Dedications: My four late friends Rory, Stan, Bryan, Jeff - shine on you crazy diamonds, they would have blogged too. Then theres Garry from Brisbane, Franco in Milan, Mike now in S.F. / my '60s-'80s gang: Ned & Joseph in Ireland; in England: Frank, Des, Guy, Clive, Joe & Joe, Ian, Ivan, Nick, David, Les, Stewart, the 3 Michaels / Catriona, Sally, Monica, Jean, Ella, Anne, Candie / and now: Daryl in N.Y., Jerry, John, Colin, Martin and Donal.

Monday 27 October 2014

Falling for Fred & Ginger again ...

It was fun discovering those Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals back in the Sixties, when I was a young movie buff. Back then one either saw them if on television or we trekked along to the National Film Theatre or other revival house if they were doing a season on Fred & Ginger, like they would do on Garbo so a new generation saw them for the first time. The BFI even ran an all-night Fred & Ginger marathon which some pals and I went to (as we did to their Mae West and Marilyn all-nighters)! Now of course, these musicals are always with us on disk and tape and constant revivals, like now as our BBC screen them once again. 
My favourite has to be THE GAY DIVORCEE which I have been watching a lot this last week. particularly that "Night and Day" and "The Continental" sequences, which repay endless replays. TOP HAT is terrific too and as for that "Pick Yourself Up" number from SWING TIME (with Eric Blore) - I can simply watch it on a loop. "I Won't Dance" is from ROBERTA, 1935. The great thing watching these numbers is they are shot full frame so we see their whole bodies dancing, and with no cuts - unlike modern musicals (CHICAGO) where it is all done in the editing ...

SILK STOCKINGS from 1957 was a treat again too ... Fred and Cyd - just as good as Fred and Ginger - not only here but also THE BANDWAGON. Bring them on ...and here's that skirt Cyd wears that turns into culottes - very odd! 

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