SUMMER STOCK (1950)

(Week 14: Gene Kelly)

SUMMER STOCK (1950)

Directed by Charles Walters

There is no reason for this story to be told again. Guy meets girl, and they put on a show. Originally this project was intended to reunite Judy Garland with Mickey Rooney, but due to his decline in popularity, they cast Gene Kelly instead.

This is the kind of movie I was afraid EASTER PARADE was going to be. The difference here is that I actually enjoyed that little story but got bored really quickly with this one. A theater troupe shows up unannounced to use a failing barn to put on a show. Garland's character, the barn owner, puts them to work and ends up taking over the lead role in the show. Surprise, surprise.

There is great chemistry between Kelly and Garland. They had worked together twice before, in FOR ME AND MY GAL and THE PIRATE. They shine when they dance together. However, they aren't giving their best performances here. The characters just aren't well written and give them little to work with. The love story isn't believable. The song numbers stick out of the story rather than being well integrated. Even though they are well choreographed and performed, they just don't help to tell the story. And when the musical numbers don't tell the story, they're just a waste of time.

Those who enjoy watching Garland and Kelly do what they do best will enjoy many of these song-and-dance numbers. Watching these scenes again, I enjoy them more out of context than in, including one of Garland's most iconic numbers, "Get Happy," which not only looks but also feels out of place within the context of the story, having been shot after the filming was completed and the number having nothing to do with the story or the character she portrays in the film at all.

If you are particularly fond of these let's-put-on-a-show stories, or if you are a big fan of Kelly and/or Garland, you might have a fine time watching this. Otherwise, I would skip it. SUMMER STOCK is a good, but far from great, movie musical.

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.