruby Keeler considered a great tapper in the early 1930s? Her dancing is so different form what we see Ann Miller and Eleanor Powell doing just a few years later. Or did the art of tap dancing change a lot in just a few years?

by Anonymousreply 431April 27, 2019 3:12 PM

It's hard to imagine she would have been considered great--all that galumphing around, and watching her feet. Her dancing in the 42nd Street sequence is execrable.

by Anonymousreply 432April 27, 2019 3:17 PM

Here's Ann Miller again.

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by Anonymousreply 433April 27, 2019 3:26 PM

"Ev'ry Street's a Boulevard in Old New York" from "Living It Up" 1954

Martin and Lewis

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by Anonymousreply 434April 27, 2019 3:45 PM

R431 Ruby Keeler was not considered a great dancer, nor even a particularly good dancer. But she was a famous one since the movies she was in were fabulous, especially those Busby Berkeley creations. She was, however, endearing in her personality on screen and, I think that people thought that if she could make it and become famous dancing like she did (which wasn't that outstanding), they could, too! Plus, of course, she married huge star Al Jolson, encouraged by her father to do so, to help her career and get Broadway and movie gigs.

by Anonymousreply 435April 27, 2019 4:10 PM

Ruby was a hoofer. Taps were wood before they were metal and you had to slam your feet down to get the sound.

by Anonymousreply 436April 27, 2019 4:13 PM

She also looked at her feet at times while she was dancing, which is usually a no-no, but endeared her even more to audiences (maybe subliminally).

by Anonymousreply 437April 27, 2019 4:16 PM

I was the poster who was critical of her dancing, and I should have added that I also found her adorable.

by Anonymousreply 438April 27, 2019 4:18 PM

"Me Ol' Bam-Boo" from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)

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by Anonymousreply 439April 27, 2019 4:30 PM

"Shall We Dance" from The King and I (1956)

Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr

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by Anonymousreply 440April 27, 2019 4:36 PM

that's the pinnacle. thrilling.

by Anonymousreply 441April 27, 2019 4:40 PM

Someone on DL made a very astute observation about Keeler, No, No, Nanette and Follies, which opened around the same time. Keller's big number in NNN was I Want To Be Happy. In it, the young dancers speed up, she speeds up and it ends with everyone in unison. The old gal's still got it. It was like Times Have Changed but I can still keep up. Follies' Who's That Woman has the number slow down. The women and the ghosts show that things weren't what we thought they were.

by Anonymousreply 442April 27, 2019 4:44 PM

Donald O'Conner was another dancer who always watched his feet. This is a great routine with Noreen Corcoran (Bachelor Father) - tapping starts at about 3:10.

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by Anonymousreply 443April 27, 2019 4:49 PM

She was a star on Broadway. An up and comer bright faced popular ingenue.

You wouldn't think it but she could hold a stage as anybody who saw NNN can attest. Inexplicable but she had IT.

by Anonymousreply 444April 27, 2019 6:00 PM

R425 and R433 Thanks for the young Ann Miller. She has a remarkable story...

[quote]Her father... was a well-known criminal lawyer who defended such infamous gangsters as Baby Face Nelson, Bonnie Parker, and Clyde Barrow; her mother, Clara Birdwell, was a Cherokee. ... her mother saw to it that she studied piano and violin, but mostly tap dancing, partly to build up legs that had been affected by rickets, a condition caused by a vitamin D deficiency that can lead to softening of the bones and deformity.

[quote]Miller was signed by MGM to star in its most memorable musical films. In Easter Parade (1948), she danced most gracefully with Fred Astaire (she was considerably taller than he and had to wear ballet slippers) as she tried to woo him away from Judy Garland; but it was her singing and tap dancing solo, "Chasing the Blues Away," that she claims as one of the best song and tap dances on musical film.

[quote]In her heyday, Miller was America's leading female tap dance star, inheriting the mantle from Eleanor Powell. She preferred a vigorous approach to dancing that was athletic and speedy, and claimed to be able to dance at 500 taps per minute, which no one disputed.

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by Anonymousreply 445April 27, 2019 6:04 PM

Another early Ann Miller routine...

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by Anonymousreply 446April 27, 2019 6:07 PM

Ann was very young when she did Stage Door but she looked like a total geek. The studios did a great job in making her over.

by Anonymousreply 447April 27, 2019 6:39 PM

In this 1996 interview , Ann Miller (still classy at 73) is frank, funny and down-to-earth as she recalls her years in Hollywood...

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by Anonymousreply 448April 27, 2019 6:53 PM

"And I love Uma's Pulp Fiction dance."

You call THAT dancing? I don't.

by Anonymousreply 449April 27, 2019 7:23 PM
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by Anonymousreply 450April 27, 2019 7:40 PM

Ruby was a legend.....

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by Anonymousreply 451April 27, 2019 7:45 PM

[quote] You call THAT dancing?

I guarantee it's better then mine

Interesting to see Eddie Canton slip in a shot at Henry Ford's anti-semetism

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by Anonymousreply 452April 27, 2019 7:58 PM

Sandy's version....

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by Anonymousreply 453April 27, 2019 8:03 PM

Ruby and Sandy.....thanks so much for those clips.......

Tap dancing is HARD work but you wouldn't know by watching these two ladies in that number.

by Anonymousreply 454April 27, 2019 9:30 PM

You said it, r 454. Honestly, I don't know how dancers and choreographers do it, how they create routines, and what it must feel like to be so in touch and in control of one's body. For someone who's been unathletic and earthbound all his life, to me it's nothing short of a mystery and a miracle.

by Anonymousreply 455April 27, 2019 9:35 PM

R442 When my friend saw "No, No, Nanette!" he told me that he never heard a performer breathing as hard after a number than Ruby after that number. Perhaps she was going off stage in the middle of the number to recharge via an oxygen machine before coming back on for the big finish? It's also cute that in "Give a Little One Step" she starts off singing, but almost a phrase in the boys start singing with her to cover up what apparently isn't very much left of a singing voice. It's kind of so transparent on the OCR.

by Anonymousreply 456April 27, 2019 11:21 PM

[quote]Perhaps she was going off stage in the middle of the number to recharge via an oxygen machine

Hah! And why the hell not? And thank gawd for the boys in the chorus. It all comes together.

by Anonymousreply 457April 27, 2019 11:40 PM

I love how Ruby, 35 years later, still has that bouncing lock of hair curling down over her temple as she taps. And the adorable way she gently lifts her skirt at the side. Really thrilling, I saw the show in its Boston try-out!

by Anonymousreply 458April 28, 2019 1:48 AM

I don't believe she ever discussed anything about her marriage to Jolson. That must have been something to be married to the biggest egomaniac of all time and to never want to mention it again.

by Anonymousreply 459April 28, 2019 1:50 AM

In the 1970's on some morning game show her adopted son was a contestant. There were about 30 folks on stage and they answered questions to win money - I can't remember the name of it.

But they introduced him as John Lowe, Jr.....but as he talked to the emcee they mentioned his mother....

by Anonymousreply 460April 28, 2019 2:13 AM

I know the dancing in the scene from Moonlighting with Sandahl Bergen and Bruce Willis was probably not considered stellar by some of you but I find myself going back to watch it again and again. Love it in combination with the music and how it advances the storyline.

by Anonymousreply 461April 28, 2019 2:15 AM

Finally after nearly 500 posts Ruby is getting her just desserts. So much more personality than Powell.

by Anonymousreply 462April 28, 2019 2:19 AM

Did anyone mention Gene Kelly's sexy pirate dance in THE PIRATE, complete with short-shorts?

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by Anonymousreply 463April 28, 2019 2:25 AM

'just desserts'

a classic DL 'oh dear' to you. I think. Or did you mean literally desserts?

Maybe you meant recognition? Which is a different thing than 'just deserts.'

by Anonymousreply 464April 28, 2019 2:27 AM

Recognition,

by Anonymousreply 465April 28, 2019 2:28 AM

either spelling is now considered acceptable. "Deserts" is archaic, and means something deserved or warranted. Contemporary usage recognizes "desserts" as well, and it's probably more common (though not preferred).

by Anonymousreply 466April 28, 2019 2:34 AM

Ann Miller had a years long love affair with Louis B. Mayer.

Eww.

by Anonymousreply 467April 28, 2019 2:44 AM

R461, many may not believe it but the scene was quite famous because it was the first time Maddie and David kissed, albeit in a dream sequence.

by Anonymousreply 468April 28, 2019 2:50 AM

You're thinking of Ginny Simms.

Or did he ride Ann as well?

by Anonymousreply 469April 28, 2019 2:50 AM

According to Annie, the newly divorced LB Mayer loved to dance and he often coerced to go out to the Coconut Grove for just that purpose, but she always brought her mother along, just in case.....

by Anonymousreply 470April 28, 2019 2:58 AM

The very young and adorable Alice Faye sings "According to the Moonlight" to James Dunn in 1935's George White's Scandals while a bevy of beauties dance and cavort around them.

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by Anonymousreply 471April 28, 2019 3:00 AM

Why did it take practically until the 1950s for Ann Miller, who had been in both A and B pictures at her other studios, to finally get into A pictures over at Metro?

by Anonymousreply 472April 28, 2019 3:03 AM

She took whatever she was offered and it was RKO and Columbia that made offers. Ann was set to do The Petty Girl at Columbia when her husband insisted she give up her career for him. The timing was also ironic because Rita Hayworth was to leave the studio and that made the path clear for Ann to be their new A musical comedy star. She only played supporting roles at MGM.

by Anonymousreply 473April 28, 2019 4:03 AM

Tap dance is wonderful but also rather bizarre.

by Anonymousreply 474April 28, 2019 4:10 AM

I always found this number charming.

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by Anonymousreply 475April 28, 2019 4:45 AM

'Tap dance is wonderful but also rather bizarre.'

Like ballet.

by Anonymousreply 476April 28, 2019 5:05 AM

Except tap dance is enjoyable.

by Anonymousreply 477April 28, 2019 6:06 AM

Lots of Mel Brooks

Springtime for Hitler

The Inquisition

High Anxiety

I'm Tired

by Anonymousreply 478April 28, 2019 7:15 AM

Also, if you believe Ann Miller was only 13 when she made Stage Door in 1937, she'd still be in her mid-20s by the time she finally arrived at MGM in the late 1940s.

Miller filled the gap left by Eleanor Powell who by then had aged out of lead roles and retired to marry Glenn Ford, even if Miller never ascended into lead roles herself. But she was the perfect second banana to MGM's Garland, Kathryn Grayson, Esther Williams and others.

I think it's so impressive that MGM's musical units were so productive they were able to employ not only Miller but the varied dancing talents of Cyd Charisse, Leslie Caron and Vera Ellen as well.

by Anonymousreply 479April 28, 2019 4:22 PM

But I maintain that Warner Brothers had better dancing than MGM, with Busby Berkeley and Ruby Keeler.

by Anonymousreply 480April 28, 2019 4:37 PM

"Moses supposes his toeses are roses but Moses supposed erroneously" from "Singin' in the Rain"

by Anonymousreply 481April 28, 2019 4:40 PM

^* damn it all . . "Moses SUPPOSES erroneously"

by Anonymousreply 482April 28, 2019 4:40 PM

OK, but Busby Berkeley had pretty much moved his choreographic services to MGM by the late 1930s. And Ruby Keeler had retired.

If you want to make an argument for the accomplishments of RKO with their Astaire/Rogers musicals, that might be reasonable, r480, though even those were finished by 1939. And then Fred moved on to MGM where he was eventually reunited with Ginger in 1949's The Barkleys of Broadway.

by Anonymousreply 483April 28, 2019 4:43 PM

Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo

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by Anonymousreply 484April 28, 2019 4:43 PM

No love here for the fantastic Eleanor Powell and her fabled and nearly endless number in Berkeley's "Broadway Melody" (1936 or 1938?)?!

by Anonymousreply 485April 28, 2019 4:43 PM

Isn't that where out of jealousy she had one of Judy's (who was still a young teen) knock-out numbers cut? It was HER film. No kid was going to steal it.

by Anonymousreply 486April 28, 2019 5:01 PM

Good point about RKO, r483. Astaire and Rogers were great, but they didn't have the Berkeley extravaganza. Both RKO and WB Had better songs than MGM in the '30's.

by Anonymousreply 487April 28, 2019 5:16 PM

I prefer the Berkeley of 20th Century Fox and MGM. Except for Lullaby of Broadway which was the best thing he ever did.

RKO was even better than WB because they had the greatest American Broadway composers of the period writing original scores.

by Anonymousreply 488April 28, 2019 5:27 PM

Mitzi Gaynor, Anything Goes

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by Anonymousreply 489April 28, 2019 5:36 PM

June Haver, Gene Nelson

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by Anonymousreply 490April 28, 2019 5:49 PM
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by Anonymousreply 491April 28, 2019 6:54 PM

R491 Utterly charming. Thanks for posting this version which is more complete and not colorized like the one I posted earlier. I love how the scene is heartbreaking but not sentimental. It's rare when Hollywood gets that right.

by Anonymousreply 492April 28, 2019 7:02 PM

"Play a Simple Melody" from There's No Business Like Show Business

Ethel Merman and Dan Dailey

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by Anonymousreply 493April 28, 2019 9:39 PM

Dan Dailey is much too hot fro Ethel Merman. Dat ass!

by Anonymousreply 494April 28, 2019 9:42 PM

But, R494, Ethel was a pistol!

by Anonymousreply 495April 28, 2019 9:44 PM

Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin in the end credits of All Of Me deserve a nod for joyous silliness.

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by Anonymousreply 496April 28, 2019 9:57 PM

June Haver quit the business to become a nun - then left the convent and married Fred MacMurray. That's what I call changing your mind with a vengeance.

by Anonymousreply 497April 28, 2019 9:59 PM

I know this is more singing than dancing but as we're on the subject of Merman... Here she is in 1936 belting out Cole Porter most adorably with B-B-B-Bing....

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by Anonymousreply 498April 28, 2019 10:12 PM
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by Anonymousreply 499April 28, 2019 10:16 PM
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by Anonymousreply 500April 28, 2019 10:24 PM

That clip of "All of Me" has the name of the one of the Westmore brothers, doing the makeup as they had in countless films at different studios. The word was that some of them were even more handsome than some of the stars they were paid to make more beautiful. Does anyone have more info or dish on them?

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by Anonymousreply 501April 29, 2019 12:29 AM

There were even more Westmores and generations of them.

by Anonymousreply 502April 29, 2019 12:30 AM

I finally discovered that Perc Westmore pronounced his name Purse not Perk. As in short for Percy.

by Anonymousreply 503April 29, 2019 1:48 AM

Ellie and Gracie

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by Anonymousreply 504April 29, 2019 1:58 AM

Which one is Zelda?

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by Anonymousreply 505April 29, 2019 2:08 AM

How about the classic dance sequence, set in an amusement park funhouse, with music and lyrics by the Gershwins, and sung by Gracie Allen, and danced to by her Fred Astaire and George Burns. Mr. Burns and Ms. Allen really could keep up with Mr. Astaire. It's a great number with wonderful, sophisticated music, even using semitones at one point.

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by Anonymousreply 506April 29, 2019 5:29 AM

I love peak Judy Garland. Although not "A Couple of Swells" which everyone likes a lot more than I do, this number also from "Easter Parade" is just simple and charming.

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by Anonymousreply 507April 29, 2019 5:39 AM

R506 That's from "Damsel in Distress", btw.

by Anonymousreply 508April 29, 2019 5:39 AM

E507 it was while watching that one that I first realized that you look at her even when Astaire is her dance partner.

Same thing when her mentor Kay Thompson dances with Astaire in Clap Yo Hands in Funny Face.

by Anonymousreply 509April 29, 2019 7:43 AM

[quote] There were even more Westmores and generations of them.

McKenzie Westmore of Passions and Face Off, I assume, is one of them. (and her father)

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by Anonymousreply 510April 29, 2019 10:37 AM

In Easter Parade I want to know who the trombone player is whom she sings with in I Wish Again That I Was in Michigan when she's still a waitress in a small restaurant. Impossibly handsome and all American cute. I love when he starts rocking back and forth with her.

by Anonymousreply 511April 29, 2019 2:13 PM

That’s Norman S. Barker, R511. A very nice tribute by his son at link.

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by Anonymousreply 512April 29, 2019 6:52 PM

Thank you so much for that R512. It's always been one of my favorite moments in a movie musical and I was always struck by this guy. Garland is at her best singing this simple lovely Berlin tune and the chemistry she has with this musician is wonderful to see. Never could I have imagined that I would read an article about the guy.

by Anonymousreply 513April 29, 2019 7:41 PM

Go to 3:20.....

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by Anonymousreply 514April 29, 2019 8:45 PM

How were you able to find that, r512? r511's post intrigued me, so I went a-googling and tried to find a list of the MGM Studio Orchestra players without success.

by Anonymousreply 515April 29, 2019 9:27 PM

I'm impressed that MGM actually had the real musicians of their orchestra playing the orchestra in the film.

by Anonymousreply 516April 29, 2019 10:20 PM

He’s listed in the full cast section at IMDB as "Trombone player in bar", R515. I just googled his name + trombone, and it was one of the first things to come up.

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by Anonymousreply 517April 29, 2019 10:28 PM

That's amazing. I thought I was the only one who even noticed this musician.

by Anonymousreply 518April 30, 2019 12:18 AM

Anyone else think the Michigan song sounds a lot like "I Love a Piano," which she sings later in the film?

The dance they do to that is quite charming. And they always manage not to trip on that bear rug.

by Anonymousreply 519April 30, 2019 2:06 AM

Well, this is ABOUT movies.......

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by Anonymousreply 520April 30, 2019 2:26 AM

From TV ("The Garry Moore Show") and not a movie, but it's FOSSE and VERDON, so who cares?

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by Anonymousreply 521April 30, 2019 5:27 AM

Not sure how the rest of the movie is but this number is a lot of fun:

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by Anonymousreply 522April 30, 2019 9:05 PM

R522 that was a lot of fun....the ending was kind of a weird letdown......but this was one of the movies Fox has planned for Marilyn Monroe before she became a "method actress" and refused anything light and fun....Sheree North was put in a lot of them and she was fun....but she wasn't Marilyn.

by Anonymousreply 523April 30, 2019 10:24 PM

Gene Kelly still looked and moved great when he was pushing 70. His last dance scene.

I know, the movie was a joke. But it's a nice five minutes.

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by Anonymousreply 524May 1, 2019 2:08 AM

R524 what a great scene.

by Anonymousreply 525May 1, 2019 2:21 AM

What movie did Gene Kelly do that amazing dance sequence with The Nicholas Brothers?

by Anonymousreply 526May 1, 2019 2:47 AM

R524 Awww. That's new to me. Gene's still got it.

by Anonymousreply 527May 1, 2019 2:50 AM

R526 The Pirate, hon.

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by Anonymousreply 528May 1, 2019 2:52 AM

I loved this...thank you.

by Anonymousreply 529May 1, 2019 2:57 AM

Not really a dance, but the You Stepped Out if a Dream number from Ziegfeld Girl is perhaps the quintessential "showgirl" number from the golden era of musicals. The song is as gorgeous as Hedy Lamar is. And the stage just keeps getting improbably bigger and bigger.

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by Anonymousreply 530May 1, 2019 4:11 AM

Like R530, this is mostly a production number, but it is one of the most fantastical things I've seen. It's a hodge-podge of music, but the fact that this was actually built, orchestrated with 100s of dancers, cameramen, technicians who worked the huge revolving stage, even coordinating the curtain so that it rises and falls seamlessly, the whole thing is startling. It includes the lovely Dennis Morgan, whose singing was dubbed by Allan Jones, supposedly to the surprice of Dennis Morgan who found out at the premier.

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by Anonymousreply 531May 1, 2019 5:35 AM

MGM used that fabulous expensive circular curtain several times, most notably in Waitin' for the Robert E Lee in the Babes on Broadway finale and Eleanor Powell tap dancing to Fascinatin' Rhythm in Lady Be Good.

Can you imagine if some of these MGM musicals in the 1930s were filmed in technicolor?

by Anonymousreply 532May 1, 2019 10:37 AM

This is one of the best threads on DL.

by Anonymousreply 533May 1, 2019 11:42 AM

I Don't Dance, bitches...

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by Anonymousreply 534May 1, 2019 2:02 PM

I ordered my Lullaby of Broadway - the Best of Busby Berkeley at Warner Bros.....a 2 CD set.....got it from an Amazon seller for $7.....all of these songs we've been talking about and MORE. Great booklet with lots of info and photos. TCM/Rhino CD. These are the original soundtrack recordings!

Sound is pretty good.....and it's fun. Try it if you're a fan of this thread!

by Anonymousreply 535May 1, 2019 4:56 PM

They are all GREAT songs, r535, and the period orchestrations are thrilling and hilarious, all at once!

by Anonymousreply 536May 1, 2019 5:00 PM

Eleanor Powell is praised here, but I like Ruby Keeler much more for three reasons, although Powell admittedly was a better tap dancer: Ruby had more personality, Ruby was in much better movies (42nd Street) , and Ruby had a great swan song with No, No Nanette while was traipsing around in nightclubs.

by Anonymousreply 537May 1, 2019 5:21 PM

I love Eleanor, r537, but I do think an all-tap nightclub act would get old after a couple of numbers.

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by Anonymousreply 538May 1, 2019 5:30 PM
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by Anonymousreply 539May 1, 2019 5:34 PM

Judy Garland & Gene Kelly - Ballin' the Jack

Back when singing & dancing meant singing & dancing.

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by Anonymousreply 540May 1, 2019 6:08 PM

R540 Meet R16

by Anonymousreply 541May 1, 2019 6:09 PM

It was worth posting twice.

by Anonymousreply 542May 1, 2019 6:20 PM

Nicholas Brothers .. The greatest dance sequence

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by Anonymousreply 543May 1, 2019 6:22 PM

Ellie could hula too.

Also Warners had a DVD collection at one time(maybe it's still available)of Berkeley's Warner Bros musicals with a I believe a separate DVD of just the musical numbers.

Berkeley was a drunk who killed a couple of people in a terrible head on collision from which he walked away from and was never punished for.

by Anonymousreply 544May 1, 2019 7:51 PM

Thanks for the info LP/r523. Someone in the comments for that video mentions that Sheree didn't sing so she was dubbed. I remember reading somewhere that the Harvard Lampoon really tore her to shreds in their annual movie worst list one year back then.

by Anonymousreply 545May 1, 2019 8:03 PM

I've always wondered why Judy and Gene look like they're costumed for two different numbers in Ballin' the Jack at r540.

by Anonymousreply 546May 1, 2019 10:28 PM

It's true that those early Warners Busby Berkeley musicals, as silly as they are, have much better books than most MGM muscals. Except for some of the musical numbers, which are spectacular, the MGM lot mostly stink.

by Anonymousreply 547May 1, 2019 10:31 PM

Can't believe this hasn't been posted yet but here's Joan Crawford and Fred Astaire (in his screen debut!) in MGM's 1933 DANCING LADY singing Heigh-Ho the Gang's All Here.

The number is great fun, if not very good, and the film was MGM's attempt to do a backstage musical a la Warner Bros, with some nods to Busby Berkeley choreography. I don't know why the chorus girls here aren't prettier. Or why most of them can hardly utter their lines.

Was it any wonder Fred high-tailed it over to RKO where he could demand more control over his artistic output? If he ever had a problem with any of Ginger Rogers' dance costumes, what must he have thought of Adrian's gaudy and distracting gown for Joan, not to mention her galumphing which he barely saves? I believe it is her own singing voice.

The movie is actually pretty interesting, directed by Robert Z Leonard with scenes of a studio-created Times Square shot in an almost expressionistic style. And Clark Gable is really at his hottest, especially in gym shorts and a tank top excercising with Joan and a big medicine ball. It's where he famously slaps her on the behind and she answers: "Thank you!"

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by Anonymousreply 548May 1, 2019 11:01 PM

Chorus Line/Musical Movie - "ONE"/Closing Sequence - 1985

I'm surprised no one has posted this

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by Anonymousreply 549May 1, 2019 11:13 PM

R530 I love that sequence, including Hedy's little wobble at the very end, when the camera has pulled back and she shifts her weight. She almost ruined the take.

by Anonymousreply 550May 2, 2019 5:17 AM

I think the 20th Century Fox had the best color in their musicals -- their Technicolor just seems richer and eye-catching than that used by the other studios. Fox usually only had one reigning female musical star at a time (at least adult ones when you exclude the very big box-office of Shirley Temple), but it was mainly Alice Faye, then Betty Grable, then Marilyn Monroe with second stringers Vivian Blaine and June Haver, with Carmen Miranda a big star, but almost always supporting. Some of those films are a lot of fun and not as discussed as the ones at MGM. Don Ameche was really pretty terrific and very cute and he especially fine playing a dual role in "That Night in Rio" (a remake of "Folies Bergere with Maurice Chevalier and later remade as "On the Riveria" with Danny Kaye). Here he is joining in after Carmen Miranda does the first verses of one of her classic numbers "Chica Chica Boom Chic". S

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by Anonymousreply 551May 2, 2019 5:19 AM

He can call me on the Ameche anytime!

by Anonymousreply 552May 2, 2019 5:22 AM

Another Fox musical, "Up In Arms," with Danny Kaye and Dinah Shore. It's such an artifact from the 40s but it's a lot of fun.

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by Anonymousreply 553May 2, 2019 5:50 AM

As goofy as it is, MGM's 1933 DANCING LADY was a huge hit. I think it was one of the top ten grossing Hollywood films that year.

by Anonymousreply 554May 2, 2019 6:40 AM

Crawford and Gable are not thought of today as a classic screen team but they made a number of films together and they were hugely popular. I guess today we see no special chemistry there.

by Anonymousreply 555May 2, 2019 1:01 PM

Waltz in Swing Time

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by Anonymousreply 556May 2, 2019 10:46 PM

By the very few posts here of Astaire and Rogers, I think it's interesting to see how we've come to take them for granted.

They really were brilliant and have never been surpassed.

by Anonymousreply 557May 2, 2019 11:37 PM

Sorta like Nelson and Jeanette.....

by Anonymousreply 558May 2, 2019 11:39 PM

R554 someone wrote a review of Dancing Lady some years after it came out and there was a sentence that began "Joan Crawford, her feet dipped in lead..."*

I think Fred Astaire is "himself" in that.

by Anonymousreply 559May 3, 2019 3:08 AM

Strictly Ballroom final dance scene annoyingly intercut with reaction shots by annoying director Baz Luhrmann...

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by Anonymousreply 560May 4, 2019 3:08 AM

R560 There are NO new Federation steps!

by Anonymousreply 561May 5, 2019 2:11 AM

I've always thought that little wobble was intentional R550. It foreshadows her discomfort with a career as nothing more than a beautiful object.

by Anonymousreply 562May 5, 2019 4:09 AM

R562 Interesting observation. That's a helluva lot of predestination in a little wobble.

by Anonymousreply 563May 5, 2019 4:35 AM

I may be reading too much into it R563, but Ziegfeld girl isn't really a musical. It's a cautionary tale of the perils of instant fame, essentially a soap opera with a few big production numbers and some comic relief from Judy Garland and her father's vaudeville entourage. Not too many Hollywood musicals of the era ended with the leading lady succumbing to alcoholism in a dingy Flatbush rowhouse.

by Anonymousreply 564May 5, 2019 5:05 AM

[quote]I may be reading too much into it

R564 Not at all. I think you nailed it on many levels.

[quote]"My face has been my misfortune," she wrote in her 1966 autobiography, "Ecstasy and Me." "It has attracted six unsuccessful marriage partners. It has attracted all the wrong people into my boudoir and brought me tragedy and heartache for five decades," she wrote. " My face is a mask I cannot remove. I must always live with it. I curse it." Unimpressed with roles in which she was required only to look pretty, Lamarr was often quoted as saying: "Any girl can be glamorous; all you have to do is stand still and look stupid."

[quote]She was acquitted of shoplifting charges in Los Angeles, and charges that she stole eyedrops and laxatives in Florida were dropped after her promise that she would not break the law. "I have no idea where my next meal is coming from, and some days I go hungry," she told a curious fan without bitterness as early as 1965.

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by Anonymousreply 565May 5, 2019 5:33 AM

"We Got Annie" with the fabulous Ann Reinking (1982)...

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by Anonymousreply 566May 5, 2019 6:01 AM

Ann-Margret bobbles at the end of "Gotta Lotta Livin' To Do" in the clip WAY above......

by Anonymousreply 567May 5, 2019 4:13 PM

I could be happy....

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by Anonymousreply 568May 5, 2019 7:08 PM

Jean Dujardin (as George Valentin) and Bérénice Bejo (as Peppy Miller) in the Artist (2011)...

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by Anonymousreply 569May 5, 2019 9:37 PM

Call me a sentimental old hoofer - yeah, I know the taps were dubbed in later and Gene Kelly had a fever and it's corny AF - but it always brings a tear to my eye.

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by Anonymousreply 570May 5, 2019 10:12 PM
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by Anonymousreply 571May 5, 2019 10:21 PM

Why is it corny AF, r570? Because it communicates genuine feeling and celebrates emotion and (dare I say it?) love?

by Anonymousreply 572May 6, 2019 1:57 AM

R572 When you're right, you're right. Gene with kids in "I Got Rhythm" from An American in Paris (1951)...

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by Anonymousreply 573May 6, 2019 2:16 AM

Tomorrow......

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by Anonymousreply 574May 6, 2019 2:37 PM

Alas, dance aficionados, Miss Barbara Perry has departed.....

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by Anonymousreply 575May 6, 2019 5:24 PM

Rocky Horror Time Warp

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by Anonymousreply 576May 6, 2019 8:07 PM

My favorite part of AAIP outside of the beyond genius Sharaff's(people like her simply don't exist anymore. What gives?) design of the ballet is Kelly singing Tra La La La.

by Anonymousreply 577May 6, 2019 9:01 PM

Because studios, with hundreds of people to design, measure, make, maintain, clean, catalog and store costumes don't exist anymore.

Edith Head and Gilbert Adrian and Irene Sharaff and Jean Louis and Orry-Kelly all worked for the studios. Nobody could afford the overhead to do it today.

by Anonymousreply 578May 6, 2019 9:32 PM

Would you say people are as gifted today but simply do not have the resources these people had?

by Anonymousreply 579May 6, 2019 9:36 PM

I would say so, r579.

by Anonymousreply 580May 6, 2019 9:43 PM

Also, r579, take this for example. Unable to get fine French lace (because of the war) for Astor's MMISL costume, Sharaff had the workroom make their own "lace" on net, using covered buttons for the grapes. Who has the budget to do that today?

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by Anonymousreply 581May 6, 2019 9:49 PM

Budget, artistry and volition.

by Anonymousreply 582May 6, 2019 10:02 PM

R564 I'll have you know that Lana succumbs at the Ziegfeld Theatre, not in a dingy boarding house! Her nickname is "Flatbush." The "3 girls encounter fame and misfortune " trope is a frequent one, from "Three on a Match," to "The Best of Everything " to "Valley of the Dolls." In each, one of the three kicks off.

I guess Hedy's wobble could also prefigure some of her Sturm und Drang. But I thing the discontentment theory is inspired. She's one of the stars, along with Bacall, whose images were used by Josph Cornell in some of his art pieces.

by Anonymousreply 583May 7, 2019 1:35 AM

Don't forget those madcap girls in The Road to Moscow, r583!

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by Anonymousreply 584May 7, 2019 1:53 AM

I love those gals, but the theater must have shook (shaken?) from their combined nervous tics.

by Anonymousreply 585May 7, 2019 1:59 AM

[quote][R564] I'll have you know that Lana succumbs at the Ziegfeld Theatre, not in a dingy boarding house! Her nickname is "Flatbush." The "3 girls encounter fame and misfortune " trope is a frequent one, from "Three on a Match," to "The Best of Everything " to "Valley of the Dolls." In each, one of the three kicks off.

Who said anything about a boarding house R583? After said stunning collapse she's brought home to make peace with Jimmy Stewart & her loving Irish family in their very modest Flatbush home. Also, I'm fully aware of the one in three bites the dust trope - but this one comes with Berkeleyesque pageantry and Vaudeville comic relief not typically associated with the genre. There's not to many feel good musical moments in Valley of the Dolls - even if the plot is pretty similar.

by Anonymousreply 586May 7, 2019 2:05 AM

And we were having such a nice party...

by Anonymousreply 587May 7, 2019 2:11 AM

3 GIRLS 3!!!

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by Anonymousreply 588May 7, 2019 2:28 AM

Fred Astaire. Lucille Bremer. YOLANDA AND THE THIEF.

The music is in 4/4. The choreography is in 5/4. And the art direction compliments it all.

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by Anonymousreply 589May 7, 2019 2:35 AM

Wasn't Kay younger than her son Vic? Unusually fat for an entertainer of that era. Except for Kate of course.

by Anonymousreply 590May 7, 2019 2:38 AM

Not exactly Busby Berkley choreography but it has lots of personality

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by Anonymousreply 591May 7, 2019 2:42 AM

That's Jack Cole choreography! Infinitely more important than any steps Busby Berkley ever strung together.

by Anonymousreply 592May 7, 2019 2:44 AM

R588 meet R154

by Anonymousreply 593May 7, 2019 2:53 AM

Well excuse me, r593, for not checking the previous 400 posts. Anyhoo, here's a link to a second thread before this one Bajours.

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by Anonymousreply 594May 7, 2019 2:57 AM

The Madame Bovary Waltz. Minnelll and Jones at their most neurotic. A brilliant summary of Emma's romantic delusion.

by Anonymousreply 595May 7, 2019 3:45 AM

[quote] And the art direction compliments it all.

The art direction can talk?

by Anonymousreply 596May 7, 2019 3:51 AM

Art de Rectionne. Better than Cedric Gibbons.

by Anonymousreply 597May 7, 2019 3:54 AM

Maybe the movie equivalent of Bajour!: Carol Channing saying "Raspberries" all through "Thoroughly Modern Millie".

Raspberries!!!!

(though sometimes, according to legend, it was corn)

But for now Raspberries!

by Anonymousreply 598May 7, 2019 5:44 AM

Not a dance number, but irresistible: it's Clint Eastwood playing opposite love interest Carol Channing in "The First Traveling Saleslady"

Bajour!

Raspberries!

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by Anonymousreply 599May 7, 2019 5:47 AM

The Girl Hunt Ballet from The Band Wagon"

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by Anonymousreply 600May 7, 2019 5:53 AM
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