Vincente Minnelli is responsible for so much more than classic musicals, but that’s the genre for which he’ll always be best known. Watching the best scenes from those films, it’s easy to see why.
If I had to limit myself to one song and/or dance scene per Minnelli musical, I’d rank them like this (links provided where available):
Just about every Vincente Minnelli film is based on a novel or theatrical show, and he doesn’t have a writing credit on any of them. And yet, by project selection and the shaping of narratives through his direction, he managed to return to some central themes.
One of those is the tension between work and personal life. That makes sense for a man who was married four times and whose one true love was likely his art. That theme shows up early on in Meet Me in St. Louis, when Mr. Smith has the chance to advance his career by uprooting his family. It shows up in his films about Hollywood, which all detail the negative impact of moviemaking on private lives. Lust for Life does the same for a different sort of artist, Vincent Van Gogh.
Yesterday I listed the notable actresses who appeared in Vincente Minnelli’s films, so today is reserved for the actors.
Fred Astaire and Kirk Douglas appeared in three Minnelli films apiece, but his most frequent collaborator was Gene Kelly, who starred in four. Douglas received Best Actor nominations for two Minnelli films (1952’s The Bad and the Beautiful and 1956’s Lust for Life) but went home empty-handed both times. You’d think a biopic about the life of Vincent Van Gogh would have made for an easy Oscar win.
Continuing my appreciation of the films of Vincente Minnelli, I’ll start this week off by celebrating the many great actors who appeared in his films.
It would be madness to not start with the ladies. Minnelli worked with a laundry list of Hollywood’s great actresses, and often highlighted their gifts in a way no other director could. His subject matter and themes were too wide-ranging to put him in the ranks of traditional “woman’s directors” like Douglas Sirk, but his films were certainly showcases for amazing female talent.
Sonny & Cher owned the #1 spot of Billboard’s Hot 100 the week of August 10, 1965 with ‘I Got You Babe,’ their signature song.
Written by Bono, this was the first single from the duo’s debut album, Look at Us. Cher wasn’t a fan of the song at first, doubting it would be a hit, but it ended up topping the charts for three weeks and selling more than a million copies.
Meet Me In Montauk 