Search Results for: blog royal wedding 1951

Royal Wedding (1951)

“Royal Wedding,” starring Fred Astaire and Jane Powell, featured some of the most advanced special effects seen in Hollywood up to that point. I’ll fill you in on the details throughout the review. Tom and Ellen Bowen (Astaire, Powell) are a brother/sister dance team who have made quite a name for themselves on the New York circuit. Their next engagement will take them to London, where they will play their show during the same time span as a royal wedding, and they’re delighted to be a part of those festivities. There’s just one fly in the ointment – Ellen has … Continue reading →

Swing Time (1936)

Another addition to the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers catalog of dancing masterpiece movies is “Swing Time.” Astaire is John Garnett, a dancer who is scheduled to get married. But his gambling addiction makes him late for the wedding and gets him into a lot of hot water with his fiance’s father, who tells him that he can only come back and marry the girl if he manages to pull together $25,000. John hops a train for New York, determined to find the money, but instead runs into Penny Carrol, (Ginger Rogers) and finds himself very intrigued. When he discovers that Penny … Continue reading →

Good News (1947)

Picture June Allyson teamed with Peter Lawford (again) at a fictional university in the 1920s, and you’ve pretty much just guessed the entire plot of “Good News.” Allyson plays Connie Lane, the serious, underappreciated assistant librarian, and Lawford is Tommy Marlowe, captain of the football team. Yeah, I couldn’t really see him in that role either, but they did it. Tommy is a ladies’ man, but when the arrogant Patricia McLellan hits campus, he’s met his match. She wants nothing to do with him, and that’s a new thing for him. He casts his eyes around and they land on … Continue reading →

Three Little Words (1950)

“Three Little Words” is loosely based on the true story of songwriters Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby. Starring Fred Astaire as Bert Kalmar and Red Skelton as Harry Ruby, we start the movie with Fred as a song and dance man, engaged to his dance partner Jessie (Vera-Ellen). He keeps trying to interject some magic into the show, but she thinks they’re better off sticking with dancing. What she doesn’t know and what he doesn’t tell her is that he’s moonlighting at another theater as a magician. One night his regular assistant doesn’t show up, and he has to rely … Continue reading →

Celebrity Tragedy: Alan Freed

In case you have not noticed, Michele and I are the yin yang of the pop culture blog. She usually concentrates on cheery stories about weddings and babies while I tend to focus a bit on the darker side of fame. I mean, after all, you have to admit that Hollywood has its share of tragedies. But, all areas of fame have their dark side, their tragic stories of the good gone bad. Such is the case of 50’s super disc jockey Alan Freed. I had briefly mentioned Alan Freed when I was talking about Jesse Blevin, a singer who … Continue reading →

Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

It’s no wonder to anyone who has seen “Driving Miss Daisy” that it received four Oscars. The script is wonderful, the acting impeccable, and the story, sweet and touching. Jessica Tandy stars as Miss Daisy Werthan, a widow who is determined to be as self-reliant as possible. She’s getting up there in years, but refuses to admit that she needs any help. While preparing to go to town one morning, she mistakes the accelerator for the brake and drives her car backwards up and over a hedge, landing in the neighbor’s yard. This inspires her son Booley (Dan Ackroyd) to … Continue reading →

Silk Stockings (1957)

This is going to be another flippy-floppy review. On the one hand, “Silk Stockings” stars Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse, so we know we’re in for some great dancing. On the other hand . . . well, I’ll tell you about it as we go. Astaire stars as Steve Canfield, producer of a Hollywood version of “War and Peace.” He has commissioned Russian composer Boroff to write the score, but now that Boroff is in Paris, where the filming will be done, he doesn’t want to go back to Russia. The Soviets send over three agents to investigate, and after … Continue reading →