I’ve had this DVD for almost a decade, but I’ve never gotten around to watching it. And that’s because the name makes it sound like one of those “cavalcade” movies — i.e., a bunch of hit songs from various stage musicals that year, strung together with a threadbare plot.
And some of those movies are really fun! Without the pressure of coming of with a real plot, sometimes the writers just cram in lots of jokes and skits, and keep things moving. And sometimes they’re just leaden.
I’m not actually sure whether this is one of those movies, though — Fred Astaire is perhaps too big a name to use in one of those.
Yes, indeed — it’s one of those cavalcade movies. I think? The excuse for this bit is that Astaire is visiting the theatre. They didn’t try hard. On the other hand, all the music is by Cole Porter, so perhaps this is more of a real musical…
Now they’re just encountering jugglers and stuff in an agent’s office.
She’s fun.
Oh my god! They dance so well together! I’m not really that familiar with Eleanor Powell, but that was amazing. They were incredibly tight together.
Begin the Beguine isn’t a very good tune, either.
I enjoyed this movie — I smiled a lot while watching it.
But let’s face it — it’s just a vehicle to show the audience all these stage performances. The plot isn’t very much, there’s not in the way of good gags, and there’s no… theme… to the various performances.
So any reasonable person would say this is pretty dire, but I’ve never been reasonable, and I’m certainly not starting now.
Broadway Melody of 1940. Norman Taurog. 1940. ⚃
