| Product: |
Easter Parade (DVD) |
| Date: |
09/09/08 (49 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Fred Astaire, Judy Garland and some cracking songs
Disadvantages: the plot stalls on a few occasions
Easter Parade is a 1948 musical starring Judy Garland and Fred Astaire, in a role which Gene Kelly had originally been cast in.
Don Hewes (Astaire) is part of a Broadway partnership with Nadine Hale (Ann Miller); unfortunately for him, Nadine is offered a new 'solo' contract. To prove that he doesn't need her to be a success, Don teams up with the first dancer he sees, the young and naïve Hannah Brown (Garland). The film follows their road to success and changing relationships in a delightfully entertaining musical escapade.
Fred Astaire is one of the most celebrated dancers of the 21st century so the recasting of Don Hewes, after Gene Kelly became injured, couldn't have been better. Astaire oozes class in every performance and Easter Parade is no exception. Judy Garland has been one of my favourite performers since I saw her singing 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' in Meet me in St Louis, so my expectations were high for this duo and they didn't disappoint. Together they create some of the most memorable routines I can recall from any musical. There may be a fairly significant age gap between the two which is difficult to ignore but I didn't find it particularly jarring, although I'm well aware that some viewers do. The growing affection between Don and Hannah is done well and combined with the brilliant numbers they perform; Easter Parade can easily be listed as one of my favourite musicals.
Although Astaire and Garland are the main draw to this movie there are also notable appearances by Ann Miller, in her first major movie and Peter Lawford. Both are brilliant in their respective roles.
***Songs***
Many of the songs from the film are still well known today such as 'Stepping Out With My Baby' which became a hit after the films release and has since been rerecorded, most notably by Tony Bennett. Each musical performance is memorable in its own right but Down the Avenue remains my favourite to this day. It's no wonder that the film won the award for Best Music Scoring of a Musical Picture at the 1949 Academy Awards.
You really can't go wrong with this mix of actors and songs; if you enjoy a good musical you'll no doubt love Easter Parade. I won't proclaim this to be a perfect film, it's not. There are moments when it falters and the plot stalls a little but for the most part the energy is maintained and the performances are spot on. Its great fun, entertaining and a completely unforgettable movie. A must see!
Summary: A brilliantly entertaining musical
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