With this film, director Stanley Donen delivers a musical that has a pleasantly comfortable feel to it, perhaps because many of its songs are ballads. Some of the music is delivered on stage and some is integrated into the story. "How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Loved You When You Know I've Been a Liar All My Life?" is a notably upbeat exception and a film highlight that reminds me of the "We're a Couple of Swells" duet from "Easter Parade": delightful.
Fred Astaire and Jane Powell play siblings who are a musical team, Tom and Ellen Bowen. He is a confirmed bachelor, and she is an incorrigible flirt. Their agent (Keenan Wynn) books them on a London stage during the week of the much-ballyhooed wedding of the queen.
Ellen meets Lord John Brindale (Peter Lawford) on the ship over, and Tom meets Anne Ashmond (Sarah Churchill) on the day of their arrival. It doesn't take long for love to blossom.
Astaire gets to show his ability to dance with props, and to perform one of the most celebrated dance numbers in film, where he dances on the ceiling. Powell is a competent dancer and a strong singer, though her coloratura soprano might not be as appreciated as, say, Garland's voice in a musical. Despite their thirty year age difference, Astaire and Powell work well together. She said that she was intimidated by Astaire, but on film she sells the sibling relationship very well.
Donen's dance experience results in wonderful camera work, framing the dance numbers for maximum appreciation.
Fred Astaire and Jane Powell play siblings who are a musical team, Tom and Ellen Bowen. He is a confirmed bachelor, and she is an incorrigible flirt. Their agent (Keenan Wynn) books them on a London stage during the week of the much-ballyhooed wedding of the queen.
Ellen meets Lord John Brindale (Peter Lawford) on the ship over, and Tom meets Anne Ashmond (Sarah Churchill) on the day of their arrival. It doesn't take long for love to blossom.
Astaire gets to show his ability to dance with props, and to perform one of the most celebrated dance numbers in film, where he dances on the ceiling. Powell is a competent dancer and a strong singer, though her coloratura soprano might not be as appreciated as, say, Garland's voice in a musical. Despite their thirty year age difference, Astaire and Powell work well together. She said that she was intimidated by Astaire, but on film she sells the sibling relationship very well.
Donen's dance experience results in wonderful camera work, framing the dance numbers for maximum appreciation.
