EASTER PARADE (1948)

(Week 5: Fred Astaire)

EASTER PARADE (1948)

Directed by Charles Walters

(from Allposters.com)

Many movie musicals rely too heavily on the fame of their stars to bring people to the theater. They don't even need a good plot or a good script, and the stars don't even have to be great singers or dancers, so long as they make money for the studios. Musical numbers are underlined and highlighted rather than seamlessly incorporated into the film. These are what makes them feel outdated and silly. Having seen a handful of these movies, I can't explain how surprised and delighted I was when I watched EASTER PARADE.

When Fred Astaire dances, your jaw drops. When Judy Garland sings, you gasp. These aren't just great performers; they are true stars. Their talents are literally extraordinary. No one can do what they do the way they do it, and that is what carries the film.

The story is pretty simple, but told with great charm. Astaire plays a famous dancer whose partner/lover quits on him. To get back at her, he picked a random dancer from a nightclub and insists that he can turn her into a dancing star. Garland, who isn't a stranger to dancing but certainly not a Ginger Rogers either, fills the role perfectly. Her awkwardness is so believable and charming it's hard not to adore her character. Astaire, though lacking a devastating good look and a masculine build, commands the screen as well as any traditional leading man does. His soul, for lack of a better word, is truly musical. That which makes him an extraordinary dancer makes his singing distinguished and potent, despite being deprived of a great big voice.

All the musical numbers flow smoothly into and out of the scenes. It is as if the film believes in its stars enough to leave them to do what they do best. The songs of Irving Berlin's drive the story forward as opposed to merely providing platforms for the stars to show off. Co-star Ann Miller as the departed lover also wows the audience in her numbers just as much as the couple. 

It must be noted that Astaire and Garland are, on top of all that, good actors. While the story doesn't demand much of their emotional range, it does give them opportunities to prove their talents through subtlety. They play their comedy straight and without being over-aware of it, providing the heartfelt acting that musicals require through every scene and every song in order to suspend the disbelief of such a grand medium. EASTER PARADE knows how to utilize its stars and doesn't work too hard to please its audience.