Tony Hunter (Fred Astaire) was a famous Hollywood song and dance man during the 30's and 40's but in 1953, he's kind of a has-been. He travels to New York City to be in a small Broadway show written by his friends Lily (Nanette Fabrey) and Lester Marton (Oscar Levant). Lily and Lester have managed to get producer/director/leading man Jeffrey Cordova (Jack Buchanan) interested, but what starts as a light musical about a children's book writer turns into a modern retelling of Faust. Cordova hires prima ballerina Gabrielle Girard (Cyd Charisse) to star opposite Tony and the two leads immediately hate each other.Since this is a 50's musical, everything turns out all right by the end and everyone goes home happy. The musical numbers are great, especially the Murder Mystery in Jazz set piece at the end. The romance feels a little tacked on but it's mostly extraneous to the plot, which is about retaining creative control over a product.
It makes me want to go out and watch ten of these old musicals in a row. I love movies for a lot of reasons. These are all about the fantasy, an escape into a bright Technicolor world where everyone can sing and dance and all problems are solved within an hour and a half.
No comments:
Post a Comment